Mark 1 Sermon for Homiletics class with a "focus haiku"

Reform and prepare
But why should we get ready?
The Truth is in us.



St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Reston, VA
2 Advent B (RCL), December 7, 2008
Leslie Ferguson, Seminarian
Mark 1:1-8

Did John the Baptist really understand what his life as a servant of God was all about? If he did understand, what was it that allowed him to follow his calling as a servant of God?

We come to know John by the many names he’s called both in today’s Gospel reading and throughout the gospel accounts. In today’s reading we hear Mark refer to John in 3 different ways – the messenger who will prepare the Lord’s way; the prophetic voice of a new age; and the baptizer. All faithful images of who John is. If we couple those images with the others of John in the gospels – the miraculous son of Zechariah and Elizabeth; the accuser of the religious order; the one who would be executed for his cause; the one who was viewed as a wild man; and the one who is the cousin of Jesus we get a better picture of John. As a whole these images help us define the place John held in the life of Jesus and show the complexity of what John was called to do.

In contrast to our images of John he seems to be certain and resolute about who he is and what his mission is in Israel and in God’s kingdom. He is quite capable of shifting the focus of society when he needs to. In today’s reading he ably deflects the people from making him something that he isn’t – he is not the Messiah or the redeemer, he’s just the one who proclaims a new order: the world needs to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. It’s here that I get troubled by John: he seems so at ease with his lot and he seems to genuinely understand his place in the world; the ability he has to sift through the tugging and pulling of the religious order and society without question; and the conflicting images portrayed of him in Scripture. How is it that John comes off as having a good grip on what his place in the religious and social order of his day? He unhesitatingly affirms that he is the one who was to proclaim the coming of the Messiah and to shake up the religious right in their understanding of God’s kingdom and nothing more. I wish that John didn’t come off as strong as he does today – that would make me feel better about his and my ministry.

Through it all, the trials in the desert, the butting of heads with the religious right, the expectations of his family and community on him, John appears to coolly know what it meant to be the proclaimer of the new age. His message today is one that fits well into the life of the church in Advent as we get ready for the birth of Jesus. But I can’t help but wonder if John really understood what his calling would ultimately lead to. I wonder if he could see the future well enough, whether in reality or as led by the Holy Spirit, to see that he would end up paying the ultimate cost for his ministry. Did John know what he was getting into when he set up shop in the desert, proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, baptized Jesus (the Messiah), and confronted the priests and social order?

It would be improbable to believe that John knew exactly what it meant to announce the coming of the Lord in the desert and what the ultimate ramification of his prophetic voice on his present community and religious order; on those who would follow in his footsteps; and on his physical life would be. In the end, it appears that John came to peace with his lot and what he understood his calling to be – his place in the greater community of Christ. And he unhesitatingly followed his understanding of the truth in his life as proclaimer of the Christ, even unto his death.

We could assume that by nature of his calling John, as an ascetic, would have spent time in prayer and meditation when faced with tough questions in his life. I would believe that John was able to live his life as a prophet for God by listening to the burning desire and ache in his belly. And that movement probably wasn’t caused by bad locust and wild honey but rather it was caused by the movement of the Holy Spirit. But what was it that sustained John as he proclaimed the tough message of his day? Hold your place there, I’ll return to that in a minute.

How many of us are faced with challenging decisions when it comes to our ministry for God? Many of us have made some decisions about our lives that others in our community would see as difficult – to abandon a lucrative career to become a minister; to forgo positions of relative power for the church; or to leave our family home to study in seminary and probably move to the far reaches of our diocese or community. Why would anyone, whether it be John in first century Israel or one of us in twenty-first century America, choose to follow Jesus in the face of long odds and an uncertain temporal existence?

It would be tempting to explain our response to our call in acceptable social terms – that we are devoted to our cause. Or we may also say, not incorrectly mind you, that we are answering a call from God. But what does it mean to follow a call from God? What was it that gave John the power to stand firm in his day against strong oppression and misunderstanding? What is it that helps us stand firm today against uncertainty in our social, political, and religious order? What sustains me is a sense of the truth that is Jesus at work in my words and deeds. It is nothing other than that burning in my belly that helps me know that it is God at work and not my own efforts. It is the knowledge of God calling and acting in me that helps me stand firm in my calling to follow God.

What is it that allows me to know and perceive the burning nature of the Holy Spirit in my life? It starts with personal prayer and contemplation. If I am honest enough to listen for God and where God is calling me to act I will hear the truth. How do I know that what I hear is the truth? My perception of my mission and its outcomes tell me that I am sensing the truth – and that is nothing other than a sense of joy that burns in my stomach, not a sense of dread in my life but a sense of joy – even in the face of long odds.

How can we stand firm and proclaim the word of God, even in the face of long odds and loss of self? When we faithfully look for God and the Holy Spirit in all that we say and do; we will see and feel the truth. And just like John, that is what we need to proclaim, not something that will continue the status quo but something that will rock the world and shape society. That something will truly allow us to make a difference and prepare the way for the one who will redeem society and make every person whole. It is when we search for and proclaim the truth – Jesus as Savior – that we will experience the truth in our life and fulfillment in our proclamation of our personal mission and ministry for Christ. For it is only in the truth that all things will be known and understood.