ROME IMPROVEMENT 01/03/2021

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 SURVEYING THE SITE—John 1:1-18

It’s really hard to survey the site this week because it is dark. I would say that we are at the beginning of time, but time does not exist yet. We are at that place of the beginning—no landscape, no horizon, no sound—just God. We are standing at that place of non-existence without the primordial soup that will lead to our being. And then the Word, from the silence of nonbeing, was spoken, and it sounded like a clap of thunder or a baby crying, demanding recognition of what was accomplished; and it was good.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

The ex-nihilo creation, the creation out of nothingness, comes to us courtesy of John’s Gospel. It is not from the book of Genesis, but the idea may have come from there. First, there was nothing, and then, through the Word, everything came into being.

But this is not the first creation that we are hearing of. John’s creation story involves the eternal Word, the word who is revealed to us in the person of Jesus the Christ. This Word is present at the beginning (how many years ago is that?). This Word is revealed to us in the person of Jesus walking among God’s people in the first century. And this Word is with us today, in the 21^st century, and, into the future, in the presence of the Advocate and known to us in the resurrection shared in the body and blood shared at the altar.

The incarnate Word is unbound in time and therefore includes, but is not limited by, Jesus’ life. It includes and embraces the bodily resurrection of what we call Life. This Word of life is life, and the life is the light of all people, “The Light, in the darkness, shines.”

According to John, the Incarnate Word came into the world that was created by the Word, but the world did not know him. Even the chosen people did not accept him, but, by adoption, he claimed those who did accept him as the children of God with an identity that is beyond blood, or the will of the flesh, even the will of man. To be a child of God is only through the will of God.

Lest we get ahead of ourselves, the will of God is that God creates humanity in God’s image (Gen. 1:28), and God loves humanity from the beginning. In John, we learn that God’s love continues. The Word became flesh and tents, that is lives, among us. The Word is full of grace and truth.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

This “lived among us” word has so many layers to it. In the NRSV translation we read, “The Word became flesh and “lived” among us.” The Greek word translated “lived” is the word for “tented”. Some say “tenting” refers to the skin of human bodies stretched over the human skeletal frame, like a tent, creating the person of Jesus.

But I believe the concept of “tenting among us” is much more complex. The Israelites’ identity and understanding of God comes from their lived experience. The covenant with Abraham is known while he is a nomad tenting. The gift of the law is given through Moses while the people are tenting and wandering in the wilderness for forty years.

During those forty years, God’s presence was made known to them through the tabernacle, a special tent. It makes a strong statement of God’s presence within the camp, amid the people. It demonstrates that God’s presence moves with the people wherever they go. “Tenting among” is intentionally intimate. As a people living in tents, to have God present as an equal with a tent, like the rest, speaks of equality hitherto unknown.

Now in John, Jesus comes to live in our midst as the presence of God among God’s people, tenting among us. This tenting is more than looking like us. It is being us, with our vulnerabilities, and, through the power of the resurrection, we are intimately claimed. Christ not only tents among us, alongside us, and with us, Christ’s tenting is his presence and shelter for us. This incarnational passage is more than a baby lying in a manger; it is the full person of God’s creating word living with us today that gives us life.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Please find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes while you think about how you might know and recognize anyone or anything in your world. How are you able to know and recognize them in your eye-closed state?

God’s relationship to the unseeing world begins with speaking. God continuously speaks through the Word, and the many processes of our cosmological multiverse exist. God’s Word creates everything we can taste, smell, hear, touch, and see. It is through Word that we communicate with one another and God.

Our entire world is God’s love song for us—trees and the products derived from them are part of God’s creation Word; our food that comes from plants and animals is part of God’s creation Word; the great waters of the earth and the air we breathe are part of God’s creation word; the clothing we wear is part of God’s creation word; and our partners/spouses, families, our neighbors, the world community is all part of God’s creation word. When we pray, “Give us our daily bread”, we are praying for all creation, in Luther’s words, “Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”

The world does not accept it at the time John writes this, and there are many who still cannot accept it. John bears witness to this love song of creation saying that he is not the one who is the love song of creation, only the singer, the one who can point to the one who is creation’s love song of God’s salvation Word.

