PROCLAMATION [LENT 1] – A manuscript version of an oral Proclamation by the Rev Dr Barry Brown at Saint Margaret’s Uniting Church, Mooroolbark on Sunday, 18 February 2024.

COMMENTS ON THE READINGS

Today we will attend to two readings: Genesis 9:8 – 17 and Mark 1:1 – 15.

The children will spend time on the Genesis passage and will report back later in our worship. The focus of this story is the aftermath of the great flood which Noah, his family and animals survived. God promises that never again will a great flood destroy the earth. This is part of God’s covenant with all life on the earth. The word ‘covenant’ is of great significance in both the New and Old Testaments. The first mention of covenant is in connection with Noah and the great flood. The rainbow that appears in the sky will be a reminder both to God and to humans of this sacred covenant – a sign of hope and promise.

Chapter 9 is part of the primal narrative (chapters 1 – 11) of the Book of Genesis. Verses 1 – 7 and verses 8 – 17 are probably separate strands from earlier accounts that have been woven together, probably during or soon after the Exile (6^th century BCE), in order to address the circumstances faced by the Hebrew people – living in, and recovering from crisis, trauma and chaos.

This ancient text has much to say about what it means to face some of the major world issues of our own times – the clash of interests and sought-influence of the major powers and empires that compete for control in our modern world; the religious and cultural divides that give rise to the major conflicts and catastrophes we witness daily in the news; the geo-political divide between West and East, and liberal democracy and totalitarian regimes; and hovering over all this, the threat of climate change, extinctions and other ecological assaults to life on this planet. Both readings today are relevant in pondering these challenging themes that affect the life of our precious world – which is both the gift and the focus of God’s creativity and love.

Mark’s Gospel is before us throughout Year B of our three-year Lectionary cycle. So far, since the start of Advent on 3^rd December, we have zig zagged backward and forward through Mark as we have celebrated various liturgical days and themes. In doing so we have also already read some of today’s passage. However, I have extended today’s prescribed passage to included Mark 1:1 – 15, for a particular reason. Mark 1:1 – 13 constitutes Mark’s Prologue, in which the evangelist introduces the key topics and themes central to this Gospel as a whole. I have retained verses 14-15 prescribed in the lectionary as these verses provide a useful bridge to all that follows in Mark Gospel, and also a summary of the key points of the Prologue.

It is worth recalling that Mark provides us with the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament. Indeed, the word gospel (good news) provided the basic template for the Gospel genre; and Mark also provides the basic source and structure for Matthew and Luke; and probably also for John, to a lesser extent.

Almost certainly Mark Gospel was prepared to be heard communally, rather than read individually. Also, it was probably read aloud to a local Christian community in one or two sessions. Listening to Mark’s Gospel enables a quite different appreciation of the narrative and its sense of haste, urgency and awareness of crises being experienced by Jesus and his followers in their time, and also the Christian communities for whom Mark was written several decades later. Mark’s Gospel was probably written during the build-up to Rome’s assault on Judea, culminating in the destruction of the Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE; and it appears to have been written either in Rome itself, or one of Imperial Rome’s regional centres. A major theme in Mark’s Gospel is: Following Jesus – Christian Discipleship the Hard Way.

 

THE SERMON – Following Mark 1:1 – 15

American activist and Biblical commentator, Ched Myers, suggests, “Mark’s Gospel originally was written to help imperial subjects learn the hard truth about their world and themselves… His is a story by, about, and for those committed to God’s work of Justice, compassion and liberation in the world.” (Binding the Strong Man: A political reading of Mark’s story of Jesus, page 11).

I was first introduced to Ched Myers’ work around the time his book about Mark’s Gospel was publish back in 1988. It has since been republished in 2008 and reprinted several times, the latest being in 2019. Initially, like many other, I viewed this study as standing outside regular Biblical scholarship and representative of a radical fringe of liberation theology. However, more and more this study has found acceptance within the broader range of Biblical scholarship, and as an important reminder that the Christian Gospel is, indeed, about radical, committed discipleship that is to be lived out within the cut and thrust of everyday life within the real world, including the world of politics, and real world events, crises and daily challenges.

I have this background in mind as I preach upon today’s passage, Mark 1:1 – 15. My comments follow this passage, which falls into four brief sections as outlined [NRSVue]:

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

It commences: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ”. This is no ‘once upon a time’ beginning. As well as being the first to write what we know as a New Testament Gospel, Mark, in referring to ‘good news,’ is saying something quite provocative. In the Roman world, a world of Empire, he is using familiar language – the language of imperial propaganda; the kind of thing that would be used to introduce a public proclamation of yet another Roman victory somewhere within the empires ‘sphere of interest.’

