Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the 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.'
The beginning of Mark's Gospel may be read as a political document. Here is a literal translation of the Greek text of Mark 1:1, "Beginning the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son fo God." While that sentence sounds familiar and tame to us it would have sounded like a dynamite explosion to the original audience. The statement sounds like a direct frontal assualt on the Priene inscription that celebrated the birth of Augustus and it was written 9 years before Jesus' birth. The last sentence of the Priene inscription celebrating the birth of Augustus, written 9 years before Jesus' birth, reads as follows. "The birth date of our God, August Ceasar, has signaled the beginning of good news for the world." So the first sentence of Mark's Gospel turns the world on its head by subverting the language of a political/religious document of the Roman world.
This is more than just an interesting historical fact. This is a direct line into the purpose of Mark's Gospel at the time when it was written and a vision of its proper interpretation for us today. Mark is saying that the Realm of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stands in direct opposition to the Realm of Caesar Augustus, son of Julius Caesar, son of God. That is a bold and risky statement. The rest of Marks' Gospel will attempt to prove that point and bring its readers into an alternative realm - the Realm of God. For according to the testimony to King Pilate by Jesus himself, "My realm is not of this world."
The Kingdom of God is a kingdom outside and other than the current power structure of the world.
- Our current political system is built on monopolistic greed supported by the rule of law and the power of the military that supports the government.
- Jesus' Realm is based on going the extra mile in human relations, turning the other cheek, and giving ourselves away while asking nothing in return.
Mark raises the question of citizenship. Whose system are you supporting more: The American Empire or the Kingdom of Heaven? The American Empire is funded by taxation. The Kingdom of Heaven as expressed in our faith tradition is funded by pledges and gifts. Here is an exercise that will help you know where you stand. Sit down and figure out how much money you pay for all your taxes including income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes. Then figure out how money you pay for all charities including what you pledge to St. John's and other non-profits. Subtract the second figure from the first figure. That number will tell you how much more you are supporting the kingdom of this world than you are supporting the kingdom that is not of this world. Do you feel good about that? What can you do to change it? These are excellent ways to think about our personal stewardship our stewardship season comes to a close.
God's Word challenges us to count the cost and pay the price. Mark presents Jesus as an alternative champion instead of Augustus Ceasar. Yet Jesus as victor is complimented by Jesus as victim. For the birth of baby Jesus is not even mentioned in Mark. It is the political, cosmic implications that are of primary importance. Throughout the gospel Mark will show us how Victor Jesus becomes Victim Jesus. The irony is profound and has implications for our own discipleship.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is concerned with the finer things in life such as joy, peace and love. Isaiah shows us a vision of a peaceable kingdom where the lion will dwell with the lamb without trying to eat the lamb for dinner. This is a world in which the extremely wealthy do not take advantage of the extremely poor. In this world a person's worth is not judged by her bank account by the quality of her sense of purpose in life.
Our political system is broken. The polls say that. The Tea Party says that. Occupy Wallstreet says that. The failure of the Super Committee to agree on how to cut the budget says that. Our political system is broken. What will arise in its place? That is a question for the next decade. According to Marks' gospel, we need a better system, a system that is out of this world. We need a system such as the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. This is not a kingdom not of greed, corruption and waste like the current system. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace, love and joy. It is a kingdom based on different principles and goals. That is the kind of alternative system proclaimed in the Gospel According to Mark.
The Good News of Jesus proclaimed by Mark is cosmic in scope. Mark's concept of "good news" was not limited to military and political victories. It is deeper than that. In the prophet Isaiah "good news" is transferred to the inbreaking of God's final saving act when peace, good news, and release from oppression will be showered on God's people (Isa 52:7; 61:1-3). For Mark, the advent of Jesus is the beginning of the fulfillment of the "good news" heralded by Isaiah."
Imagine a different political system: One that actually works. This system represents the people. It enables ordinary people to make contact with their elected officials. The elected officials live in the same neighbohood as the people who elected them. Yet they serve on the national level. Imagine instead of the couple of hundred people who serve in congress we instead had 20,000 people serving in congress. Instead of meeting in DC to conduct business they meet online in a virtual hall of congress from the convenience of their own home. Imagine each neighborhood, Meyerland, Westbury, and Bellaire, had their own congressman who lived in that neighborhood year round. They had no need to travel to Washington DC because all their meeting are held in a virtual reality. No longer would our political system be vulnerable to a terrorist attack on one place such as the Hall of Congress in DC. What good would it for a terrorist to take out one congressman if there 20,000 of them? How would rich corporations have such influence over 20,000 people as they have over the 200 we have now? That kind of change will become more possible and more likely as technology and public opinion are refashioned over the decade ahead. Such a large scale change is what Mark has in mind when he talks about the "Good News of Jesus Christ" but Mark's vision is much greater than this. Mark's gospel is like a joke in this sense: It is designed to seduce us into a new way of seeing and experiecing life. The difference is that a joke seeks to seduce us temporarily while Mark's gospel attempts to seduce us permanently. Mark's gospel seeks to seduce us to live our new lives in God's realm, not in the realm of our current, broken political system.
Where do we start to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth? We don't start in Washington, DC or London. We don't start in Tokyo, Moscow, or even Houston. The first place we start is right here, inside of ourselves. We need to change the way we think about success. We need to change the way we live our lives. We need to prepare the way of the Lord in our lives.
Get in touch with the John the Baptist within yourself. Get in touch with the part of you that does not care what the world thinks about the way you dress or what you eat. Get in touch with the part of yourself that hungers more for God than for public opinion. Get in touch with the part of you that says of Jesus Christ, "He must increase but I must decrease." Get in touch with your inner John the Baptist. He will lead you to the renewing waters of baptism in the River Jordan. He will lead you to Jesus Christ who will baptize you with Holy Spirit. The way to prepare for the birth of Christ within you is to let your inner John the Baptist come out. We are talking about more than alternative Christmas gifts here. We are talking about an alternative way of life. We are talking about bearing in your soul the fruit of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control. Those are the gifts you can bring to the newborn king: Christ the Lord. Those are gifts fit for a king whose kingdom is not of this world.
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The Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Burnham preached this sermon on December 4, 2011, 2nd Sunday of Advent, at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 5020 West Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77035.
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