Saint Mark opens by summarising all that will follow – ‘The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ But when we get to the end of his Gospel and look back, we realise how bold Mark is being. Every word, “beginning”, “good news”, “Jesus”, “Christ”, “Son of God”, feels different because of the story which has been told. Mark knows that something has begun that will never end. This is not the standard story of political fame, triumph, and glorious recognition. Mark even reverses the conventional meaning of “Christ”, and “Son of God”. In this Gospel, the main character has no privilege or prestige. The destiny of Jesus was to face fierce resistance from his own religious leaders. He was abandoned and misunderstood by his own disciples. And then to suffer and die and rise again. For Mark, all of this is Good News, and, for those who are ready, his Gospel will provide a deeper and deeper insight into the true meaning of these titles.
And so, it begins before it begins. John the Baptist is hard at work. His message is one of repentance or metanoia. John lives like a prophet, eats like a prophet, dresses like a prophet, and talks like a prophet. John gives voice to Gods’ eternal plea, “Come back to me with all your heart”.
As a prophet, John must liberate people from the sin which ensnares them. He does this by asking them to have a new mind and changing their behaviour. He uses Baptism as a powerful symbol of this great undertaking. Those who go down into the water must first have made a rigorous self-examination of the life that they are living. In Baptism, they experience a new sense of freedom. They have shaken off the shackles of the past and are ready for something new. Which is exactly the impression John wants to make. Newly Baptized people are not completed, they are only ready for the main event. In most adventure stories, the hero or heroine must overcome many obstacles in their path to reach their goal. For John, the obstacles are not in the way of the one journeying but in the way of the One arriving! The whole point of clearing the ground is to allow this One to arrive. It works like this; God and the ones who work with God go after people. God is always searching for us, and we must cultivate the art of welcoming Him when he comes.
The question then is whether or not we are ready for this new beginning. Are we willing and open? Can we engage with Jesus and his teaching? We can be presented with many opportunities for spiritual formation but seize none of them. This question of readiness might explain why the teaching of Jesus fell on so many deaf ears.
But I imagine a different kind of scenario for being ready. It might, as Mark suggests, begin with a life changing insight into the horror of sin and our need for forgiveness. Perhaps it is more likely that people just wake up one day and find that there is no life in their lives. The passion, pleasure, and purpose of what they do and who they are is no longer there. The flow of life and love has dried up and, underneath the surface of things, people are hungry for change. These are the moments when, realising that we are dying at our own hands, we risk it all. If this is true, our encounters with dissatisfaction or desperation might turn out to be our best moment of Grace. The waters of the river Jordan will carry our sins away. The Baptist watches. He deflects our gratitude and praise. He tells us this is only the first step. That someone is coming who will pour Spirit like water into our desert lives. We are on the edge. We hear the Baptist speak,” I am the beginning before it begins”.
