We
start at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark.
Mark
starts with: This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
No
shepherds or angels or travellers from the east; no baby, no Mary or Joseph, no
childhood. In the first ten verses, we meet John the Baptist, Jesus is
baptised; he goes into the wilderness, there are angels who look after him.
Verse
14 Jesus starts teaching and in verse 16 he starts calling disciples.
All
this in the first half of chapter 1.
….
Mark
starts with John in the desert, dressed in camel hair and eating grasshoppers;
telling people to repent and be baptised.
Repentance
isn’t only feeling sorry for something we have done or not done. It is a change
in the way we view life and the world
and our place in the world.
and our place in the world.
It
is correcting our course,
changing
direction,
Repentance means
living into a different reality.
Mark notes
that the people responding to John’s call to repentance and baptism were from
Judea and Jerusalem. This was an island of wealth in a sea of poverty; Jerusalem
was a centre of power.
I wonder what
changed in these people’s lives.
Did they
reflect on how the status quo advantaged them and disadvantaged the poor? [ii]
I wonder what
would happen to our economic system if we lived by the golden rule: “In
everything do to others as you would have them do to you;” Matthew
7:12 (NRSVA)
…..
The
section we heard today includes the Baptism of Jesus.
And
a voice saying: “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”
And
then Jesus was made go into the desert by Satan.
What
gives – where is the good news?
Mark
does not list the temptations, or the replies of Jesus recorded by Matthew and
Luke. Mark takes 2 verses; Jesus went into the wilderness and was tested;
angels looked after him.
Jesus
went into Galilee, calling disciples; who immediately stop what they are doing
and follow Jesus.
Really?!
Imagine,
you are working in your garden,
or
walking along the beach,
and
Jesus comes along and says: come with me.
do
you stop and follow?
Do
you go back and lock the door?
pack
a travel kit?
Pick
up your mobile phone?
Post
an update on Facebook? – heading out with Jesus, don’t know where.
I
wonder what this kind of following, leaving everything and following Jesus look
like today?
…
Summarising
the reading:
1. At Baptism, Jesus
is identified as the Son of God
2. Then came
testing
3. Then mission
Our
identity is found in our relationship with God; or maybe more accurately: our true
identity is found in our relationship with God.
“God will always treat us as a beloved child, yet whether we act like a
beloved child of God – and receive the joy of acting like one – depends greatly
on whether we try to follow Jesus and live into the gift of that identity.”[iii]
I find that isn’t always as easy or simple as it sounds.
“to try to live and treat others as Jesus did,
embracing the values of inclusiveness,
love,
forgiveness,
and healing
that he radiated in word and deed.”[iv]
“The
time has come!
God’s
kingdom will soon be here.
Turn
back to God
and
believe the good news!”
So,
what is this good news???
for you?
for me?
for those who have lost their home
for firefighters
for domestic violence victims
for people in prison
What
is the good news about Jesus Christ???
For
me, the good news is that the kingdom of God is being fulfilled;
the
good news is forgiveness, grace and mercy;
and
also call and mission and ministry.
The
good news is everyone is included,
and none are excluded.
The
good news is God loves you
sees you
feels your pain
experiences your joy
and trusts you to join in the work of
the kingdom.
“The
time has come!
God’s
kingdom will soon be here.
Turn
back to God
and
believe the good news!”
[i]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4225
[ii]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4225
[iii]
https://www.davidlose.net/2015/01/epiphany-3-b-following-jesus-today/
[iv]
https://www.davidlose.net/2015/01/epiphany-3-b-following-jesus-today/
