When I think about Mark’s Gospel, I think of something that is “pithy, terse or compact.
Mark begins writing without precedent or guide, simply convinced that the story needs to be told – “must be told”-and tell it “he does,” in “dramatic “and “rapidly unfolding fashion…”
Mark has no time for “lengthy introductions” that eases listeners into his narrative. There is no space for a story of the “miraculous birth in Bethlehem” or a “detailed survey” of Jesus’ “family tree.”
Instead, the readers are “cast” into the wilderness where John the Baptizer appears, preaching repentance, change, and the forgiveness of sins.
No sooner does John predict the coming of the Messiah than Jesus shows up!
Mark proceeds at almost a “breathless pace,” barely pausing to describe characters or setting, so focused is he -on the plot itself, so compelled to tell the gospel story in as few words as necessary.
Anticipation is “high” when Jesus arrives at the Jordan River, where John has been preaching and baptizing.
The “dramatic climax” of the scene is the baptism of Jesus, complete with “descending dove” and “a voice from heaven” that declares his “divinity.” There is no doubt in the reader’s mind – just- who-this-Jesus-is…
The next thing we notice is that Jesus is driven, by “that self same Spirit,” into the Wilderness still soaked and dripping wet. There is no time to waste…
In my imagination I always associate the wilderness with “a dangerous and harsh environment” that would test Jesus, physically, spiritually and emotionally. But then I realized that…
The wilderness is the place where God called Moses, and where God shaped the people of Israel for some forty years.
Far from being a “bad place,” the wilderness is more of a “holy place” in the biblical accounts.
“In the wilderness” you are under the watchful care and concern and guidance of God!
We are told that…
Jesus is dwelling with the wild beasts and “angels” are waiting on him. Given Mark’s “stingy use of words,” we cannot just gloss over these things. They must be important as well as meaningful.
I do not think that Jesus is there running, hiding, dodging and ducking from wild beasts and animals, nor are they present to devour him and to tear him limb from limb.
Instead, I think we are being taken back into the Book of Genesis and are returning to the “peaceable kingdom”… where the wild beasts live in harmony with one another, and with humanity.
If you remember, in the Genesis account, Adam is simply “hanging out” with the animals and is “naming them.” There is no threat…it is, after all – the Garden of Eden.
Remember the image of Jacob, sleeping at a place he called Beth’el, “the house of God,” where he saw what seemed to him to be a ladder with the angels of God ascending and descending? The place was a point of contact with “the heavenly.”
Again, taking us back to Genesis and to “Holy Ground.”
So yes, Jesus is in the wilderness, but it is where “he too,” will wrestle with his future mission and ministry…and he does so, on “holy ground” under the watchful eye of his heavenly father…and angels are present to minister to him.
When Jesus’ time of testing and wrestling was over, his ministry begins.
40 days…of wrestling…40 days of testing…then boom!
Because we are now in the season of Lent, I am inviting you – to join with us in our Lenten journey.
It happens “anew” every single year.
It is meant to be your own spiritual preparation for the resurrection of Our Lord. A “getting ready” if you will…
You will have to do your own wrestling. You will have to deal with your own temptations…
And you will be looking at those things that hold you back and prevent you – from loving both God and your neighbor.
But you are not alone. Others are journeying with you…
Like Jesus, you need to remember the truth of your baptism: you are claimed… you are chosen…as God’s beloved…and you are empowered.
The journey is six short weeks.
The work is not easy in this wilderness called life. Looking at the self – never is…
But the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is this: in him the time has been fulfilled; the kingdom of God has come near to you…
Our human lives have been touched by the “presence of the divine” and nothing for us will ever be the same.
Now if only, I could follow Mark’s lead and learn to be more succinct, concise and curt…
The journey begins…