Advent 2
Preaching
Preaching Mark's Gospel
A Narrative Approach
Seven of the Lectionary B pericopes from Mark's Gospel come from the first chapter of Mark! Several of these pericopes overlap each other. Where there is overlapping you may wish to consult other sections of this work for additional comments. For the Baptism of our Lord Sunday, for example, the appointed text is Mark 1:4-11, which overlaps with the final four verses of the pericope for the Second Sunday in Advent.
The title or heading of Mark's Gospel is stated simply: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (1:1). And then the story begins. It begins, so to speak, in the middle of time. No genealogies here. Mark gets right down to the business of announcing the identity of his central figure. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jack Dean Kingsbury has written an important treatise on the Christology of Mark's Gospel.1 Kingsbury's primary argument throughout the book is that Mark understands Jesus to be the Son of God. He sees that this revelation of Jesus as Son of God comes in stages. Mark 1:1 begins as the story of the Son of God. Mark 1:11 is the culmination of the first part of Mark's story as God in heaven identifies Jesus as "beloved Son." Kingsbury maintains that Mark writes the Gospel in such a way that Jesus' identity is revealed in stages. In Mark 8:29 Peter will confess that Jesus is the Messiah. In 10:47-48 blind Bartimaeus appeals to Jesus as Son of David. Finally, and very importantly, the centurion declares Jesus to be Son of God. Mark 15:39. Kingsbury asserts that the confession of the centurion is as important as the baptismal proclamation of God to Jesus in baptism (1:11) and on the mountain of transfiguration (9:7) in establishing Jesus' identity.
Mark's opening name for Jesus is Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ is a reference to the Messiah promised to Israel by the prophet Nathan speaking to David. (See 2 Samuel 7:4-17.) It is this promise of God to David which fueled Israel's hopes and expectations for the 1,000 years between the time of David and the time of Jesus. "Are you the One who is to come or do we look for another?" (See Matthew 11:1-6; Luke 7:18-23.) These were the words on the lips of the people of Israel as each new leader arose. Mark makes it very clear, therefore, that this old promise is now fulfilled. Jesus is the Christ/Messiah.
Mark's Gospel begins with a clarion call! Here is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It ends, however, in a whisper „ in the fear of the women at the tomb.
Whereas v.1 is the heading or title of this Gospel, vv. 1-13 may serve as a prologue to the entire narrative. In these few verses Jesus' identity and authority is confirmed by quoting the Hebrew Bible (vv. 2-3); by prophetic announcement (vv. 7-8); by a voice from heaven (v. 11); and by cosmic and apocalyptic signs (vv. 12-13). This voice from heaven is heard again in Mark 9:7. Jesus is clearly the center of the story that is to come!
The action takes place in Galilee (v. 9). Mark's story begins and ends in Galilee! At the close of the story the young man at the tomb announces that Jesus' followers are to go to Galilee to see him even as he told you. Jesus told the disciples this during the night of prayer at the Mount of Olives. "... After I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee" (Mark 14:28). Geography plays an important part in the story of Mark's Gospel. The first ten chapters of the story take place in Galilee and focus on Jesus, the Sower of the Word. In Galilee, that is, Jesus is primarily the preacher spreading the good news of the coming of the kingdom. We hear quite often that this reality is to be kept a secret.
Beginning with the Palm Sunday story in Mark 11:1-11 the story shifts to Jerusalem where Jesus, the son of the owner of the vineyard, will be killed. (See Mark 12:1-11.) In Jerusalem Jesus is openly proclaimed as the Christ. The secret is out! The tragedy begins! (See Jesus' own predictions of his passion: Mark 8:31-32; 9:30-31; 10:32-34.)
