Just the Beginning

Second Sunday in Advent – Year B

December 7, 2014

Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   'Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight,'"

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

And, so it begins. This is a true story. Once upon a time. It happened a long time ago. It was a dark and stormy night. He couldn't believe his eyes when he opened the letter. It was the red shoes that caught her eyes first. There are ways that writers tell you to begin a story, and there are ways they tell you to avoid. Obviously, the phrases you just heard are examples of what you are not supposed to do (unless your goal is to turn the reader away.)

Beginnings are important. Sister Maria in The Sound of Music, tells her charges that the beginning is 'a very good place to start.' Plato writing long ago advised us, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Coaches of athletic teams tell you that the beginning often sets the stage for how the rest of the game will go. When I ran track, I spent a great amount of time working on the beginning moments of the race – making sure I could get off to a good start. Experts in education tell us that the first few years of learning (whether at home or at a preschool) can have long-lasting effects on the lifelong learning potential of the child. Beginnings are important.

So, after that terrible beginning, let's look at the beginning we have today – the beginning of Mark's gospel. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark begins his gospel with a quote from the Old Testament. Well, to be more accurate, he begins his gospel by bringing together several different passages from the Old Testament: quotes from Isaiah (40:3), Malachi (3:1) and then just for good measure, adds in a touch of Exodus (23:20). The point is clear: what happens in Jesus is not a new thing unrelated to what God has done in the past. Jesus is the next chapter in a long story that has been going on forever. Jesus is the long-awaited one, whom prophets and angels foretold. And, John the Baptist is the one sent to prepare the way for his coming.

And what a guy. If he were to show up today, would we listen to him, to his words calling for repentance and baptism? He likely hasn't showered for a while. I'm guessing he had that sickly sweet smell that you can detect across the room. His clothing definitely wouldn't have helped his image. A camel hair outfit was not the most stylish of outfits. And a diet of honey and locusts would have likely left him thin and gaunt, perhaps even looking a little sickly. I've always pictured John as looking like the homeless guy down under the bridge. You know, the guy whose words and advice you listen to. You know, the really popular guy.

Okay, so when it comes to beginnings, perhaps John may not have been the guy chosen by the marketing firm to be the one to go into town and spread the word that the next big thing is coming. But, as we all know, God rarely does things the way we would, rarely chooses the person we would. John follows in a long line of surprising choices that God has made. And besides, the man is not as important as the message: the one is coming is greater than John. John (who had a good measure of popularity) wasn't even important enough to be the slave that tied his shoes. John's baptism of water was to be replaced, over-powered by the baptism of the Holy Spirit that was to come.

John is the great introducer. He is the one sent out to warm up the audience. The opening act before the headliner. He was the trailer before the movie. He was the beginning of what was to come next. But, what if there was more than that?

I want to put forward what may be a new way of thinking about the beginning of Mark's gospel. What if that first sentence in Mark isn't the lead for what is to come, but the title of the Gospel. What if the beginning isn't the entry of John the Baptist, but the entire Gospel itself?

Mark is a funny little gospel. It's the shortest of the four we have in the Bible. It doesn't tell us anything about Jesus' birth, and ends with the tomb being found empty. That's the way the Gospel ends in its shorter, and likely older version. Within the Gospel itself, the disciples are often portrayed as being a little clueless. Time after time, Jesus points things out to them, says things about his mission, about who he was, and they seem to be completely oblivious to what was right in front of them. Mark tells us the story, but leaves us as readers hungry for more. We seem to know there is more to the story, more to know about Jesus, more to discover about the good news. The story goes on.

In recent years, the United Church of Christ has been proclaiming it's motto that 'God is Still Speaking.' It's right in line with what the Comedian Gracie Allen is credited with saying: “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” And, I think right in line with Mark's gospel message, that this is just the beginning. And I think it also goes right along with the fact that the message of Mark, the message of Jesus is Good News.

