Reflection on Mark 1:1-8

 

Have you ever considered that you are a part of God’s story?  Seriously, have you ever sat down and considered that all that Jesus Christ is up to in the world is not simply ancient history contained in a musty old book, but rather that everything Jesus is up to is a story that continues to this day through you.  The devoted preacher who wrote the gospel of Mark thought so anyway.  He titled his gospel simply: “The Beginning.” 

The first words of Mark’s story about Jesus’ life and ministry are not simply another form of “once upon a time,” but rather, they are the title of the whole book.  We call it the book of Mark, but it really should be labeled “The Beginning.”  

Is that not fascinating?  Mark is saying that you are about to hear the story about the very beginning of Jesus’ eternal ministry.  He gives no indication that he is going to talk about the end.

And, that clears up the mystery of the last words in the gospel of Mark where the story ends with the women running from the tomb of Jesus Christ in “fear.”  That is the end?  It just leaves you hanging right there with the women’s fear.  What happens next?  Well, Mark does not tell us.  It just stops, waiting for more to be said and written.

The end of the gospel of Mark is like getting out the popcorn, oil, salt, and pan; popping the popcorn in the pan until the lid lifts, and simply leaving it there…no pouring into the bowl, no salting, and no eating.

It is almost as if Mark wants you to know that the end of his gospel is not the end of the story.  The story of Jesus Christ has sequels; one of which even includes you.

That puts everything into perspective a little bit, does it not?  You see, it is one thing to go to church on Sundays, be kind to our neighbors, and to allow God to be a part of our story from time to time, but it is quite another thing for us to be a part of God’s story. 

Have you ever thought that years from now, believers could be cracking open their Bibles and reading about the “Further Acts of the Apostles” and reading about you?  It is possible, because you are a part of Jesus’ continuing story!

That makes life infinitely more interesting.  At a crossroads in her life a woman once asked me, “Why did I lose my really great career in the legal field?” as she sat in the middle of the floor of her new home daycare with several children lovingly hanging off of her shoulders.  Her question was genuine, so I did not answer, but looking at how those children loved and trusted her, I was pretty sure that I knew why.  The story she was trying to write was all done, but Jesus’ story was continuing on.  She was a part of a bigger, unfolding story.

There are so many times in life where the story we are trying to write seems to hit some sort of writer’s block.  We somehow cannot make the story end the way we wanted it to end.  But, do not despair, because it is not your story to write.  Jesus is still writing his story through the power of the Holy Spirit and that story contains you. 

And, I am convinced that there is much, much more of Jesus’ story to be written!  Now, understand that I have no idea how that story going to play out.  I am not the writer of the story, Jesus is.

And along those lines, I would like to simply say that since this is Jesus’ story, and not mine, I am very cautious about making any predictions about the chapter of the story in which we currently live.  People still talk about the end being near, but just as we have heard the past two Sundays, not even Jesus knows when the end of the story will be written.  So, maybe, before we claim that our current worldly mess must be the end of the story, maybe we should consider the possibility that it is, instead, a new sequel currently being written by our Lord.

After-all, the world has fallen apart before!  The world of the ancient Jews fell apart in a massive way when God allowed the Babylonians to come and destroy their cities and destroy their faith.  People were ripped from the own God-given land, hauled off to foreign nations, and it seemed like the end. 

But not so fast, Isaiah 40 tells God’s people to look out to the horizon.  And, if they were to do that, they would see that God is on the way.  “See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”

In other words, the people were at the start of a new story, and the Lord, their shepherd, was on his way. 

And, the shepherd of the people did come.  John the Baptist pointed right at the shepherd and called out, “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.” 

John was pointing to Jesus Christ.  He is the one with the power to heal the destruction of the past.  Jesus will be the people’s shepherd. 

Threats of destruction do not always mean the end of the story.  To the contrary, the destruction of the Jew’s homeland was just the “beginning” (there’s that word again: beginning) of a new chapter in God’s story: a story that would eventually lead to Jesus Christ.  Come to think of it, when you have the power to rise from the dead, maybe there is no end to the story? 

I think that the writer of Mark understood this.  He writes no proper ending to Jesus’ story because when even death does not even bring the final chapter to a close…what ending could you possibly write? 

Jesus is the end.  The Bible teaches us that he is the Alpha and the Omega…the beginning and the end.  And, since life and love are a part of Jesus’ very existence, pumping through his veins, then I imagine that the end of his story probably looks a lot more like life and love than it does sin and death.

In fact, I am here to tell you today, O people of God, that no matter what junk is filling up your story right now; no matter what hardship is threatening to tear your life apart; no matter what confusion has been brought into your life, none of it is the end of your story.  Life and love is the end of your story.  Resurrection from hardship and death is the end of your story.  Jesus is the end of your story. 

Look out to the horizon, O people of God.  Jesus is on the way. As Isaiah says, “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…”  In other words, clear out anything that is in the Lord’s way!  Jesus is on the way.  A new chapter in his book is about to start.

And, that brings me to the concerns that John the Baptist really wants us to talk about.  There is likely stuff in the middle of your road, making it hard for you to see Jesus coming on the horizon. 

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

Are there sins or vices or pleasures or addictions blocking the path and keeping you from seeing Jesus clearly?  Are there other, more important concerns like jobs or perceived obligations or political expectations getting in the way of your vision of the savior?  Or, perhaps, you are one of those people who see Jesus clearly, but the Jesus you see is not the type of person you expected.  Do you have images of God that need to be cleared out of the way so that you can finally see the one, true God on the horizon?

John the Baptist has an answer for all that blocks you from seeing Jesus.  Allow yourself to be dunked under the water.  “Be baptized!  Repent of your sins!” John the Baptist shouts!  He truly hopes that all that sin, all of those things that turn you from God, might be washed away for good.

How did we get to this point anyway?  How did our vision get blocked?  What happened to cause us to forget that we are a part of Jesus’ story? 

Do we sometimes forget that our lives matter to God?  Do we forget that we have been baptized, not just with water, but with God’s very presence through the Holy Spirit?  Do we forget that today’s problems and struggles are not the end of the story? 

You are a people of the one true story.  You are a people of the resurrection story.  And, you are a people who look for Jesus on the horizon and wait for Jesus to come.  

You are the people of God who wait patiently to see where Jesus will lead; waiting to see how the story will play out; and waiting to take the next step in life and love with your savior. 

Jesus is your shepherd after-all; the one who will lead you into the next chapter of his story.  So, make the path straight, wait patiently, and excitedly look for the Lord to arrive.