December 10, 2017
St. Mark’s Catholic Church
Denton, Texas
Isaiah 40:1-5. 9-11
Psalm 85
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8
To talk about a beginning is to convey that one has an end in mind, with some degree of detail. That is the case with the beginning of the Gospel of Mark that we read today. Mark’s Gospel is a short book, the shortest in length of the Gospels, and it ends somewhat abruptly with a brief account of the discovery of the empty tomb.
Mark ends his Gospel with an implied emphasis upon what is to come after the encounter with the mystery of the empty tomb of Jesus — that Christ has conquered sin and death by His Resurrection. Mark’s abrupt ending of his Gospel directs us to begin the Gospel in each of our lives, and more importantly, in our life of communion lived as the Church until Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead and to establish His eternal Kingdom.
The Season of Advent offers us two key figures in relation to Christ and to each of His comings. First in importance is the Blessed Virgin Mary who is instrumental in Christ’s first coming through her saying “yes” to the Will of God that she would become Christ’s mother — the Mother of God, the Mother of our salvation. Secondly, is the figure of St. John the Baptist, who is prominent in today’s reading from the Gospel of St. Mark.
John the Baptist announces the coming of Christ. He preaches a Gospel of repentance and radical change of heart because the coming of Christ is the final say that God has in conquering finally sin and death. The announcement made by John the Baptist is that God will reveal Himself fully and completely in Jesus Christ — there will be no more revelation because there can be no more revelation — God is, so to speak, laying all of His cards on the table — game, set, and match.
The Gospel reading that the liturgy offers us today is truly significant for our preparation in Advent for Christ’s coming. It is the beginning of the Gospel of Mark — which Scripture scholars tell us with a good degree of certitude was the first written, despite its being placed second in the order of the canon after Matthew’s Gospel. What Mark emphasizes in using the word “beginning” is that the entire work is the beginning of the story of Jesus, not just this particular part of Mark’s narrative. The story continues into the life of the early Church, and we as the Church continue the gospel by our life shared together as the Church today.
The Greek word for “gospel”—“evangelion” is found in the reading from Isaiah for this second Sunday of Advent. It is used to announce the good news of a victory of God by bringing to end the exile of His People. The term conveys a military victory. God has vanquished in battle the forces of evil and division in order to bring his people home. The Lord is revealed in this reading from Isaiah to be a warrior who will fight for His people against their enemies and oppressors. God is also revealed to be a shepherd who will comfort and guide His people into safety. Thus, Mark’s story of Jesus will reveal Him as one who will bring an end to the reign of sin, evil, and death by victory in battle over them and shepherd His people into safety.
So, John the Baptist goes into the wilderness, the place where Israel first became a people after God’s victory over the forces of slavery in Egypt. The wilderness is the place where Israel first came to discern and to hear God’s victorious voice leading them to the Promised Land. The wilderness is the place where they can only trust God and not their own unaided merit to lead them to the Promised Land — to God’s Kingdom. The wilderness is the place where we encounter and receive God’s Grace. John the Baptist calls out from the wilderness to the people of his time to prepare for the coming of Christ to conquer finally evil, sin, and death through His cross and resurrection.
John the Baptist cries out the Gospel — the good news of God’s victory in battle over sin and evil — to us today in the wilderness of secularism and postmodernism. He calls us to prepare for Christ’s second coming through repentance, prayer, and acts of mercy and consolation. He reminds us that the fullness of the Truth is Jesus Christ and there is no more to be revealed. His proclamation of the good news of God’s final victory helps us to discern our way as the Church in the wilderness of contemporary times that inflict upon us so much confusion, selfishness, and violence — but which have already been vanquished by Christ — game, set, and match.