Yet here, we are given the words of the love song and are invited to sing along. Knowing this, should we be surprised to hear, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…”?

HANGING TRIM

In this prologue to John’s Gospel, we discover the incarnate Word, and we are challenged to see God’s incarnate word among us today. We are told that the light, in the darkness, shines, without looking into the darkness to see light shining. It is through this incarnational presence of Christ among us that we can see “need” as Christ’s light. When you see others’ need, you are seeing the darkness of neglect and Christ’s light of ministry possibility shining. Where there is hunger, thirst, oppression, imprisonment, you have the privilege of seeing the darkness of inequity and the incarnational presence of Christ shining among us.

We are reminded of this incarnational light when we hear, “Whenever you are in relationship with the least of these, you embrace the incarnate Word of God (Matt. 25:40). So, where are we seeing Christ’s incarnational light in need in the darkness of our world today? “O come, let us adore [the incarnate Word of God], Christ the Lord.”        

ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/27/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Luke 2:21-40

The musical of Luke continues this week when Mary and Jesus, accompanied by Joseph, arrive at the temple for purification. Simeon approaches and begins his song, “Now you let your servant go in peace: your word has been fulfilled.” (Simeon’s song has long been known in worship as the Nunc Dimittis, from the Latin translation.)

Later Simeon speaks a few words of caution, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed (and a sword will pierce your own soul too).  

At the moment of these disturbing words, Anna joins Simeon (with Joseph, Mary, and the baby) singing praises to God and telling everyone seeking the messiah and the redemption of Israel about Jesus. One can only imagine the duet sung by these two geriatrics and its dulcet tones of praise and caution.

Joseph and Mary then return to Nazareth where Jesus grows becoming “strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

Verse 21 informs us that the rites of circumcision and purification are not held the same day. (See Leviticus 12.) Circumcision physically marks Jesus as part of the first covenant community. On that day Jesus also receives his name.

The rite of purification is held the day Jesus and Mary are ready to be welcomed back into social interaction. Mary and Joseph make the journey back to Jerusalem, to the temple, for this purification rite. They are not wealthy, so they sacrifice two turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Simeon has also come to the temple for some purpose. When he sees the family, he takes Jesus (which means “God saves”) and blesses him. Simeon shares that he has received a vision in which he learned he would not die before he saw God’s salvation for the world.

Simeon also warns that the blessing of Jesus’ life will not go unopposed. Jesus’ life will reveal the truth of God’s salvation plan and the secret thoughts of a world that is unwilling to hear it. An aging widow, Anna, joins the group. She sings praises to God for Jesus’ life and tells people who will listen that Jesus (God saves) is the future salvation and redemption of Israel.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

Talking with a friend about a book one day, he said, “I just can’t deal with this time-travel stuff and living on other worlds.”

After a moment, I asked, “Have you stopped going to church?”

“No,” he said. “Why do you ask? I’m there all the time.”

I said, “Well, I don’t know of any other place that depends on time-travel and imagining other world outcomes more than the church and the worship service.”

Take note of this time of year. Two days ago, we told the story of Jesus’ birth. Today we have jumped two months ahead. Next week, we will travel to the beginning of time, and the week after that, Jesus will be thirty years old. The way we move back and forth through time, it is a wonder that we don’t meet ourselves coming and going along the way. Through this time-travel may we come to understand the inner thoughts of those who would oppose Jesus, the trial and death sentence to come, and then also recognize the image of the Roman sword and the cross as being one and the same.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The, seemingly nonsense, counting song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, begins with the partridge in the pear tree, emblematic of Jesus in the manger. This Sunday we see the two turtle doves in the temple sacrificed for the purification of Mary and Jesus. In addition, the doves represent Mary and Joseph by the Christ child.

This sacrifice of birds also leads us to the three French hens (the wise men), the slaughter of the Holy Innocents (male children two years old and younger ordered killed by Herod), the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and sacrifices all parents make for their children. We are confronted with the sacrifices of many in order that we might know of our salvation which comes to us through the life, death, and resurrection of this child and the people who raised him.

