Accepting belovedness
Mark 1:1-13 (NRSV)
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 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. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
How quickly we forget. Imagine being Jesus’s disciple during his earthly ministry. Mark’s telling of Jesus’s life up to this point is a revolving door of sotrts, of miraculous healings, exorcisms, teaching in parables, and catching endless criticism from the Pharisees, and a lot of time on the water. And according to Jesus’s own words recorded in Mark’s gospel, the thing that ties them all together is faith.
So imagine being one of the 12 chosen apostles who spend life traveling near to Jesus. Imagine trying to comprehend the nearly incomprehensible power he exudes. Imagine trying to comprehend his wisdom and teaching through the haze of parables. Imagine the crowds pressing in wherever they went, and the constant anxiety, knowing you’re facing the opposition and scrutiny of the religious leaders.
How do you respond? Do you question your decision to follow this man? You gave up everything to learn from him…and yet you find yourself more often confused than certain—he’s so unpredictable, could you even trust him?
Mark tells us just 2 chapters earlier that the disciples’ hearts were hardened when they witnessed Jesus walking on water and calming the storm. Just after Jesus has multiplied loaves and fish to feed 5,000, the disciples witnessed Jesus calm the wind and waves of a stormy sea, and “They were completely astounded because they had not understood about the loaves,” Mark says. “Instead their hearts were hardened.”
This is relatable though, isn’t it? How can I believe blindly in a miracle—even if it’s right in front of me—if I can’t comprehend it? Particularly in our Western world, we value quantifiable facts and the scientific method. We want proof before we can believe anything. We demand to know how it works, or we won’t trust it.
And Mark teaches that this demand is precisely what gets in the way of faith. And as a result, our hearts are hardened.
Isn’t it beautiful, though, that Jesus offers his disciples another opportunity to believe? Tonight we heard the story of the feeding of 4,000 men (and presumably their families as well). Tonight we heard Jesus, for the second time, ask his disciples to bring him the insufficient resources they had, and we heard how he, with gratitude and compassion, multiplied a few loaves and fish, again, to feed a crowd who had traveled just to learn from him. We witnessed again the abundance of Jesus as he gave freely to all who were willing to receive.
In this gospel reading, we see one of the many responses to the ministry of Jesus. When faced with the power and life of Jesus, some respond like King Herod, some like the Pharisees, some like the crowds of people who flock to him… that is to say, some respond in shame and hiding, some respond with anger and ridicule, and some with skepticism and doubt. But faith—faith is unconcerned with what seems possible or how to make sense of it. Faith opens up new realities beyond understanding. Faith receives with open arms the miraculous, abundant, healing life of Christ.