Advent Lectionary Reflection—10 December 2017

Mark 1:1-8 (MSG; adapted):a

1-3The good news of Jesus the Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you;
He’ll make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

4-6John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.

7-8As he preached he said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”

As we saw last week, Advent should be a time of preparation. One should be using this time for prayer, contemplation, and meditation upon one’s life. To see where we’ve misstepped, acted falsely, sinned. Advent should be a time of repentance and looking for ways to improve, not only our lives, but the lives of those around us. Advent should be a time of reflection, of preparing for a “changed life.”

But a lot of times it’s not.

A lot of the time it’s filled with “hustle and bustle.” Some of us are rushing around to finish (or start) holiday shopping. Then there’s the office party that we have to attend (even if we don’t want to, we’re expected to show up). There are also parties at church or class or different social gatherings. Then there’s the family. Navigating visiting out of town family members can be a challenge even for seasoned explorers.

In other words, Advent has become a time of go...go...GO!

Move! Move! MOVE!

Hurry! Hurry! HURRY!

And, if truth be told, that’s exactly how I feel when I read Mark’s Gospel. It reminds me of a secret message that must be put to memory and the copy destroyed. Mark seems to rush from scene to scene pausing (not really stopping) to let us catch our breath before we’re off onto the next episode. We see this even in today’s Reading—“the real action comes next…”

But let’s slow down a moment and look at what’s happening here.

Mark’s telling us about something big. But the story he’s about to tell wasn’t just recent history for him. No. Mark states that the beginning of Jesus’ story actually takes place a long time ago. Mark tells his readers (and us) that the story of the Messiah, of Jesus, is the consummation of Israel’s story that started way back in Isaiah (and even earlier).

But here’s the funny bit…the first half of the quotation (the indented section above) is actually from Malachi! Isaiah is the second half! But, Malachi ties into Mark’s whole story. In Malachi, it says—

Malachi 3.1 (MSG; adapted):

Look! I’m sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Leader you’ve been looking for will enter his Temple—yes, the Messenger of the Covenant, the one you’ve been waiting for. Look! He’s on his way!” A Message from the mouth of Yahweh of-the-Angel-Armies.

But who is this messenger to clear a way for Yahweh? Mark seems to think it’s John the Baptizer. But what about Malachi? Who does Malachi think it is? In Chapter 4 we get our answer, “I’m sending Elijah the prophet to clear the way for the Big Day of Yahweh” (4.5; MSG; adapted).

Ah! This makes sense now. Mark goes on to explain to us what John the Baptizer looked like, what he wore. He wrote, “John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt” (verse 6). What does that mean? Again, like a secret message sent to an underground resistance movement, every little detail we’re given is important. Mark isn’t just telling us some little tidbit we might use to win a round of trivia night at the pub. No. As cool as that would be, Mark has a purpose here. He’s trying to tell us that John the Baptizer was Elijah! To support this claim, let’s take a quick look at 2 Kings.

2 Kings 1.7-8 (CEB; adapted):b

7King Ahaziah said to his messengers, “Describe the man who met you and said these things.”

8They said to him, “He wore clothes made of hair with a leather belt around his waist.”

Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe.”

So, for Mark, John the Baptizer is … somehow … Elijah. And he received this revelation from Jesus himself —

Mark 9.11-13 (MSG; adapted):

11Meanwhile they were asking, “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?”

12-13Jesus replied, “Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around contemptibly.”

From this conversation, the disciples realized that Jesus was talking about John the Baptizer (Matthew: 17.13).

And that means, right from the start, Mark’s telling his readers that the long awaited time had finally come — Yahweh was returning to Israel! Before that can happen, however, Elijah must come and clear the path. But, like a lot of things he’s about to tell his readers, it wasn’t going to be like everyone expected.

Mark then quotes from Isaiah 40.3, “Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!”

Again, this is a telling quote. Let’s look at some more verses from Isaiah 40.

Isaiah 40.9-11 (MSG; adapted):

Climb a high mountain, Zion.
   You’re the preacher of good news.
Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.
   You’re the preacher of good news.
   Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid!
Tell the cities of Judah,
   “Look! Your God!”
Look at him! Yahweh, the Master, comes in power,
   ready to go into action.
He’s going to pay back his enemies
   and reward those who’ve loved him.
Like a shepherd, he’ll care for his flock,
   gathering the lambs in his arms,
Hugging them as he carries them,
   leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.

If you’re a reader of the Bible, or have attending a local Christian congregation for any length of time, you’ll recognize some of these themes. Specifically, Jesus claims that he’s the “good shepherd” who leads his flock to “good pasture” (John 10). Notice, however, that Isaiah said that this would be Yahweh, the God of Israel, coming in power and caring for the people like a shepherd cares for his flock. By quoting from Isaiah, Mark is letting the readers know, in a very cryptic way, that Jesus is Yahweh.

And that’s just what we see in the closing paragraph from the Lectionary reading this morning. John/Elijah shifts the focus from him to the true “star of this drama.” John/Elijah has a mission and that mission is to prepare people for the coming of Jesus. But John’s work shouldn’t be overlooked. The preparations must be made first before the arrival of God. There’s a lot of work to be done. People have to recognize that they can’t do it themselves. It will take some soul-searching and, yes, even some confession and repentance of our sins — the false bits of our lives that are not our true selves. We must recognize them, name them for what they are, and release them from our lives.

The question this Advent season then, like all those before it, is “Are we willing to do the necessary work to make ourselves ready for when Messiah comes?”

~~~

In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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1. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
2. Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.