Ok here is the strange thing about the lectionary, we do not
read the whole Bible. “The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of
weekly lections used to varying degrees by the vast majority of mainline
Protestant churches in Canada and the United States. The RCL is built around
the seasons of the Church Year, and includes four lections for each Sunday, as
well as additional readings for major feast days. During most of the year, the
lections are: a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, a reading from the
Epistles, and a Gospel reading. During the season of Easter, the Hebrew Bible
lection is usually replaced with one from the Acts of the Apostles. The
lections from the Hebrew Bible are sometimes chosen from the Apocrypha…. The
gospel readings for each year come from one of the synoptic gospels according
to the following pattern:
Year A - Matthew
Year B - Mark
Year C – Luke https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/faq2.php
So todays readings are for January 7th year B the
baptism of the Lord where as yesterdays readings were for Epiphany or the story
of the wise men. The challenge then lies
with me do I go with the most recent feast day or with the lectionary for the
day? I personally choose to stay with
the lectionary and sometimes that gives us gospel messages which are
challenging and sometimes we have to skip over beloved stories such as the
epiphany reading.
So today we are delving into the Baptism of Jesus
“The Gospel according to Mark is fast paced, and action
oriented. It is the shortest of the Gospels, and believed to be the first
written. Both Matthew and Luke include - sometimes word for word - most of
Mark. But whereas Luke was written to present Jesus to a non-Jewish gentile; and
Matthew was written for Jewish new converts or those considering becoming
followers of Jesus, Mark reads like an early family history - the writing down
of already familiar and often spoken stories that are told at family
gatherings: "Remember when ... and then ...and then ..." http://www.holytextures.com/2011/12/mark-1-4-11-year-b-epiphany-1-baptism-jesus-lord-january-7-january-13-sermon.html
Yet todays reading leaves out the very beginning of this
Gospel which I feel is Important. I mean Listen and as they say for those with
ears hear the first words of Marks Gospel… “Beginning of the good news of Jesus
Messiah Son of God.” (John 1:1)
“For one thing, Verse 1 tells us what Mark's ‘message’
is…Note that Mark says this is the ‘beginning.’ Is he simply meaning, ‘this is
the opening sentence of my book?’ Or is he is implying, ‘This is the beginning
of an as-yet-unfinished proclamation of good news?’ His writing certainly does
not finish with ‘This is the end of the good news.’” http://www.holytextures.com/2011/12/mark-1-4-11-year-b-epiphany-1-baptism-jesus-lord-january-7-january-13-sermon.html
The fact that Mark gives us a Proclamation of where we are
at and who we are about and there is no this is the end really kind of reflects
who we are as the United Church of Christ. I just find it very exciting this
says that the Gospel, the Good news, is still happening, thus God is still
speaking. If we engage the Gospel today if we pause to embrace it and listen
for it is just as relevant today as it was when it was first written perhaps
even more so.
“With this characteristically curt announcement we start our
reading of the first Gospel to be written. ‘Beginning’ tells the reader where
we are of course, but may also serve as an echo of the opening words of the
bible. ‘Good-news’ has come through the Anglo-Saxon as ‘gos-spel’, into the
English as ‘godspel’. It reflects on one hand an old Testament background ,
where the word refers to the proclamation of God’s great deeds, and on the
other hand a background in the Roman Empire, where it can be used for something
like the announcement of a birth tot eh royal house, or a roman victory i9n
far-off places. ‘Messiah’ comes into Greek as ‘Christ’, but in this Gospel, as
opposed to the Letters of Paul, it is a title rather than a name. ‘Son of God’ Is
not in all manuscripts but it is likely what Mark wrote and is almost certainly
what he meant.”
The bible
“Bruce Malina - and other scholars - helpfully point out
that the underlying Greek word for "good news" was commonly used for
a royal proclamation of "good news" such as a victory in war; the
marriage of the emperor; the birth of an heir; etc. That the followers of Jesus
used this word for their story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is
a political act of daring. Daring to provide an alternative to the Roman Empire
as an authority and source of "Good News."
Malina also point out that the title, "Son of
God." was not uniquely used only for Jesus. Notably, the Roman Emperor was
called, "Son of God." And occasionally, the phrase is used in
Scriptures to refer to folks who are manifesting qualities of God in their behavior
or being.
