Advent 2

December 4                            NOTES FOR REFLECTION                               Advent 2

Texts: Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

Theme:  Again, a rich field of contenders; but I'm going for "Same Voice, New Creation".  Today we are starting on Mark's gospel, the gospel for Year B of our three-year cycle.  Mark (like John) clearly has in mind the opening verses of Genesis.  The old and the new creations are "spoken" into existence.

Introduction.  Today is a good day to take an overview of the gospel, and to emphasise its role as a map of the journey of faith.  That journey has three major stages for most of us.  First, we hear about God: because of our undeveloped spiritual faculties we cannot see or hear God directly, so we need intermediaries (prophets, teachers, etc) to tell us about the reality of God.  Then we become interested in, and begin to develop a relationship with, Jesus Christ, primarily as a teacher and exemplar; and our spiritual faculties begin to develop.  The third stage is one of opening ourselves to the interior witness of the Holy Spirit, when our spiritual faculties continue to develop to the point where we can encounter God directly. 

These stages overlap.  In fact, each successive stage does not replace the earlier ones, but is a further development of them.  Hence the gospel story begins with the prophet, John, who points us to Jesus, who teaches us about the coming of the Spirit.  Against that background we can see each of the four gospels progressing in a similar way.  Mark ends (in his original version) with an open tomb and the only witnesses too terrified to speak.  Matthew introduces the resurrected Christ and takes the story almost to the Ascension; but the Spirit has not yet come.  Luke's gospel then goes a step further with the Ascension, but does not include the coming of the Spirit.  John then includes Jesus' teaching about the coming of the Spirit and the breathing of the Spirit by Jesus onto the disciples.  [Even then, we need to turn to the Book of Acts for a full account of the coming of the Spirit.]

So Mark's gospel begins with John the Baptist, a prophet calling our attention to the one who is to come.  He does so by recalling the earlier prophecies – a prophecy of the coming of a prophet to prepare the way of the Lord.  Only then does Jesus enter upon the stage.  Our first lesson contains the major part of the prophecy quoted by Mark.  Then our second lesson reminds us, as it were, that we are not focused on Jesus' first coming: we are awaiting his return.

Background.  To track this journey of faith through the Scriptures a key term is prophecy.  This should be understood, not so much as a prediction of some future event, but as hearing the word of God directly.  It is God's desire that we all become capable of that, but to do so we need to develop our spiritual faculties: Jesus frequently referred to "those who have ears to hear" or "eyes to see".  Here are a few key passages to help get some idea of all this:

·         Numbers 11:24-30 – the anointing of the elders of Israel.  Notice especially verse 29(b), where Moses says, "I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!"

·         Jeremiah 31:31-34 – a new covenant.  Verse 34 says, "No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," says the Lord.

·         Joel 2:28 – "I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."

·         John – many passages from the Farewell discourses (chapters 13-17), such as 16:12-15; and see also 7:39.

·         1 Corinthians 14:1-5, especially verse 1 where St Paul writes, "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy."   See also verses 22 and 29-33.

·         Hebrews 1:1-4: "in the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...".

And here is a useful passage from Thomas Keating in his book, Manifesting God:

"How are we to reach what Paul calls 'the deep knowledge of God' (Colossians 1:9, 2:3, 3:4-11), by which he means the experiential knowledge of God, or what the Christian tradition calls 'contemplation?  It is the latter that makes us sensitive to the divine mysteries.  Though we cannot explain them with our conceptual apparatus, they are just as real as anything that we can see, feel, think or imagine."  [His answer to his own question is prayer.]

Isaiah.  Last week's lesson started with the agonising cry from the prophet in prayer," Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!"  This week he is back to his role as God's prophet, and the tone is completely different.  "Comfort, comfort my people".  The hard times are over: the people have done their time and are due to be released.  They are no longer to be frightened of their enemies: even the mighty invaders (in this case, the Assyrians) are mere mortals: they will wither and die just like the grass.  But the God of Israel will never die.  So it is time to go up on the highest mountain and proclaim the good news "here is your God'.  But first must come one calling in the desert – a herald to proclaim that the Lord is coming and so his way must be prepared for him.  Why is all this good news?  Because God has a shepherd's heart: he will tend and care for his flock.

Taking It Personally.

• Can you recall a time when you experienced God's comfort?  Are you in need of that comfort now?
• How might you prepare the way for the Lord to come afresh into your heart and soul and life at this time?  What rough places, mountains or other obstacles might you need to deal with first?
• To whom have you brought the good tidings of Advent?
• With what confidence could you point to your local church and say, 'Here is your God?'
• To what or whom are you most looking forward to this Advent Season?

Peter.  It is thought that this letter was written in the second century A.D., perhaps around the year 120.  Clearly, people are beginning to question the reality of the promised return of Jesus as the years go by without any sign of him.  The author responds to these concerns with two arguments.  First, God's notion of time is quite different from ours: indeed, being eternal (outside of time) it might be more accurate to say that God has no idea of time.  Secondly, the author says that the delay in Christ's return can be put down to God's forbearance and patience: God wishes everyone to come to repentance before the end comes.  In the meantime, Christ's followers are called to live lives of faithful discipleship.

Taking It Personally.

• Another "holiness code" checklist.  How have you measured up this last week?
• Reflect on the phrase "and speed its coming" in verse 12.  Do you want to "speed" the coming of the end of the world?  Honestly?  Why might you be reluctant?  Why might you feel guilty about being reluctant?
• Turn to verse 13 and ponder the petition in the Lord's Prayer: "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven".  When you pray that, are you not "speeding" the coming of the "new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness?"  Why would you be reluctant to do that?

Mark.  The first thing to notice about this gospel is what is missing:  there is no birth narrative and no genealogy.  For Mark Jesus' human origins are of no concern.  His opening line is almost a complete summary of the story he is about to tell.  Notice the word "beginning".  He doesn't mean the beginning of his story, the text: he means he is writing about the beginning of the good news of Jesus.  The "gospel" is not the book he is writing, but the message that Jesus has brought to us – the good news of salvation.  To be correct, "Jesus Christ" should read "Jesus the Christ".  Mark is very clear: Jesus IS the Christ and the Son of God.

He is also very clear that in Jesus God has initiated a new creation.  The first creation came about by God calling in the void: the second creation begins with a voice calling in the wilderness.  The living dead, people dead in their sins, respond in huge numbers, and accept baptism from John.  Baptism was usually reserved for non-Jewish converts; but now the Jewish people are accepting the need for a washing away of sin and a new beginning.  That is the way in which they are preparing the way of the Lord: by rejecting all that is in them that obstructs the flow of God's grace, and opening themselves up so that God may truly be incarnated in them.  Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas: repentance is a time of preparation for the birth of Christ in our hearts.

Taking It Personally

• Flick to the original end of St Mark's gospel (16:8).  Does this help you to grasp what Mark means by the "beginning" of the gospel?  It has started but it hasn't finished yet.  That means that you are part of the ongoing gospel.  How do you feel about that?
• What do you need to do to prepare for a fresh birth of Jesus in your heart and life?  Are there any obstacles in your life that may block the flow of God's grace into you and through you?
• To whom have you acted as John the Baptist calling his or her attention to Jesus?
• Try to visualize the scene at the River Jordan as crowds come to John for baptism.  Place yourself in that crowd – or are you more comfortable on the edge?  Do you want what they want?  Do you experience a deep spiritual hunger for more, or are you merely an interested bystander?