Mark 1:1-8
1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As 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,’”
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And 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. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He 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. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Devotion
One of the first things I remember learning in seminary is that in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is “on the move”—events in the narrative often happen “immediately” after the ones before them. We get a sense that the time of waiting is over. Now, the time has come to hang on for dear life as Jesus reveals a profound new chapter in God’s work of reconciling the world to Godself. And so, the Gospel of Mark opens in medias res—right in the middle of the story. There is no birth narrative, no stories of Jesus’ childhood—it’s time for his ministry to begin, right now. With the mention of John the Baptist, we get just a glimpse of the waiting that has characterized the time leading up to the present. Perhaps we’ve been waiting so long that there’s no time to waste!
Prayer
Creator God, open our hearts to the fullness of time in your world. Give us the clarity to see what has come before and what is happening in our midst. We trust in your plans for the future, and commit ourselves to your work in the meantime; in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.