1^st January 2015

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 7 December 2014

Lessons - Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8

'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.' (Mark 1:1)

Mark's Gospel begins without fanfare. There are no heavenly visitations to
Mary or Joseph, no wise men or shepherds, no angelic choirs. Yet, in his
understated opening, Mark invites us to see in the coming of Jesus Christ an
event so awesome that it can be compared only to God's creation of the world.
'In the beginning, God ...' (Genesis 1:1). This is no ordinary story.

We usually miss this. Today 'gospel' is shorthand for 'good news' of any
kind. Then, it signified great events - news of military victories; divine
honours for emperors. So, when Mark proclaims 'the gospel', he is pointing to
momentous things that have taken place in Jesus' life, death and
resurrection. He is writing, not as a detached newsreader reporting events of
the day, but as a person who has been enthralled by what God has done in
Christ and is compelled to speak.

What is so momentous about 'the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

We are given a clue by the fact that these events take place in 'the
wilderness'. This does not seem promising! It is the place where Jews
experienced hostility from pagan neighbours and God confronted their
grumbling. It is a symbol of desolation where hopes are dashed and fidelity
to God is severely tested. It is a harsh place where, against the odds, hope
emerges! It is where the unsettling presence of the Holy Spirit is felt.

When John the Baptist appears in the wilderness, hope seems illusory. His
unpalatable message does not seem like 'good news'. He puts the hard word on
them, preaching a 'baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins' (1:4),
a word endorsed by Jesus when he too 'preaches the good news of repentance'
(v14).

If this is 'good news', what counts as 'bad news'? Isn't talk of confession
dangerously outmoded? Surely the 'good' news is that Jesus accepts us exactly
as we are? No need to change anything! Let us be done with repentance that is
harmful to a healthy self-image! Let us go to churches that massage our egos!

Our problem is that, instead of being struck by the splendour of our creation
in the 'image of God' and being painfully aware of our failures to image God
in our lives, we have become comfortable with ourselves. We are not saints.
But nor are we criminals. Let us get on with 'doing our best' and forget all
this stuff about repentance.

Obsession with sin can cause terrible problems. However, if we have been
captivated by the wonder of our creation and the magnificence of God's grace,
we will be glad to face ourselves in the mirror of God's goodness and mercy.

It is important to see that John the Baptist and Jesus speak of 'forgiveness
of sins'. Our failure to live as God intends is named and set aside. There is
no escaping the fact that we do not love God and others as Christ loves us.
It is momentous news that the One to whom John points, 'Jesus Christ, the Son
of God' (1:1) uniquely embodies God's reconciling goodness and mercy for
sinful men and women like us.

In Mark, Jesus chastises and forgives people in a way that is unlike any
godly prophet or political leader. Titles like 'Christ' and 'Son of God' were
given new meaning by the 'authority' that John the Baptist saw in him was
unlike that of any other messianic figure. Jesus embodied God's goodness and
mercy in ways that forced them to see good news in a completely different
light.

Immediately after John the Baptist's testimony to the one whose sandal straps
he is unworthy to untie, Jesus is baptised by John (v9). He thus identifies
himself with sinful humanity. At the crucifixion the unique power of Jesus'
costly love is recognised, not by a Jew or disciple but by a Roman centurion
who says, 'Truly this man was the Son of God.' (14:39)

In Jesus' whole life and ministry, the Spirit of God (v8) is revealed, not as
a vague, disembodied spirit, but as the spirit of God's costly, self-giving
love for humanity.

In this place of desolation, John sees that what is taking place in Jesus the
Son of God is 'momentous news'. The word of hope comes to the sinful, the
dispirited, the sick, the afflicted, the dying and the persecuted. It comes
when, from the human point of view, life and faith are threatened - where
evil thrives and God seems absent.

In such a place, John the Baptist announces the coming of One who will face
and defeat the dread powers that afflict life.

In these few verses at the beginning of his Gospel, Mark anticipates the
completed work of God's power in the whole ministry of Jesus Christ. Here, in
a person like no other, God is acting to overthrow the powers of evil. In him
there is hope for broken, flawed humanity!

Today, where 'the news' reports endless cycles of triumphs and tragedies,
conflicts and failures, and the opinions of celebrities trump concern to
uphold what is right, really 'good news' urgently needs to be spoken and
heard.

This is particularly necessary at the moment when, despite the outward
appearance of social harmony and tolerance, Christian beliefs and practices
are being relentlessly undermined in Australia. We may think that, compared
with other places in the world, we are living in an oasis. In fact, we are
starting out on a long journey through the wilderness.

Consider the time and space given to one-sided reporting of the virtues of
secularism and atheism and the 'right' to choose euthanasia, abortion and
same-sex marriage. Consider Steve Dow's sneering attack in Melbourne's The
Age on educationalists who want a greater emphasis on the place of the
Judeo-Christian heritage in the school curriculum. Consider the newly elected
Labor Government's radical plan to force religious organisations to employ
people who do not share their beliefs of moral standards. Much that is
happening today is hostile to the 'culture of life' that springs from God's
goodness in Christ. There is much 'bad news'.

The 'good news' about repentance badly needs to be heard. It is 'good news'
that in the wilderness we may 'repent' of our conformity with the world so
that we may live a life that is counter-cultural. We need to see ourselves in
the light of the goodness that is God's will for the human family, to repent
of our failures and to rejoice in God's Christ-embodied mercy.

It is a great freedom to repent! We do not have to fool ourselves about who
we are. Therefore we can resist beliefs and practices that mock God's good
purposes without thinking it all depends on us or getting depressed at our
failure to turn things around. In the wilderness, when God seems absent and
bad things seem all-powerful, hope emerges unexpectedly.

Now, and not for the first time in history, Christian churches in the West
are being called to live faithfully in the wilderness. We are called to
preach the 'good news' of repentance, knowing that our personal and
collective illusions have been shattered and remade by God's grace.

Sometimes this is hard. But we need not be dismayed. The 'wilderness' was the
place where John the Baptist proclaimed the 'gospel' of 'Jesus Christ, Son of
God' and recalled people to live boldly in the world with a freedom born of
genuine repentance.

So let us joyfully participate in the Sacrament of Grace where we are remade
in the image of God and assured of God's ultimate victory over everything
that is hostile to God's good purposes for humanity.
_________________________________

Rev Dr Max Champion is Minister in St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley,
Victoria, Australia.

Dr Champion is a member of the Council of the Assembly of Confessing
Congregations within the UCA.