|
Thought for the
Week 7 December 2008 – Second Sunday of
Advent
The Old
Testament begins, “In the beginning, God …”
or, if you like, “At the source, God …” or even, “At the head, God …” and Mark’s Book begins in a strikingly
similar way: “Beginning of the Good
News of Jesus Christ, son of God.” Mark
doesn’t waste any time does he? Never
mind all the detail about where and when and how Jesus was born, one
important thing for Mark is that a New Covenant is on offer. He is writing a new book of the Law of God,
just as he believed the first five books of the Bible to have been written by
Moses. Then
Mark goes on to talk not about Jesus, as you might expect but John the
Baptist! For Mark,
as soon as we start thinking about Jesus, we should prepare a straight way
for Him in the wilderness of our lives.
Mark starts not with Shepherds or Kings, but with a prophet, for that
is what John the Baptist is. Mark
even describes John as wearing the same rig as Elijah, the great prophet of “Mercy and truth are met
together: and righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” The
whole of the first part of Mark’s work is shot through with urgency. And straight away this, and immediately
that. When we think of the background
against which Mark was writing, perhaps that shouldn’t be such a surprise,
for Mark lived and wrote during desperate times. As is so often the case with absolute
monarchies, later members of the ruling dynasty were not as good as their
Fathers and Grandfathers. The Roman
Emperor at the time of Mark was Nero, the fifth and last of the Julian
Emperors. Most of what we know about
Nero, we know from those who wrote the history books after he had been forced
from office, and taken his own life, and accounts of his cruelty and madness
may have been exaggerated. But two
facts we do know. First, Nero began the persecution of Christians, blaming
them for the great fire of Most
scholars agree that Mark was writing in the mid sixties, when the Romano-
Jewish war was just beginning, and when the persecution of Christians was
well under way. Difficult
times tend to produce extraordinary people, and so it was in Mark’s
time. All of the Children of Israel
were expecting a Messiah to come and lead them to victory over the Pagan
Romans. We know from the New Testament
itself, and from many other sources like the In Asia
Minor, modern-day Nero,
more than any of the earlier Emperors, proclaimed himself a god, and a son of
the gods. For Mark this was utterly
ridiculous. The true King and God was
Jesus, not a man, and certainly not the tyrannical Nero, intent on ending
both God’s Old Covenant with his chosen people, the Jews, and God’s New
Covenant with the Christians. At the
beginning of his book, Mark is telling the Roman world, you have got it badly
wrong. Caesar is not the Son of God,
nor is he a Saviour, nor is he the beginning of any Good News. It is Jesus who is the real King, who is
indeed the Son of God, and whose very message is Good News for the whole
world. Of
course the Jews certainly didn’t believe that Caesar was any kind of God, not
even by adoption, and that was the main reason that the Romano-Jewish war
happened. Only God had the right to
rule the children of Malachi
and Isaiah had both foretold that God would send his great prophet to prepare
the way for the Messiah, and most Jews believed that Elijah would return for
that very purpose. Mark clearly
understands John the Baptist in that way.
What matters to him is not stars, nor stables in Of
course, in Advent, we need to look in both directions, forward and back. Like Mark, we look back to the beginning of
the story of our salvation, and like him, we look forward to its end, the
second and final coming of Jesus, to establish his reign of mercy, justice,
peace and truth. But we cannot just
sit and wait – we have to do what we can to bring that same Good News to
those who long for it today. And in
God’s name, and with God’s power, we can do a very great deal. Are we
absolutely straight? Are we just in
our dealings with God’s Children? Do
we seek for all that makes for peace?
Are our minds open to the truth?
Or are
our ways a bit devious in some areas?
Are we occasionally a bit unfair or unkind towards our brothers and
sisters? Do we sometimes let anger and
selfishness get the better of us? Are
our minds a bit closed about some things? If we
are honest, the answer is going to be “yes” to at least some of these, if not
all of them. But
John didn’t just proclaim the Good News, he did something about it. He helped people to turn away from their
sins, or repent, and he proclaimed that their sins were forgiven! There, that’s better isn’t it – you are
forgiven when you turn away from your sins!
But, (oh yes, there is bound to be a but), but, John tells us that the One to
come after him, that is Jesus, will baptise with the Holy Spirit. This is to be not just a washing clean, but
an empowering. Jesus’ Baptism is not
so much about water as about fire. Now, it
is over to you. Are you content with a
good old clean out of the sins every so often, or are you actually prepared
to take God’s power, which He offers freely and abundantly to you, and use
it? Given his strength, are you
prepared: ·
to exercise mercy (forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin
against us)? ·
to struggle for justice (Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven)? ·
to fight for peace (blessed
are the peacemakers) ·
to seek the truth (the Holy
Spirit will lead you into all truth) Then
indeed you will yourself find blessing: And truth shall spring up from the earth: And righteousness shall look down from heaven. Amen. Father Charles Howard, Anglican Chaplaincy of
Midi-Pyrénées & Aude To return to main Thought for the Week page, click X at top right to close this window. |