Advent 2B | Mark 1:1-8
We dive into Advent with an apocalypse, which is the last thing we expect to receive at this moment. And then follow it up with John the Baptizer, screaming about repentance like a wild man and dunking people in the river. This is about the least “Christmas” the church can get.
Church nerds know to expect this, but it still comes as a shock. Especially after a month of Christmas music in retail stores and decorations everywhere. Here in Terre Haute, we had our annual community Christmas celebration: “Miracle on 7th” last weekend. Christmas is in full swing here!
And yet, no angels or shepherds or stories of expectation. Instead, we get John’s surly voice.
Too Many Ideas
This gospel gives me so many rich words, any one could be worthy of a whole sermon. This is particularly true because they all play against the expectation of Christmas.
We get the opening line:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
We get the quote from 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” — which is a fantastic, wonderous word for the sudden immediacy of John’s revelation. That is tantalizing for the preacher.
Or the purpose for which John “appeared”:
“proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”
Or what he wore
Or the claim of the greatness of the one who follows him.
Any one of these ideas would give us a rich, engaging opportunity to wrestle with Advent.
But I’ve got one that compels me this year.
In the Beginning
Mark famously begins his gospel with a statement
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
which is itself loaded with serious theology. Perhaps, most prominent is the recurring name throughout the gospel: Son of God.
Many of us tend to forget that this was a political statement, since the emperor called himself Son of God. So right off, Mark is laying down a serious challenge to the empire in the opening line.
But perhaps the more fascinating idea is that Mark doesn’t make clear what he means by “beginning”. And scholars seem to have many different ideas. Is the beginning just that quote from Isaiah? Is it the introduction of John and everything until Jesus shows up?
Or is the beginning this whole gospel? Is the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God only beginning with his life and that appearance to Mary in chapter 16?
And given Advent is the beginning of our church year, the season when the world focuses on the baby and the earthly Jesus, incarnate once 2000 years ago, the focus of Advent becomes even more clearly counter-cultural.
In the beginning of our story, these prophets told us of his greatness.
Repentance is Essential
This is why the message of John is so essential to the opening of the story. Because we’re not buying baby clothes in Advent! This isn’t about the baby!
Advent is about getting our junk together.
We begin our church year, not only with the foreboding sense of the apocalyptic end, but with the unsettling sense that we are stepping into a new world the same as we were before and the world is just as broken as ever.
Our job is to fix the brokenness; to step into the breach and broker a peace deal to end perpetual war. And the only way we know of to do this came to us and promised to keep coming back to us over and over.
This vision of repentance gives us tremendous opportunity to talk about turning and returning. It is a chance to speak to what Jesus has promised and continues to give us when we get together.
The Big Question
Are we up to preaching repentance?
Are we up to preaching about sin and death when so many of us will walk out to our cars, radios tuned to non-stop Christmas music?
This is the season of preparation and turning away from the things which lead to death. To turn away from consumerism and violence? Turn away from hatred, bigotry, and oppression? The season in which we feed the hungry and proclaim God’s hatred of stealing food from the tables of the poor.
Are we up to the challenge of wrestling with our own need to be saved from ourselves? That we are responsible for the need our neighbors have of being free of our oppression?
Can we turn away from the things we think are just?
Further Reading
Homily on the text from 2014.