Indeed, "son of" is probably better understood as
meaning, "having the qualities of," and certainly NOT as
"genetic descendant of." And so, similarly, "son of man"
means having the qualities of a human; and so, "sons of thunder,"
(see Mark 3:17) means "loud, boisterous, energetic."” http://www.holytextures.com/2011/12/mark-1-4-11-year-b-epiphany-1-baptism-jesus-lord-january-7-january-13-sermon.html
Mark does another strange thing he proclaims a verse written
by the prophet Isaiah
Look I am sending my messenger before
your face,
Who will prepare your way;
A voice of one shouting out in the
desert:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight his paths.”
Reverend Nicholas king says this
“Mark’s is a mysterious Gospel, and it is mysterious from
the very beginning. The quotation that he attributes to Isaiah is not in fact
wholly from that source. The opening lines of it are from Either exodus 23:2
(in the Greek version) or form Malachi 3:1. Only after that does Mark revert to
Isaiah (40:30 in the Greek version). Why is this so? The reader must decide –
but you can exclude any Idea that Mark didn’t know his Old Testament.
Also Mysterious is the fact that Mark starts his Gospel, not
with Jesus (as you might expect), but with John the Baptist. This must mean
that in some sense John gives a clue to the mystery – including, apparently,
that Jesus may properly be called ‘Lord’ in a passage that clearly referred
originally to God.”
The bible
Mark takes us into that world where we just get a glimpse of
John the Baptist. A person who comes out of the Desert, dressed very austere
with a diet no one will attempt to follow. John is proclaiming a baptism for
forgiveness of sins and people were coming form all over wanting to be baptized
and they wanted to get baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their
sins.
I could see where this could be the end. This could become about John’s ministry
except John proclaims there is someone who I am not worthy to untie his
sandal. Not even worthy of doing the work
of the slave to untie his sandal.
“and it happened in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And immediately coming up out
of the water he saw the heavens dividing and the Spirit Like a Dove coming down
upon him. And a voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are my son, the beloved; in
oyu I have taken pleasure” Mark 1 (-11)
Here is an interesting note;
“Throughout Mark the only references to Jesus as Son of God
come only from the spirit world (i.e. the voices from heaven at his baptism and
at the transfiguration (Mark 9); or from evil spirits that Jesus is casting
out.) Except, finally, at the conclusion of Mark, a complete outsider to the
story and one who participated in executing Jesus, a Roman centurion soldier
who was at the cross when Jesus dies - that person is the first to say of
Jesus, "Surely this man was the Son of God." (NIV) The Bible
But Jesus is the son of God why does he get baptized? One
commentator states;
“And so, we might understand the baptism of Jesus as a selfless
aligning/embodying of self with the desires of God. Rather than a
"functional" baptism - that is, being baptized so that some function
could happen - the forgiveness of sins - this is a "revelatory"
baptism - that is, enacting, confirming and making visibly real what is already
the case: You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
I would venture to continue on this thought that Jesus was
also aligning himself with those who were sinners. With us, everyday people and
later through his ministry we know the marginalized. This baptism brings Jesus down to us, as
human and yet elevated as God both aspects of Jesus are present here the human
and the divine. It also makes Jesus
relatable to this very day as we are all tied together as one body through the
Baptism we share the same sacred spirit, the same sacred cleansing, the same
sacred waters. And all of us Christian or not share in the same humanity.
It is knowing that we share in that same humanity and are
called to treat each other equally that we support Global Ministries. Where as
a denomination we acknowledge that we practice
“Presence – manifesting God’s love by living in intentional,
committed relationships
Mutuality – walking in hope with others in God’s mission
Community – building interdependence and unity among all
God’s children
Justice – living out God’s radical love by confronting
powers that deny the fullness of life and the integrity of creation
Peace – embodying reconciling relationships with God,
humanity, and creation”
This isn’t about evangelization. This is about being a
presence, the presence of Christ to all in the world.
“Global Ministries mission (is) to receive and share the
Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for
justice, reconciliation, and peace. Global Ministries and its predecessor
mission bodies have walked globally with God’s Church on behalf of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ for over
200 years. This unique testimony of unity between two denominations connects
with more than 290 global partner churches and programs.”
If you have not taken the time I encourage to look up Global
ministries of the united Church of Christ and explore its pages through there
is where we can connect to the world beyond our community. There may be something there that inspires so
that we may take on a project, plan a mission experience or contribute to those
seeking out Justice.
Marks Gospel is the good news of a still speaking God and I believe we are about to embark on quite a
journey together in exploring how we can be that loud and strong still speaking
voice here in Petaluma.
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