HANGING TRIM

This reading is a strong reminder that there is no retirement for those living in the gospel story, then or now. We do not get to let the next generation tell the story as we recline in our loungers or proverbially rock on the porches of our homes. This story of redemption and hope for the world is a story to be told and lived by all of us—the young, the old, and everybody in between. It is as true for us today as at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel. And so, we join, repeating this great song of fulfillment, “a light to reveal you to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”

Rome Improvement 12/24/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Luke 2:1-20

In many ways, I think of the Gospel of Luke as a musical. It seems like every time you turn around someone is singing. We have heard the songs of Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah.

Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem this week only to discover that not only are all the relatives’ homes are full, but so are the motels are full and there is nowhere to stay. They end up in a place where the eating place, manger, is the only place, apparently, to place the newborn child, Jesus. We do not get to hear that song, but I am sure Mary is singing a psalm of complaint and Joseph responds with psalms of consolation and comfort.

Switch to the shepherds watching their sheep. They are casually talking about the events of the day when, suddenly, spotlights blind them. From the heavens they hear that they are not to be afraid; great things are happening. The savior of the world is being born. Then, choirs in heaven begin singing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven…”

The shepherds leave their hills and go to see the thing the angels spoke of. They see the baby and tell Mary everything they have been told. Another song? Finally, the shepherds return to the hills with their sheep, singing songs of praise. I’m sure it was “Joy to the World.”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

Beloved of God, in this orderly account given by Luke, we are told that Joseph and Mary leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. When they arrive, they find no place, not even in the celebration dining room (usually translated as inn). We will not find this dining room word again in Luke’s Gospel until Jesus meets with his disciples at the Last Supper.

Mary goes into labor, delivers a boy child whom she names Jesus, and creates a new eating place for the world when she places him in the manger. Into this messiness of life—of blood, struggle, pain, and celebration, this life, our lives—Jesus comes to be God’s vulnerable presence among us. This is what the shepherds witness and tell. At the Last Supper we again witness the body and blood of new birth, new covenant, and Christ’s death and resurrection presented before us.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

There is more to this text than the pastoral image we favor. We admire and adore the father and mother of Jesus standing on either side of a hay-filled manger. Around them are animals, some shepherds (sometimes at a distance), and three wise men with camels and gifts.

As pleasing as this tableau is, it does not touch the subversive nature of this text. Luke tells of Jesus’ mother Mary (Miriam, in Hebrew, their rebellion), giving birth to the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, titles belonging to the emperor.

Yet, on this night, on the night of Jesus’ birth, the titles of the world are set aside. God’s son, Jesus (God saves), addresses the pretensions of Caesar Augustus, Herod the Great, Quirinius, and all those who would rule the world. As Caesar wants to count the people for the purposes of taxes, the one who is born in Bethlehem not only knows the number of people, but also the number of hairs on your head, on every head, of every person, not for the purposes of taxation, but because of the intimate love relationship that God has with all creation. 

Further, Luke tells us that the witness of this amazing event is not for the elite. This birth is for shepherds, for the poor, the hungry, the down-trodden, the scorned of the world. Their presence at the birth of the child is not from afar, not at a distance. The shepherds’ presence is an integral part of declaring who Jesus is.

Jesus is the one who is proclaimed from the heavens. He is the one who is declared to be the savior who is Christ the Lord, the one who is born of David’s lineage in the city of David, in Bethlehem, whose name means house of bread. He is the one who will become our bread of life. This bread is not the gift of the Caesar. It is a gift from God, who fills the hungry with good things, who casts down the haughty, and lifts up the oppressed. The one who is born is the one who will shake the foundations of the world and lead us into new ways of living, ways that will challenge the very authority of the Caesar and all of the imperially minded for the rest of time.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The earliest creed of the Church is “Jesus is Lord.” It is such a simple statement, but in the world of Rome, Caesar was lord. This faith statement challenges the authority of all who would rule over us. “Jesus is Lord” says that there is nothing higher than God’s presence among us. There is no pledge, oath, symbol, or nation that has greater authority over us than God’s love alone. In our nation, even our flag submits to the empty cross. God’s loving word, revealed to us in the person of Jesus, stands above and beyond all other obligations.