Following the heading of the Gospel there comes a quotation from the prophet Isaiah. There is a problem here in that this quotation cannot be found in this form in Isaiah! The quotation, rather, appears to combine Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Mary Ann Tolbert in her Sowing the Gospel notes that whatever its source the quotation seems to be a fine summary of the themes which Mark associates with the ministry of Jesus. She presents an elaborate argument to make the case that this quotation from the Hebrew Bible is about Jesus, not John the Baptist. The Baptist's story begins in v. 4. Verses 1-3 should be read as pertaining to Jesus and setting forth the themes of his ministry. Jesus is the One sent by God as a messenger who will sow the word. He is the One "on the way" to Jerusalem: Mark 8:27; 9:33-34; 10:32. Jesus is also the One who calls us to follow him on the way to Jerusalem and the cross: Mark 9:34-38; 10:21, 52. Jesus first meets John in the wilderness. Furthermore, Jesus spends much of his ministry in the wilderness: Mark 1:35, 45; 6:31-32, 35; 8:4. "Throughout the sowing of the word, Jesus repeatedly embodies 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness' (1:3)."2
With the appearance of John the Baptist in v. 4 the story moves to its human side. We have had the introduction to the Divine Sower. How shall it be with people on the earth? John calls upon the people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. The clues to the identity of John point also to the fulfillment of promises of old. John was clothed in camel's hair, had a leather girdle about his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. This is precisely the clothing and the diet of Elijah the prophet as reported in 2 Kings 1:8. Here is narrative analogy. The ministry of John the Baptist is linked with that of Elijah. The two are to be understood in relation to each other. There was the expectation that Elijah would come again before the days of the Christ. The allusions in these first chapters of Mark never seem to end!
John recognizes in his preaching that he is not the One who is to come. "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8). Such is John's promise. But the story breaks off before Jesus baptizes anyone. This story lays before us a promise that is not fulfilled with any immediacy. Perhaps it is the very ministry of Jesus that is the fulfillment of this promise. It does happen with immediacy that the Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Jesus appears as the Spirit's man, as God's man in Galilee. His is a ministry animated by the very breath (spirit) and life of God!
We shall say more about the baptism of Jesus in chapter 2.
The Life Giver, the Son of God, is ready to begin his ministry. The story of Jesus will begin with a rush of life-giving events: an unclean spirit is cast out (1:21-28), Simon's mother-in-law is healed from a fever (1:29-31), demons are cast out (1:35-39); a leper is cleansed (1:40-45) and a paralytic is forgiven and healed (2:1-12). Such events mark the ministry of Jesus through the first ten chapters of Mark's Gospel.
Homiletical Directions
There is an embarrassment of riches for the story telling preacher in these few verses. One might take the opening quotation from the Hebrew Bible (vv. 2-3) and tell the story of the source(s) of this quote. Secondly, one can show that the ministry of Jesus takes up the themes of these verses. This will serve as a kind of introduction to Mark's story of Jesus. There is much good news that can be proclaimed from such stories.
Or, one might focus one's stories around John the Baptist. Story One might be the story of Elijah which sets the scene and establishes the importance of John's ministry. Story Two can center on John's baptismal ministry and his pointing to another who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Story Three can tell some or all of the healing stories in Mark 1 and 2, demonstrating the life-giving ministry of the One who is filled with the Spirit. Many of these stories do occur in the Epiphany cycle of Markan texts, so we may not want to touch them yet at this point. The living center of proclamation might center on Jesus who says in effect: "I have been baptized with the Spirit, the very life of God. I offer you this life. I have been baptized that I might send forth your unclean spirits. I have been baptized that I might cleanse you of all that ails you. I have been baptized that I might forgive you all your sins."
It might be best that on this first Sunday in Cycle B that uses a Markan text, we preach, a sermon which introduces the full range of this Gospel. Let's focus on v. 1, the very title of Mark's Gospel: "This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God."
Story One will tell the story of the promise to David by Nathan from 2 Samuel 7:4-17. Other materials from 2 Samuel might be needed to set that story in proper context. Our living center can arise out of the telling of this story. God speaks through Nathan to David in this passage. God says: "I will raise up a Messiah from the offspring that follow you. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will offer to your people eternal hope."
