11/30
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| Morningside Park tree |
In the cold and dark, I walk. There is a single tree lighted in Morningside Park. Happy to see it. I take in the first neighborhood Christmas decorations.
In tonight’s Bible study, we are preparing for the Second Sunday in Advent. One of my favorite Sundays. In secular culture, we welcome Santa Claus. In the church, John the Baptist make his annual appearance. This year, we read the story in Mark 1: 1-8.
On first hearing, Amber Lee likes the idea of being changed from the inside out. Michael likes the drama. Marsha loves the change of “infrastructure,” that broad highway. And Dion, who knows from personal experience, the call to transformation. And as Michael points out, you cannot hear the words o f Isaiah without hearing Handel’s Messiah. I recall how we once had a study of “the Gospel according to Handel,” his majestic creation formal tie it’s own unique witness.
I share that it is subversive from the opening words. “Gospel” was used by the Romans to announce military victories. The word “Christ” for one who was “anointed” and “Son of God” usually attributed ot the emperor. In other words, Mark takes the language of the empire and stands it on its head. This is announcing a victorious one like w ehe. Never experienced before. This is the announcement of sn alternate “empire.” It’s important to not estate for Mark, the term “Christ” is honorific, not divine. And ”son of God”means an obedient Servan, no ta biological declaration of procreation.
Mark places his story in the wilderness, where the fleeing exiled children of Israel became a people. He draws on the language of Isaiah, especially 40, to create the agenda for this anointed one.
The act of Baptism is associate with the cleansing waters of the mikvah. Where one goes to become ritually “clean” again and also to become “converted.” John is in essence saying that the institutional form of the religion of Israel has become so corrupted, so in collaboration with empire as to require an act of rebirth, recreation, not in the temple or its environs but in the wilderness. As for repentance of sins, we have come to think of the word as connoting individual shortcomings, but for John, like the prophets he recalls, it refers to the rebellion of a people against their covenant with the creator. As we have since found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, baptism was a rejection of the Temple, its ethos and culture.
John’s appearances, apparel and diet recall Elijah, the forerunner of redemption, and also the Nazirite tradition of ascetic commitment and accompanying strength, like Samson with his flowing hair. One can almost see the dreadlocks.
We recall from other gospels that John was a child of a temple official, Zechariah, a tall steeple preacher as it were. And a cousin of Jesus. A sixties era counterculture icon. But not here. In Mark, he simply appears.
Marvel comics and their related movies feature superheroes and sooner or later their “origin stories.” Here we have the Jesus ‘origin story.” Matthew and Luke have magic baby stories and John the cosmic Christ who arrives like Ka-lel from the planet Krypton. But in Mark, no Mary, Joseph, carpenter story. None of that. Jesus is just a man drawn to what he has heard of John to the wilderness. It’s helpful to approach this story as if it were the only one. Reading on a few verses we note that while John understands his forerunner role, he does not single out Jesus. And as for the spirt that calls out Jesus as he is baptized, only Jesus sees and hears this. The stripped down spare language of Mark’s words is powerful in its singular beauty. We read twice the prophet Isaiah (61):
1cThe Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
And we realize these are the very ones called out as “blessed” in the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount we read a few weeks ago. The year of the Lord’s favor being the realization of the long awaited fulfillment of the jubilee with its reboot for all families, forgiveness of debts and restoration of lost land. Like Jesus’ self avowed work was to make the jubilee a reality.
Mark was trying to connect an occupied people with its heritage as free people. With awareness that its failure to care for the least of these weakened the bonds that held together a society and opened thee door to colonial l occupation and exile.
So what does this mean for us in our own day? How are we occupied ? In exile? What would repentance look like for us? What new birth, what inn dwelling of God do we look forward to celebrating on December 25th? And are we willing to be changed?
This will clearlry be a different “holiday season.” Much of the usual hustle and bustle, shopping, rounds of parties, etc. not happening or made virtual. But our community time as church can still be a refuge, a place of quiet, peace and reflection as we contemplate the coming of the holy one in our midst.
Let’s see where the journey will lead.
Mark 1: 1-8
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in he prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the 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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