HANGING TRIM

This year, as we “virtually” worship with one another, let us see the Christ-child laid in the eating place before us and see our altars with the substantial elements of bread and wine laid out before us with God’s words, “Given for you.” May we know Christ’s presence in the altars of our hearts, altered by Christ’s presence in our lives, and then join in the song of Luke’s Gospel, “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace among those whom he favors.”.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/20/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Luke 1:5-80

The text of the annunciation is so tied to the texts around it that it is difficult to focus on this text alone. Zechariah has spoken with Gabriel and gotten divine laryngitis. Elizabeth has conceived after many years, being declared barren and old. Now Mary, who is too young, is visited by Gabriel and told that, just as Elizabeth is too old, she, Mary, will conceive. Elizabeth’s son will be known as the Prophet of the Most High while Mary’s son will be known as the Son of the Most High.

Mary travels to be with Elizabeth. There the stigma of shame is removed from Mary. While Mary is there, we hear of John leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, Elizabeth declaring that Mary is blessed among women, and Mary singing the words of the Magnificat. She returns home when it is time for Elizabeth to give birth.

After Mary leaves, Elizabeth and Zechariah name their child John. Zechariah, the proud father, regains his voice. He then sings a song of praise that outlines God’s faithfulness to God’s people and places his son in the faith-life story of God’s people. In the end, we hear that John “Grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

In this incredible story we hear, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel visits Mary who is betrothed to Joseph.  His words are almost a “Boo” with scary implications: “Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you.” Wondering what that might mean, Mary is told that she will conceive a child and name him Jesus, and he will be known as the son of the Most High. His kingdom will have no end.

After questioning how this can happen, Gabriel explains that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. Therefore, the child will be Holy. Indeed, he will be called the Son of God. Mary assents to the divine plan, saying, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” Having heard Mary’s assent, Gabriel leaves.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

While reading the Gospel of Luke, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about Joseph because he has no speaking part, but it is worth remembering—there are no small parts, only small actors—and then reflect on the Joseph story.

It was another Joseph who saved God’s people during the time of famine back in Genesis. His story leads to the Exodus, from slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness new formation time, leading to the entry into the Promised Land.

This Joseph, the one in the Christmas story, now acts as the door between the old world enslaved by sin, through Baptism and the wilderness of temptation, into the promised resurrection world of Christ’s justifying life, death, and resurrection. In this light, Elizabeth’s and Mary’s pregnancies are minor acts of God’s work proving that “with God, nothing is impossible.”

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

If you take a trip through Deuteronomy 22, you will encounter the penalties of rape and pregnancy-out-of-wedlock. Lots of shame and death are involved. It is important to hold these verses in mind as you hear this story because it was known to the first hearers.

If Mary’s pregnancy could be attributed to rape, even divine rape, then Elizabeth’s pregnancy is subject to the same scrutiny. If Elizabeth’s pregnancy is a gift from God, then Mary’s pregnancy is also a gift from God. The ages of these women are not coincidence—too old and too young. These two women enter into the story of God accomplishing what is impossible.

It is the related stories of these two women that shape the narrative that Luke wants to tell, and it is the acceptance of these two women’s stories that prepares us for the acts of what we might think to be impossible—Jesus’ death and resurrection, promising forgiveness and justifying love for all of the world. With God, nothing is impossible, and nothing will be impossible—even Christ’s kingdom that will have no end.

HANGING THE TRIM

Within the announcement of Mary’s pregnancy for the salvation of the world and the related story of Elizabeth’s pregnancy is a call to celebrate life, remembering that God’s gift to us is the continuation of those who will tell the story of God’s love for the world. The stigma of how these two pregnancies affect our lives and the judgments of those around us are less important than the why of God’s activity—in, among, and around us.  Through these two women, we learn that the kingdom of God draws near in unexpected ways.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/13/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—John 1:6-8, 19-28

This week we visit with John the Baptist again, this week reading from the Gospel of John. Last week in the Gospel of Mark, we saw the people coming from the whole Judean countryside and Jerusalem. Now we see a delegation sent to see what the big deal is. They listen to John’s witness, and then they try to get his bona fides. In more modern terms, the priests and the Levites demand, “Just who do you think you are, Buster?”

What John clearly responds is, “I am not the Messiah.”

The priests and the Levites push, “So then are you Elijah?”

John replies, “I am not.”

The interrogators push again, “Are you the prophet?”

John says “No!”

“Then who are you?”

