The
beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.
This
is how the Gospel of Mark begins.
And
as the Gospel unfolds, it is an action-packed message where the characters
presented are in your face – calling for repentance, a change of understanding
and being, and a reordering of one’s life so that nothing gets in the way of
God’s coming.
This
good news of Jesus Christ, as delivered by Mark, is counter-cultural to our
experience of church and understanding of what happens here, and what is
expected of us. In Advent we focus on hope, peace, love, joy – we have taken
the characters as presented by Luke, Matthew, and John - and fallen in love with them; the shepherds,
Mary, Elizabeth, the angels, the wise ones. We have fallen in love with the
beauty of words: “in the beginning was the Word, the word was with God, the
word was God.”
The
characters from the Gospel of Mark, cry out, THIS is the beginning of the good
news of Jesus Christ –
Be
forewarned, be prepared, this good news upsets the world as you know it; it
upsets the very foundation of who you think you are. It most definitely upsets people
and systems with power and authority – for their ears do not hear the voice as
good news.
Mark
in his opening paragraph introduces two characters – one with a description that
is a character of characters.
John
the Baptist is
introduced as a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of
the Lord.
Dressed
like a wild man, he is preaching and teaching, offering ritual outside of the
Temple authority. People are flocking to him. Religious authorities are upset.
So too is the Roman endorsed ruler, as John points fingers outing the ruler’s
sin. Because of the good news, John the Baptizer is beheaded.
Jesus, the second character, is first
introduced to us by John the Baptist as– one more powerful than I
Similar
to John, Jesus teaches and preaches, performs miracles, and people, especially the
poor, flock to him. Religious authorities get upset. So too the Roman
authorities get upset. Because of the good news, Jesus is crucified.
The
Gospel of Mark quickly tells the story of the beginning of the good news of
Jesus Christ. It is the shortest of Gospels, every word testifying to the
nature of Jesus and the good news. The original ending of Mark ends at the
empty tomb with an unfinished sentence, they (the disciples) where
afraid for…
The gospel doesn’t end; Mark doesn’t write, “Here
ends the good news of Jesus Christ.” The good news continues through time with
characters that bear witness – that cry in the wilderness- calling for
repentance, a change of understanding and being, for people to reorder their
lives so that nothing gets in the way of God’s coming.
There
are a lot of characters who have filled this role through the centuries. In the
first two weeks of December the Church commemorates a number of good news
bearers; today I will mention 4 and a group. Such characters are commemorated
on the day of their death – it is astounding that the following characters’ deaths
fall in the season of Advent, a season of repentance, turning our hearts to
reorder our lives so that nothing gets in the way of the Christ’s coming. The characters are, like John the Baptist -crying
in the wilderness- to the twentieth century church.
Four
American women –
Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan-
These
women were missionaries in El Salvador; Catholic activists who protested
government oppression of the poor, provided humanitarian aid and in that role were
accused of promoting political opposition to the regime. Because of the good
news, Dorothy, Ita, Maura, and Jean were abducted, raped, and murdered Dec. 2,
1980
Francis
Xavier –A missionary
to Asia, the first to Japan, he was a Jesuit who had taken a vow of poverty and
chastity. Francis faced opposition and in places practiced Christianity with
new converts underground to avoid persecution. He spoke out against Spanish-Portuguese
colonists when he discovered their oppression of the Indigenous people he was
sent as missionary to. Because of the
good news, Francis died Dec. 3, 1552 -from an acute illness while waiting on a
boat for permission to enter mainland China.
Nicholas
or better known as St. Nicholas- Was
Bishop of Myra which is in the territory of Turkey. Legends of his work
describe devotion to God and love and advocacy for the poor; redistributing
wealth, providing doweries, secretly giving. His voice in the wilderness
included speaking out against heretical factions in the early church and
refusing to comply with traditional religious practices of the Romans. Because
of the good news, Nicholas was imprisoned for a time. He died Dec. 6, 342
Ambrose – Was governor of Northern Italy. He
converted to Christianity, was baptized and became Bishop of Milan. He gave
away his wealth and served the poor. He was a famous preacher who defended
Christianity and spoke out against opponents of the faith. He took on the role
of trying to mediate conflict between Emperors; his political views and actions
related to his faith. Because of the good news, on one occasion, Ambrose and a
group of believers were threatened by Gothic soldiers. He died Dec. 7, 397
Sancta
Lucia- was a wealthy
young woman who, on becoming Christian, devoted her life to God and gave her
possessions to the poor. At the time Roman persecution of Christians was in
full steam; she took food and aid to the Christians hiding in the catacombs. Because
of the good news, Lucia is martyred Dec. 13, 304
The
Sunday resource, Sundays and Seasons by Augsburg Fortress c2023, for
this week wrote:
The
beginning of a TV series is about world building: we are introduced to the
characters, places, and events that are important to the unfolding story. We
may encounter new people along the way and new truths may be revealed, but the
beginning sets the parameters for the narrative. Final episodes of long-running
show are much anticipated as we wonder how the story will end. Like an
excellent pilot episode, the beginning of Mark’s gospel begins to build a
foundation for the dramatic narrative that will follow. We are introduced to
characters: Jesus the Son, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, John the Baptist,
and the people in need of confession and forgiveness. A defining event – John baptizing
in the wilderness – and foreshadowing the One who will bring about
reconciliation and resurrection set the stage for the narratives that will
follow.
When
we investigate the characters presented, there are clear parameters – the voice
calling in the wilderness – calling for repentance, a change of understanding
and being, and a reordering of one’s life so that nothing gets in the way of
God’s coming.; the good news changed the very essence of the characters.
Receiving the good news, the characters devoted themselves to God and gave
their possessions to the poor; they spoke out against oppression and held firm to
the faith…even when – or particularly when- it was counter-cultural and meant
persecution, imprisonment, death.
The
end of the story – the end of the Gospel of Mark – the end of the good news of
Jesus Christ has not been proclaimed… the good news of Jesus Christ is being
written as I speak, as we live. The characters described this morning, are
voices crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. This
moment in God’s time, it is on us to repent, to be changed in understanding and
being, to reorder our life’s so that nothing gets in the way of God’s coming. It
is time for us to live as voices in the wilderness, the living of our lives by completing
the sentence, because of the good news of Jesus Christ…
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