December 10, 2023 Second Sunday of Advent The text is Mark 1:1-8.
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1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’ ”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And 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. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He 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. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The very first words in Mark’s gospel are, “The beginning”. He continues that this beginning is of the Good News of the coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Odd then, that Mark is not listed as the first gospel in the New Testament. It is acknowledged that Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels some time after Mark and that they included portions of what Mark had originally written. The gospel of John, being quite different from the other three is thought to have been written later still. Yet, it seems unfortunate that Mark’s introduction to the Good News of Jesus is not what we first discover when we open our bibles.
In fact, the root of the word ‘gospel’ in the Greek, literally means ‘Good News’. So Mark, immediately after announcing that this Good News has begun references the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming that God will send a messenger to the world, in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. This prophecy has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus, the One whom the messenger, identified as John The Baptist has come to proclaim.
There is a sense of urgency in Mark; in addition to the call to readiness, preparation and repentance are required as part of the preparing for the One who will come after John The Baptist. Mark gets right to the point, unlike what we find in the other gospels. There is no birth narrative, no Nativity. He doesn’t reveal how Jesus descended from the heavens. And he is not terribly concerned with Jesus’ genealogy. All these may be found in one form or another in the remaining gospel accounts. The New Testament starts with Matthew’s gospel and it in turn begins with a listing of Jesus’ ancestors. It was quite important for Jesus’ Jewish followers to be reassured that he did in fact descend from the house of King David, further establishing the fulfilment of the prophesies that spoke to the coming Messiah. But again, Mark chooses to ignore these aspects of the coming of the Christ and he simply states that John The Baptist has appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming that the Messiah has come and the Good News is being revealed.
Much has been written, and studied, and preached about The Baptizer’s wilderness lifestyle, his clothing, and his odd diet. But Mark just makes notes these things and writes that John is the one sent by God to prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival; and that he is simply a servant, called to act as the one to announce the beginning of the Good News of Christ. To proclaim that the mission and ministry of Jesus, God’s Son has begun and that the world is about to change. John will baptize, preach repentance, and call the people to prepare for Jesus’ arrival; John is the prophetic voice that cries out that the paths for the Lord are to be made straight. Again, this sense of urgency is found in all that John says and does. His message is unmistakable and must not be ignored, must not be minimized. He proclaims, “you must be prepared, you must make yourself ready; the time for expectant waiting has passed”. John The Baptist is the voice of Christ, even before Jesus is baptized himself; even before Jesus preaches his first syllable.
John’s call to prepare oneself for the coming of the Messiah was directed squarely at the Jewish people, for they were the ones promised a Redeemer from David’s line. It was when Jesus later proclaimed that his body and blood were given and shed for “all people” that the call to make straight paths and prepare for the Good News, that the need for other voices came to be.
But John met an untimely end, beheaded by Herod at the request of his daughter; John The Baptist, the one crying in the wilderness, proclaiming the coming of Christ is no longer able to proclaim, “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.” The task of serving as a messenger announcing the Good News to the world has fallen to others. The call to make straight paths for Jesus and the pronouncement that the Savior has come must now be carried out by those who have declared that they too believe that Christ is the Good News. It is up to Jesus’ followers to assume the role of John The Baptist; not necessarily crying out in the wilderness, but by telling others what the Son of God has done for the world. That the salvation that Jesus has secured is, in fact for “all people”.
Let’s take a look at why behaving like John is so important, and why it’s up to us to willingly accept the role of a messenger proclaiming Jesus. A recent nationwide survey revealed the following results. When people were asked the reason that they came to a new church, these were their answers. 6% of those surveyed walked in by own initiative; 3% said they liked a program offered; 8% liked the minister (I’ll try not to take that personally); 4% had a need of some type met by the church; 3% were attracted by the church’s Sunday School program. You will agree that these are all pretty valid reasons why someone might find themselves coming through the doors in search of a church home. But here is the one statistic that speaks the loudest, the reason why we must take up the role of John The Baptist; 70-85% of people who came to a church did so because they were invited by a relative or a friend! It is up to us to make sure that others may come to our doors, but only if we, like John ensure that the path is a straight one.
The 3, 4, 6, or 8% of reasons why people come to a new church are not the ones that will effectively bring new folks to experience the love, grace, and mercy that God promises though the Good News of Jesus. It seems that these are “by invitation only”, so to speak. People will come if they are invited to do so.
The call that we have heard to be the hands, feet, and heart of Christ is, in fact why we are here, why we follow this Jesus of Nazareth, why we wait with urgent anticipation for his arrival during this Advent season. And while this remains our ultimate goal, we must not neglect the other, equally necessary task that has fallen to us. Those outside our walls will not be able to join with us as we perform the actions that identify us as Christ-followers, if first we don’t serve as the voice of John The Baptist, calling them to join with us.
If we are to be the hands, and feet, and heart of Christ, we must first be the voice of John. 85% of the people who are seeking a church depend on us to invite them in, to be the ones who are willing to walk with them on the straight path that leads to the door of the church.
Will you pray with me? Good, and gracious, and Holy God, we strive to act as Jesus commands us to, by serving others as he did. Help us to ensure that his redemptive work of salvation is made known to those who have not yet joined with us I these endeavors. And we pray these things the name of Jesus Christ, the One for whom we wait, prepare, and announce Amen.
God is Good, all the time. All the time, God is Good. Amen.