John replies with the words of Isaiah, “I am The Voice crying in the wilderness. ‘Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.’”

Like a dog that is not finished worrying a bone, the people sent to ascertain who John is push further, “If you are not the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet, then why are you baptizing?” 

John responds, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. This is the one who is coming after me. I am not worthy to remove his sandal.”

We are told that the baptisms took place in Bethany on the far side of the Jordan River.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

Apparently, John is too popular. His popularity has gotten so great that people from the temple are concerned about whether John might actually be the Messiah. Is John the one who has been sent to save Judah from the Roman occupation? It is necessary to send out a temple delegation to discover whether or not he is the Messiah.

These questions in the Gospel of John will be echoed in the Gospel of Mark when we will hear Jesus ask his disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?”

This confusion surrounding John needs to be set straight, so John speaks with certainty that he is not the Messiah, Elijah, or Moses. John is The Voice proclaiming that Jesus is not only near, but, unbeknownst to us, he is among us. When John claims his part in the gospel story, he says at the outset he is not even worthy to be the one who offers the act of hospitality, that is, remove Jesus’ sandal in order to wash his feet. Later in John’s Gospel we will see Jesus being host to his disciples when he washes their feet, but here we hear that John cannot be the host for Jesus.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

In the world of faith, it is important to be able to know who we are and whose we are. Knowing they are distinct, who and whose we are, makes a great difference in how we live our lives and how we relate to the people around us.

We need to remember that we can point to Christ, but we cannot be Christ. That job has already been fulfilled, and Jesus did it once for all. Like John, we are able to point to the one who is Christ, and we can be the confident voice proclaiming what Christ has done and is doing in our midst today.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Baptized into the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that relationship which frees us to interact with and care for our neighbor, also frees us to point, not to ourselves, but to Christ, who models faithful living for us. This faithful living empowers us to reach out to the hurting and ignored, in the authority of Christ, to lift them up, to raise them, to open the door to resurrection life. This fundamental understanding of who we are within our salvation story continues to bring humility and perspective to the work we do

HANGING TRIM

During my catechism days, I learned something about my identity and the identity of others that has stayed with me through the years—"I am a unique person, born and living, created in the image of God.” When times get desperate, I fall back on these words to remind me of my place in the world. I am not God, but I am created in God’s image. If that is true for me, then it is also true for all I meet. It is not the recognition of who they are as-much-as the whose they are that makes the difference.

When we understand that our lives and identity come from and belong to God, we are freed to relate to one another without deference. We can then freely point to and speak of the one whose work saves us, the one whose coming is certain and whose day draws near.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/06/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 1:1-8

As frightening and hopeful as last week’s text was, this week’s text gives us Mark’s great Easter proclamation: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

This opening statement of Mark clearly announces who Jesus is, but it is only a statement that can be made with certainty after the resurrection. It is this resurrected Jesus who is going to make the difference. In his resurrection, Jesus exerts the power and authority of the truly human and truly divine. It is this resurrected Jesus who has the power to cleanse the unclean, to forgive sins, to save and make whole.

Mark also declares that the authority of Jesus opposes Roman authority. The title, “son of god”, was used by Tiberius and other emperors. Once they earlier emperors were declared to be the gods of the Roman empire, their sons became the sons of god. When Mark uses this title for Jesus, he puts the ways of Christianity above and ahead of Roman authority. With the declaration of the centurion, “Truly, this was God’s son” (15:39 NRSV), and with the witness of the empty tomb, we are able to affirm the initial statement of Mark’s Gospel.

In this same opening statement, Mark’s words echo Genesis: “the beginning of”. As Genesis engages us in the creation of the world, concluding with God creating humanity in God’s image, Mark engages us in the creation of the new world—in resurrection living. This resurrection living is going to be known as the kingdom of God. Here the barriers between heaven and earth are torn apart and Jesus models what gracious living is all about.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE 

No house is complete without a John, and so we are introduced to the baptizer who “appears in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance.” As all of the Israelites went into the wilderness through the Red Sea in Exodus, so now, the people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem go into the wilderness with John to pass through the Jordan River to the promised land. As Moses was only able to take the people so far, so now, John claims that he is limited. The one who comes after, the one whose sandals he is unworthy to stoop down and untie, is coming to baptize, not with water, but the Holy Spirit, the gift which is from the resurrected Christ, as stated in the other Gospels.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The words “creation”, “good news”, “Son of God”, and “Holy Spirit” establish a framework for understanding the person and message to follow. And although the disciples and those whom Jesus encounters on the way will not recognize Jesus as the resurrected Christ, the demons and unclean spirits will. Indeed, the declarations from the extra-normal beings will continue to be our witnesses throughout the struggles ahead.