Mark does this together with reference to the Hebrew prophets (coupling reference to Malachi 3:1 with Isaiah 40:30) to also make it clear that this Jesus is indeed the one who was promised and hoped for by the faithful of Israel. And this Jesus in greater and more powerful than John the Baptist; he will baptize, bestow upon those whom he calls, the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit. This Jesus stands over and above all other authorities and influences – including Caesar!

The Baptism of Jesus

We must not be distracted by the economy of words used by Mark in this and the following paragraphs. As well as being typically Markan, with his sense of urgency, what Mark conveys is simple, yet deeply profound.

From being simply a man from up-country Nazareth in Galilee (Mark says nothing about Jesus’ birth or genealogy) Jesus in proclaimed as the unique one upon whom the very Spirit of God rests, and who is acclaimed by God as ‘My Son, the Beloved’ – a reference that is provided again in the Mountain scene we considered just a week ago (the Transfiguration).

And there is every chance that Mark’s hearers, in Rome, or some other Roman centre, will recognize something that is likely to pass us by. These words echo some of the titles the emperors of Roman liked to hear used of themselves:  Divine one, Son of God, Lord, Redeemer, Liberator, Saviour of the world!  Mark’s use of words can be heard as provocative; or at least making claims for Jesus that stand over and against other authorities. Remember that the first affirmation uttered by early Christians was ‘Jesus is Lord,’ which was intended to be understood as meaning – ‘not Caesar’!

 

The Testing of Jesus

Once again, Mark tells us of the testing of Jesus with an economy of words – just over thirty words in English – just two short verses. Matthew takes 11 verses to tell this story; and Luke 13 verses and concludes his account by stating, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Mark’s brief account follows immediately after Jesus’ baptism and divine designation; and like Luke, it implies that this testing will not be the last. In fact Mark uses the word Satan, whereas Luke and Matthew use the term ‘the devil’ in their narrative (Matthew records Jesus personally addressing his adversary as ‘Satan’ Mt 4:10). Mark’s use of the word ‘Satan’ seems to be implying that Jesus, and his followers, are likely to encounter much testing and opposition as they live out their calling. The ‘way of Christ’ is not likely to be easy!  Indeed, it is ‘the way of the cross’.

The Beginning of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry

We heard these two verses (Mark 1:14 – 15) a few weeks ago when Jinseon preached on ‘the authority of Jesus’. These two verses follow the Prologue of Mark’s Gospel and act as a bridge to the public ministry of Jesus; and they are also a summary of the Prologue.  However, there is one phrase that I want to underline as central to Jesus’ message in Mark – “the kingdom of God.”

‘The kingdom of God’ is at the heart of the Gospel message (Matthew refers to the Kingdom of heaven – to avoid using the sacred name). The phrase ‘kingdom of God’ appears 20 times in Mark’s Gospel. In this passage it records Jesus declaring it has “come near – repent, and believe the good news”.

Much has been written about what is meant by the phrase, ‘kingdom of God’. Many theses and many book have been written. My own ordination thesis, written fifty years ago, was titled ‘The Church and the Kingdom of God’. So it is a complex topic and one that cannot be considered at depth in this sermon. However, there are a couple of points that are helpful.

The phase is better understood, not as a realm, but as a reign or rule. That is why we refer to the last Sunday of the liturgical year as the celebration of ‘Rule of God.’ It is about the questions: who has ultimate authority? To whom do we give ultimate allegiance?  Jesus makes it clear that it is God who has ultimate authority and it is to God that Jesus’ followers are called upon to give ultimate allegiance. The New Testament assumes this and witnesses to how frequently the followers of Jesus, like Jesus himself, need to take a stance that can put them at odds with other people, notions, causes and authorities; be they individuals, religious or cultural traditions, tyrants or empires.

The ‘good news’ is about the ‘kingdom of God,’ but to rejoice in such good news is not simply a personal and spiritual matter. It is that, but more. It is about who and what determines who we are and how we live out: the way of Christ, the way of the Cross.

Close.

When the Uniting Church was officially inaugurated on 22 June 1977, the newly installed President, the Rev Dr J Davis McCaughey (a former Presbyterian), called all present to make a COMMITMENT in the words of a Covenant which was formulated by the Rev John Wesley in 1755, and which has been used in Methodism ever since. I now invite you to share with me an extract from these words, as they reflect well the call of the Gospel we have just been hearing:

Christ has many services to be done:

some are easy, others are difficult;

some bring honour, others bring reproach;

some are suitable to our natural inclinations

and material interests, others are contrary to both.

 

In some we may please Christ and please ourselves;

in others we cannot please Christ

except by denying ourselves.

Yet the power to do all these things

is given us in Christ, who strengthens us. Amen.