THE MANNER OF MEETING
Preparation is something we Presbyterians know about. If
we are anything, we are prepared. For instance, most of us we have plenty of
insurance to cover us in an emergency. We plan ahead in a variety of ways. We
buy winter clothes in the summer and summer clothes in the winter. We change the
oil in the car every 2,000 miles. We know about preparation. While the motto
“Be Prepared” may belong to the Boy Scouts, it nonetheless certainly describes
most Presbyterians.
Indeed, the notion of preparation is something we are
quite comfortable with in our lives. Being prepared in life makes us feel
secure and safe. If we have children, we encourage them to go to college in
order to prepare for the future. For ourselves, we constantly read and/or if
our work is such, we regularly go to conferences and other types of continuing
education events to make sure we are properly prepared to meet the challenges
of our particular type of work.
In the less structured aspects of our lives we also
recognize the need for preparation. When we invite people over to our homes, we
prepare to greet them. We dust and clean the house. We market for and cook the
food. We make sure that everything is just so for whatever type of event we are
hosting.
In our personal relationships we also engage in
preparation. When we know we are going to meet someone new, we clean ourselves
up. We shower and shave, or put on make up if that is appropriate. We put on
clean clothes. Do you remember the first time you met the parents of a serious
girlfriend or boyfriend, I suspect you scrubbed up to look your very best.
Especially at this time of year, we know what preparation
is all about. We drag the Christmas decorations down from the attic, or out
from the closet, and transform our homes into spectacles of light and color.
Digging deep into the recipe file, beloved dishes are prepared for holiday
meals. With numerous trips to the mall and other places gifts are purchased or
made by hand. And in numerous other ways we prepare for the celebration of
Christmas. For most of us, our preparations for Christmas are the most
elaborate of any holiday.
Now, if we look at it closely and think about it, the
very idea of engaging in preparation imparts an underlying message; when we
prepare for something in life it sends the message that we think it is
important and we care about it. When we spend time and energy preparing for an
event or activity it communicates the message that this thing we are doing is a
priority for us.
It is this very message of importance that the evangelist
Mark wants us to receive as we read his gospel account. Specifically, meeting
Jesus is important and we must properly prepare for it. As a reader of Mark’s
gospel, preparing to meet Jesus means that we first meet John the Baptist. Indeed,
the manner in which we meet Jesus is important. It is for this reason that Mark
begins his gospel account quite differently than the other gospels.
Mark begins his gospel by asking his readers whether or
not they are prepared to meet this coming Jesus? John’s role in this gospel
account is crucial. For this evangelist, the proper path to meeting Jesus lies
through John. John’s message is one of repentance. In verse 4 it reads, “John the baptizer appeared in the
wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
If you will recall, in the gospel of John, the
story of Jesus begins on a macro scale. John begins with an elaborate
theological and philosophical statement about Jesus’ rightful place within the
hierarchy of the cosmos. For John, Jesus Christ is the LOGOS, the organizing
principle of the cosmos, the divine Word of creation, the very foundation of
all things seen and unseen.
If
you will also recall that in Matthew and Luke, Jesus’ story begins with infancy
narratives, they are slightly different from each other but overall they tell
the same message; that this baby Jesus is the Christ – the anointed one of God.
In Matthew, and in Luke, Jesus’ entry into the world is accompanied by
miraculous and glorious events. A young virgin woman gives birth. The skies
fill with singing angels and shepherd’s quake in fear. Moreover, in these
accounts the stars realign to signify Christ’s triumphant entry into creation,
and both shepherds and wise men from afar come to a humble stable in a tiny
village -
Interestingly,
through their respective opening genealogies Matthew and Luke (albeit in
slightly different ways) also very carefully introduce us to Jesus by
establishing his place as a king among kings. For Matthew and Luke meeting
Jesus means learning of his divine royal identity from the outset.
In
contrast, from the very outset, Mark introduces us first to the “Good News”
(verse 1 – “The beginning of the good
news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God), then to the Baptist and his message
of forgiveness available solely through repentance, and then, and only then, in
verse 9 do we actually meet Jesus of Nazareth. Clearly, the manner of meeting
Jesus is important. There is a right way.
For Mark, the only way to truly
meet Jesus is through our repentance. To meet Jesus, we must prepare ourselves.
We must be in the right frame of mind and heart. The good news which Jesus
brings, the good news which Jesus is, means nothing unless we first acknowledge
our need to hear it.
In
all honesty, this is not a message we are eager to hear. While the world around us makes a mad dash to the tempting
sentimentality of the baby Jesus, accompanied by a manger scene with cuddly animals all around, the
evangelist Mark starkly reminds us that all this is for nothing if we are
unwilling to repent.
Amidst
the glimmer and glitter of the cultural celebration of Christmas, the notion of
our repentance is not easy to embrace. To repent is to acknowledge our
weakness; and weakness, in any form, is not a trait that the world values. The world tells us to be strong at any cost,
and even if we are weak, we are to hide our weakness at all costs. You see,
emotional, spiritual, and physical weakness indicates that we need something,
that we need somebody else. And when we need, we are vulnerable. We are not in
control.
If
we are vulnerable, then we can be hurt. Worldly values teach us that we must be
strong. However, if we imagine ourselves as strong, as self-sufficient, as in
control, then where in our lives is there room for Jesus as Lord? The manner of
meeting Jesus is important.
To
repent is to recognize our disobedience to God. God calls us to live in a
certain type of relationship with God and with each other. To state the matter
simply: We are called to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very
lives. Yet, the illusion of independence is powerful. Particularly in our
culture, the temptation of the self-made man or woman is constantly before us.
In sharp relief to this cultural belief stands God’s overwhelming claim to
sovereignty.
As
the foundation and support for every specific commandment we are called to obey
is the reality that we are not God, we are creatures created to obey and serve
God. To recognize that reality is the first step of every act of particular
repentance.
While
the cultural celebration of Christmas is inherently triumphal in character, the
way Mark begins his gospel account reminds us that the manner in which we meet
Jesus is important. For Christmas to be spiritually important, our celebration
cannot begin with bright lights and singing angels. Without the proper
preparation of tangible repentance, the bright lights burn out and the
brilliant colors fade.
There
is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas through the images of Matthew and
Luke. A shining star, a chorus of the heavenly host, a miraculous birth, cuddly
animals, and traveling wise men, are all part of the complete story. Yet, as
Mark reminds us by beginning his gospel account using the person of John the
Baptist and his message of forgiveness through repentance, the celebration and
joy of Christmas is not complete, in fact, it is not even possible, without our
repentance. The manner of meeting is important. So may it be for us. Amen.
Reverend Marc V. Mason
Second Sunday of Advent/ 12-4-05
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Travelers Rest, SC