Story Two can tell how the people of Israel longed for this promise to be fulfilled for 1,000 years. The people of Israel waited. Waiting is a good Advent theme. As each new leader arose in Israel the question on the lips of the people was: "Are you the One who is to come or do we look for another?" Matthew (11:1-6) and Luke (7:18-23) tell the story in such a way that this question is addressed to Jesus. Mark cuts right to the heart of the matter. Verse 1 rings out with the sound of the trumpet: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ ...." Mark has been empowered to announce what he has experienced for himself. Mark has experienced the One who announces, "I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. I come to bring God's eternal kingdom. I come to bring you eternal hope."
Story Three can introduce the Parable of the Sower. We pointed out in the Preface the importance of this parable in Mark's Gospel. Why not call it forth on this first Sunday in Mark's Gospel? Through this parable of Jesus, Mark indicates to us that there are at least four kinds of soil, four kinds of responses to Jesus' sowing of the seed; to Jesus' announcement that he is the Messiah. (See the Preface for a discussion of these four types of hearers.) The whole issue of hearing is important for us. We have heard Jesus' announcement that he is the Messiah. And how shall we hear? We will relive the story of Messiah's birth in just a few weeks. How shall we hear?
Story Four can briefly touch on the last story in Mark's Gospel. The Gospel that began with a trumpeted announcement (1:1) ends with a whisper (16:8). The women were afraid. Trembling and astonishment had come upon them. They said nothing to anyone.
Our sermon may conclude something like this: "Mark's Gospel begins with a trumpet. The Jesus introduced to us by Mark would say to us: 'I am the Christ. I am the Messiah. I come to bring God's eternal kingdom to you. I come to bring you eternal hope.' Will we today move away from this message in fear and astonishment? Will we move away from this message with a whisper? Or will we move away from this message as those convinced of its trumpet sound? May the Holy Spirit empower us to believe the word of this Messiah Christ. May the Holy Spirit empower us to sound forth the trumpet of good news to all whom we meet. Amen"
A procedural footnote: In our biblical storytelling we might choose occasionally to craft one of our biblical stories for telling to the children. This would be a wonderful use of the "Children's Sermon." Tell them a Bible story. Tell them a Bible story that is one of the stories of the day's sermon.
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, The Christology of Mark's Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983).
2. Mary Ann Tolbert, Sowing The Gospel: Mark's World in Literary-Historical Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989), p. 245.
The title or heading of Mark's Gospel is stated simply: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (1:1). And then the story begins. It begins, so to speak, in the middle of time. No genealogies here. Mark gets right down to the business of announcing the identity of his central figure. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jack Dean Kingsbury has written an important treatise on the Christology of Mark's Gospel.1 Kingsbury's primary argument throughout the book is that Mark understands Jesus to be the Son of God. He sees that this revelation of Jesus as Son of God comes in stages. Mark 1:1 begins as the story of the Son of God. Mark 1:11 is the culmination of the first part of Mark's story as God in heaven identifies Jesus as "beloved Son." Kingsbury maintains that Mark writes the Gospel in such a way that Jesus' identity is revealed in stages. In Mark 8:29 Peter will confess that Jesus is the Messiah. In 10:47-48 blind Bartimaeus appeals to Jesus as Son of David. Finally, and very importantly, the centurion declares Jesus to be Son of God. Mark 15:39. Kingsbury asserts that the confession of the centurion is as important as the baptismal proclamation of God to Jesus in baptism (1:11) and on the mountain of transfiguration (9:7) in establishing Jesus' identity.
Mark's opening name for Jesus is Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ is a reference to the Messiah promised to Israel by the prophet Nathan speaking to David. (See 2 Samuel 7:4-17.) It is this promise of God to David which fueled Israel's hopes and expectations for the 1,000 years between the time of David and the time of Jesus. "Are you the One who is to come or do we look for another?" (See Matthew 11:1-6; Luke 7:18-23.) These were the words on the lips of the people of Israel as each new leader arose. Mark makes it very clear, therefore, that this old promise is now fulfilled. Jesus is the Christ/Messiah.
Mark's Gospel begins with a clarion call! Here is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It ends, however, in a whisper „ in the fear of the women at the tomb.
