This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John’s message is telescoped to focus upon a single theme, the proclamation of a person still to come who will baptize the people with the Holy Spirit. As seen in the Notes, it is not clear what Mark means by this expression, nor is it clear that John understands the very messianic terms he uses – at least in their fullness.  In referring to this new Baptizer, whose dignity overshadowed his own, John avoided traditional messianic terms. The precise identity of the Coming One remained hidden, apparently, even from John. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. In the previous post we considered some questions that are posed by the very beginning of Mark’s gospel. In the previous post we considered the meaning of the words of Mark 1:1 – “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God – taking on the Marcan intent of “beginning” and “gospel.” Now we consider the phrase “Christ the Son of God.”  A phrase too familiar to us. But what did the listeners of the 1st century hear, consider, and conclude? Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Mark begins his writing with a statement by the narrator: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God).” For the people in Mark’s narrative the realization of who Jesus is will come only in starts and stops. As readers of this gospel, right from the beginning, we are given the answer to the question, “Who is he?”  We already know this narrative is good news for us; news about what will happen to us and for us. Yet even as the opening answers big questions, we are left with other important questions, ones that will help us to plumb the depth of this good news. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. As noted in last week’s commentary, the season of Advent has its own goals, purpose, and sense. That does not include jumping right into the infancy narratives. While one might argue that is where the story of Jesus begins in “time,” it is not a complete idea to describe what is unfolding in “time” but has been planned since the foundation of the world. The danger of beginning with the infancy narratives is that the real story of salvation can get lost in the all-too-familiar Christmas scenes. Those scenes will be celebrated in their own time and place – the Christmas season. But this is Advent. Continue reading →