Mark 1:14-20
Epiphany 3 / Year B
“After John was
arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”
Somewhere around the turn
of the last century a football coach is said to have told his team, “When the
going gets tough… the tough get going.”
The first printed reference of this quote appeared in the Corpus Christi Times in 1953, again
referencing a speech by a local football coach.
Since then, any number of people in any number of fields, from business
leaders to motivational speakers to clergy like me, has drawn on it to inspire
people facing challenging circumstances.
Now, certainly Jesus didn’t
know the expression, “when the going gets tough…”, but he did have this to draw
on from the Book of Proverbs:
The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the
righteous are bold as a lion. (28:1)
Perhaps this is why, on
learning his cousin John the Baptist has been arrested, Jesus decides to return
to Galilee – the very region ruled by John’s imprisoner.
From the outset of his
story, everything in Mark’s gospel happens quickly. It begins not with a birth narrative, like
Mathew and Luke, but with a title:
The beginning of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
It then launches into the
message John proclaims at the Jordon River.
At verse 9 Jesus appears and is baptized. It takes Mark just five verses to tell us
about this moment and how immediately afterward Jesus goes out into the
wilderness to be tempted. The comes
verse 14 with the information Jesus returns to Galilee, his home, after
learning of John’s arrest.
Now, we would not be
surprised if Jesus went back and laid low; doing everything possible to keep
his neck out of the noose. Heck, we
wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed as far away from Galilee as possible; a
lesson he would have learned from his father, who upon returning from exile in
Egypt and learning Herod’s son is ruling over the region of Bethlehem, takes
his family to Galilee in order to be out of harm’s way. And while we might think it unwise, we would
not be completely shocked if Jesus went back home to call out the injustice of
John’s arrest. Jesus does none of these
things.
Here is what he does:
“Jesus came to
Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’”
Good
news? When John has been arrested? When Roman soldiers brutally occupy the land?
When self-serving religious leaders fleece
the flock rather than tend to it? How
can anyone talk about good news when bad news is rampant? Well, Jesus can talk about it because he
knows God is beginning to do something special.
He can feel deep in his spirit; a spirit which has been filled with the
Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God has come
near, he says, and nothing can be more consequential and restorative than this.
This
passage provides a wonderful lens through which we can reflect on where we are
as parish at the occasion of our Annual Meeting. Each of your wardens – Joby and Bill – present
a similar theme in their reports to you.
They write about our building and attendance challenges, acknowledging
the impact each has had on the Vestry’s morale.
This is the bad news. The good
news is found in eight new acolytes, an active youth group, beautiful, inspiring
music from the organ and choir, enthusiastic hospitality after church, a
talented and dedicated staff, faithful lay volunteers, the financial boost we
receive from a well-managed, well-funded endowment, your financial generosity…
I could go on and on. This is the
message I want to proclaim to you as we begin 2024 (the 382nd year of
our existence): the kingdom of God is near.
Yes, it
is the same message Jesus brought to Galilee.
And he knows while he may be the standard bearer of the good news, but
he cannot be the only one to announce it.
He begins to gather followers who will learn to live into the good news
so more and more people will be caught up in it. We need people here to live into the good
news which is God’s presence in our midst.
If
truth be told, three years from now, when Jesus is crucified, by objective
standards very little will have changed.
Yes, a few people will have been healed, a handful of demons will have
been banished, several thousand people will have heard Jesus teach, but the bad
news will still remain. Only through the
power of the Resurrection and the imparting of the Holy Spirit will a mighty
movement arise which will change the world.
We pray as we remain faithful to the good news in our lives God’s Spirit
will rise up and lighten this darkened world of ours.
When
the going gets tough… the tough proclaim good news!