Whereas v.1 is the heading or title of this Gospel, vv. 1-13 may serve as a prologue to the entire narrative. In these few verses Jesus' identity and authority is confirmed by quoting the Hebrew Bible (vv. 2-3); by prophetic announcement (vv. 7-8); by a voice from heaven (v. 11); and by cosmic and apocalyptic signs (vv. 12-13). This voice from heaven is heard again in Mark 9:7. Jesus is clearly the center of the story that is to come!
The action takes place in Galilee (v. 9). Mark's story begins and ends in Galilee! At the close of the story the young man at the tomb announces that Jesus' followers are to go to Galilee to see him even as he told you. Jesus told the disciples this during the night of prayer at the Mount of Olives. "... After I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee" (Mark 14:28). Geography plays an important part in the story of Mark's Gospel. The first ten chapters of the story take place in Galilee and focus on Jesus, the Sower of the Word. In Galilee, that is, Jesus is primarily the preacher spreading the good news of the coming of the kingdom. We hear quite often that this reality is to be kept a secret.
Beginning with the Palm Sunday story in Mark 11:1-11 the story shifts to Jerusalem where Jesus, the son of the owner of the vineyard, will be killed. (See Mark 12:1-11.) In Jerusalem Jesus is openly proclaimed as the Christ. The secret is out! The tragedy begins! (See Jesus' own predictions of his passion: Mark 8:31-32; 9:30-31; 10:32-34.)
Following the heading of the Gospel there comes a quotation from the prophet Isaiah. There is a problem here in that this quotation cannot be found in this form in Isaiah! The quotation, rather, appears to combine Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Mary Ann Tolbert in her Sowing the Gospel notes that whatever its source the quotation seems to be a fine summary of the themes which Mark associates with the ministry of Jesus. She presents an elaborate argument to make the case that this quotation from the Hebrew Bible is about Jesus, not John the Baptist. The Baptist's story begins in v. 4. Verses 1-3 should be read as pertaining to Jesus and setting forth the themes of his ministry. Jesus is the One sent by God as a messenger who will sow the word. He is the One "on the way" to Jerusalem: Mark 8:27; 9:33-34; 10:32. Jesus is also the One who calls us to follow him on the way to Jerusalem and the cross: Mark 9:34-38; 10:21, 52. Jesus first meets John in the wilderness. Furthermore, Jesus spends much of his ministry in the wilderness: Mark 1:35, 45; 6:31-32, 35; 8:4. "Throughout the sowing of the word, Jesus repeatedly embodies 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness' (1:3)."2
With the appearance of John the Baptist in v. 4 the story moves to its human side. We have had the introduction to the Divine Sower. How shall it be with people on the earth? John calls upon the people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. The clues to the identity of John point also to the fulfillment of promises of old. John was clothed in camel's hair, had a leather girdle about his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. This is precisely the clothing and the diet of Elijah the prophet as reported in 2 Kings 1:8. Here is narrative analogy. The ministry of John the Baptist is linked with that of Elijah. The two are to be understood in relation to each other. There was the expectation that Elijah would come again before the days of the Christ. The allusions in these first chapters of Mark never seem to end!
John recognizes in his preaching that he is not the One who is to come. "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8). Such is John's promise. But the story breaks off before Jesus baptizes anyone. This story lays before us a promise that is not fulfilled with any immediacy. Perhaps it is the very ministry of Jesus that is the fulfillment of this promise. It does happen with immediacy that the Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Jesus appears as the Spirit's man, as God's man in Galilee. His is a ministry animated by the very breath (spirit) and life of God!
We shall say more about the baptism of Jesus in chapter 2.
The Life Giver, the Son of God, is ready to begin his ministry. The story of Jesus will begin with a rush of life-giving events: an unclean spirit is cast out (1:21-28), Simon's mother-in-law is healed from a fever (1:29-31), demons are cast out (1:35-39); a leper is cleansed (1:40-45) and a paralytic is forgiven and healed (2:1-12). Such events mark the ministry of Jesus through the first ten chapters of Mark's Gospel.