In our society there are all sorts of ways we get our news. Some of us read the newspaper on a daily basis. Some of us watch the t.v. news shows, some of us listen to the radio. We may get our news from the internet. We may get our news from conversation with others, sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee in town. We all find out what's happening in the world, and in our communities one way or another. What I'm pretty sure about is that if we wanted to get the news, we wouldn't read the same newspaper everyday, we would want to get the latest one. If we didn't we wouldn't be reading the news, we would be reading the history. Mark doesn't share with us the beginning of the good history of Jesus, he shares with us the beginning of the good news. I think it's pretty clear that the story is meant to go on, that the good news of Jesus, his teaching, his gift of the Holy Spirit, isn't just history, wasn't just good news 2000 years ago, it's good news today. It's good news for you, and good news for me.

Today, we will be celebrating Holy Communion. In my rather short life, I have experienced lots of different ways of doing communion. From little cups and wafers, to huge common goblets and loaves of bread, from wine so full of alcohol you almost choked on it to grape juice that was shockingly sweet. I have experienced long-winded words leading up to the act of communion itself, and the simplest of prayers said as we gathered for the feast. There are many different ways in which we practice communion, but there is one part of the service which remains remarkably unchanged whether happening in a grand cathedral or a hospital room. The words that accompany the bread and fruit of the vine: “for you.”

When we hear those words, when we truly hear those words, we discover that Jesus' words and action, his gift of the Holy Spirit isn't just some story put out there on the internet to be discovered. No, it was done with a purpose, it was done for some one, it was something for you and for me, personally. And, if it's truly good news, it's something that should cause us to jump up and do something.

One of the longest running television game shows is The Price is Right. Most of us have seen it, and it hasn't changed much in the last few decades. People guess the prices of items, and if they guess correctly or get close enough to the price, they win what they are guessing on. But, before they can guess. They have to be chosen. A studio full of people wait on the edge of their seats, waiting for their names to be called. “Stephanie, come on down, you're the next contestant on The Price is Right.” And, people all tend to act the same when their name is called out. They jump from their seats screaming. They jump up and down, the run forward. Their friends seated around them, jump up and down, they cheer, they shout. When they finally get up front to the contestant area, they are often so exited they can barely speak. This is a life-changing moment for them. They have been chosen.

That is the same level of excitement we should have when we encounter the good news. “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Bob!” “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Jane!” “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Fred!” And as we hear those words, as fellow participants in the event we cheer and we encourage and we share that excitement. With the excitement of hearing the good news and our name being called there is a new beginning, a new journey. The calling of our name, our response, is not the arrival, but the beginning.

It's a beginning because what follows is the living out of our calling, the living out of the good news we have heard in our daily lives. Jesus' teachings weren't the end. Jesus' miracles weren't the end. When he brought sight to the blind, it was the end of their blindness, but the beginning of their lives anew. When he healed the sick, it was the end of their illness, the beginning of their health. When Jesus rose from the dead, it wasn't the end of the story, it was the beginning. When we rise from the waters of baptism, it's not the end – it's the beginning.

Beginning something can be a scary thing, Change can be scary. We tend to like the security of things we know, things we have gotten used to, it is safe and comfortable. And new beginnings, newness can be viewed as blessing and gift but also can viewed as change, and we don’t always like change.

Over the past few years here at Saint Paul's we have been blessed to have many children born. The blessing of having so many children present in church is a challenge many churches do not have. Children are without a doubt a blessing, but the birth f a child will forever change your life. The birth of a child, the newness and excitement that goes along with it is fantastic, but it is also not easy. Caring for a new child takes work, adjustment, and learning new things.

Over the coming months and in the years ahead, there will be many changes for all of us. There will be changes in our families as children grow. There will be changes in our lives, as we move from one home to another, from one community to another. Our friendships will change as we meet new people. We will move from one job to another. Our church will grow and shrink. There will be many new things to see and do, to encounter. There will be many questions and times to think about the new things God will be calling us to. There will be times full of joy and excitement, and there will be times that fill us with fear and dread.

And each and every day, each and every change, brings with it a new beginning. A new day for the good news to live today,a new day for each of us to live out the good news in our lives and in the lives of others. A new day to declare, this is just the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.