HANGING THE TRIM

As the day of resurrection is always both behind us and ahead of us, Isaiah’s words speak to us with urgency in this Advent season, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ These are good words for us, my John companions, as we journey to our next little Easter.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 11/29/2020

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 13:24-37

What a frightening image: the sun will be like a shadow, the moon will not shine, and the stars will fall from the heavens; the powers of the heavens will be shaken; and then the Son of Man will come in his power and glory. Then He will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth and heaven.

And yet, this is what we wait and pray for every year, and so I say,

“More power! More glory! Let the good news roll!”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

There are many who will wonder why the first reading of Mark comes from the end of the book. But I maintain that the true beginning of Mark is the telling of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Passion Sunday in the 11^th chapter. So, this text rightly belongs to the beginning of the story, not the end. This apocalyptic vision points to the ministry of Jesus yet to come rather than some distant end of time. Where do we find that way of ministry we are to follow? Look to Chapter One. But why?

Mark is writing in a literary form called epic. This means that the work begins in the middle of the story, the middle of the work tells the conclusion of the story, and the end of the work tells the beginning of the story. The “Iliad” by Homer (the poet, not Simpson) is a famous example of this blueprint. It begins with the gathering of the troops and who is fighting on which side. Next, is a battle. When the battle is won, the history of why the battle is being fought gets revealed.

You may have noticed that Mark begins in the middle of Jesus’ life story. There is no birth narrative. There is no childhood for Jesus. Mark’s Gospel begins in “the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ”. Following the epic pattern, the end of the post-resurrection narrative of Mark is at 10:56, where Bartimaeus receives the vision of Jesus’ ministry and follows him on the way. 

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

Some important things have happened in the Gospel, and because of these events, there are those who will follow Jesus proclaiming the Good News of the world, but what is the beginning of the story?

The story of the Passion, that is, Jesus entry into Jerusalem, his trial and crucifixion, and the empty tomb of Easter morning, is so central to the Christian story that it underlies all that we do. This glorious event that is surrounded by God’s power and love, is that event from which we go and to which we return on a weekly basis, for every Sunday is a little Easter.

But we cannot live only celebrating what God has done for us. We have a world to live in from Monday through Saturday. What does the resurrection look like there? 

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Mark begins his Gospel narrative by telling us of the struggles of walking in faith, Monday through Saturday. It is an important story that speaks of resurrection living in ways that we can learn from and understand and then begin to catch the vision of what it means to follow Jesus. It is like the fig tree putting tender shoots out on its branches. We need to know the signs of the time because the kingdom has drawn near; it is at the gate. Someone, please, answer the doorbell.

We are challenged to look beyond the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection moment in fear and learn what it means to follow Christ. We need to be Bartimaeus, living in the vision of where Christ is leading rather than the disciples who are afraid.

And so, we come to these words outlining the authority of Jesus’ words for us. His words and actions are powerful enough to dim the sun, to eclipse the moon. It is enough to send the stars falling from heaven. It is a story of power and glory, and it involves sending his messengers into the world to gather them in ways that raise them up from the pointless lives of dying desperation into new life ways with a new vision.

This way, this vision, challenges the very power of Rome establishing a new and improved understanding of our relationship with God and our neighbor. This is the liberating word of this text. The Son of Man is coming. Indeed, he has already come, and we await his coming again.

Where will we see this new coming? In the circle of time Mark has prepared for us in the new creation world.

HANGING THE TRIM

In this Advent season where wreaths and candles predominate our time of waiting for Christ’s return and the telling of Emmanuel, God with us, Mark gives us another wreath or eternal circle of everlasting life. Mark gives us this Gospel in epic proportions. It comes with an urgent immediacy for living our lives today, and it comes with the power of apocalyptic transformation.