Homiletical Directions
There is an embarrassment of riches for the story telling preacher in these few verses. One might take the opening quotation from the Hebrew Bible (vv. 2-3) and tell the story of the source(s) of this quote. Secondly, one can show that the ministry of Jesus takes up the themes of these verses. This will serve as a kind of introduction to Mark's story of Jesus. There is much good news that can be proclaimed from such stories.
Or, one might focus one's stories around John the Baptist. Story One might be the story of Elijah which sets the scene and establishes the importance of John's ministry. Story Two can center on John's baptismal ministry and his pointing to another who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Story Three can tell some or all of the healing stories in Mark 1 and 2, demonstrating the life-giving ministry of the One who is filled with the Spirit. Many of these stories do occur in the Epiphany cycle of Markan texts, so we may not want to touch them yet at this point. The living center of proclamation might center on Jesus who says in effect: "I have been baptized with the Spirit, the very life of God. I offer you this life. I have been baptized that I might send forth your unclean spirits. I have been baptized that I might cleanse you of all that ails you. I have been baptized that I might forgive you all your sins."
It might be best that on this first Sunday in Cycle B that uses a Markan text, we preach, a sermon which introduces the full range of this Gospel. Let's focus on v. 1, the very title of Mark's Gospel: "This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God."
Story One will tell the story of the promise to David by Nathan from 2 Samuel 7:4-17. Other materials from 2 Samuel might be needed to set that story in proper context. Our living center can arise out of the telling of this story. God speaks through Nathan to David in this passage. God says: "I will raise up a Messiah from the offspring that follow you. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will offer to your people eternal hope."
Story Two can tell how the people of Israel longed for this promise to be fulfilled for 1,000 years. The people of Israel waited. Waiting is a good Advent theme. As each new leader arose in Israel the question on the lips of the people was: "Are you the One who is to come or do we look for another?" Matthew (11:1-6) and Luke (7:18-23) tell the story in such a way that this question is addressed to Jesus. Mark cuts right to the heart of the matter. Verse 1 rings out with the sound of the trumpet: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ ...." Mark has been empowered to announce what he has experienced for himself. Mark has experienced the One who announces, "I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. I come to bring God's eternal kingdom. I come to bring you eternal hope."
Story Three can introduce the Parable of the Sower. We pointed out in the Preface the importance of this parable in Mark's Gospel. Why not call it forth on this first Sunday in Mark's Gospel? Through this parable of Jesus, Mark indicates to us that there are at least four kinds of soil, four kinds of responses to Jesus' sowing of the seed; to Jesus' announcement that he is the Messiah. (See the Preface for a discussion of these four types of hearers.) The whole issue of hearing is important for us. We have heard Jesus' announcement that he is the Messiah. And how shall we hear? We will relive the story of Messiah's birth in just a few weeks. How shall we hear?
Story Four can briefly touch on the last story in Mark's Gospel. The Gospel that began with a trumpeted announcement (1:1) ends with a whisper (16:8). The women were afraid. Trembling and astonishment had come upon them. They said nothing to anyone.
Our sermon may conclude something like this: "Mark's Gospel begins with a trumpet. The Jesus introduced to us by Mark would say to us: 'I am the Christ. I am the Messiah. I come to bring God's eternal kingdom to you. I come to bring you eternal hope.' Will we today move away from this message in fear and astonishment? Will we move away from this message with a whisper? Or will we move away from this message as those convinced of its trumpet sound? May the Holy Spirit empower us to believe the word of this Messiah Christ. May the Holy Spirit empower us to sound forth the trumpet of good news to all whom we meet. Amen"
A procedural footnote: In our biblical storytelling we might choose occasionally to craft one of our biblical stories for telling to the children. This would be a wonderful use of the "Children's Sermon." Tell them a Bible story. Tell them a Bible story that is one of the stories of the day's sermon.
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, The Christology of Mark's Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983).
2. Mary Ann Tolbert, Sowing The Gospel: Mark's World in Literary-Historical Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989), p. 245.
