The First Sunday in Lent ---- 22 February 2015

(Since this Sunday was the last Sunday of the month, the congregation chooses the Hymn of the Day - actually 5 hymns, 2 verses each, and Worship was followed by the Annual General Meeting of the congregation, I chose to keep my message short.)

Mark 1:9-15

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

• These words are the first ones Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark. In some ways, he's echoing the message of John the Baptizer as we've found that message in the other Gospels.
• I find it interesting that the phrase “good news” is used twice in this brief, two verse passage. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." To hear this “good news” must have been quite important; in fact, the Gospel of Mark begins with a statement about this good news: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
• The idea of “good news” is always a welcome one. We all love to hear good news, whether it is about our family, our work, our favourite sports team, or even about the weather. Good news is usually things we like. It's up-building and happy. It is something positive.
• We might wonder how this applies to what we hear in what we refer to as the Gospel (which is nothing less than a translation of the Greek word meaning “good news.”) The over-all idea means that the good news of the Gospel is the message of the coming of the Messiah and of the kingdom of God, all coming to the hearer through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. With this, our lives are changed and the entire world is changed.
• Now how is this good news to us?
• I often think we lose some of the power of the message of the Gospel because most of us have been surrounded with it our entire lives. This doesn't mean that we should forget the Gospel or try to find another way. Not at all. It means something far beyond that.
• The Gospel becomes good new to us when we are confronted with what we can and cannot do for ourselves. The Gospel is good news to us in a particular way after we've spent time in the wilderness as Jesus did. – whether it is some sort of badlands experience or a personal time away from distractions. That wilderness becomes a place where temptations are known and, much more importantly, where the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves are unmasked. Faced with the lies and the temptations that we find within ourselves, we know we can not turn to ourselves, but must turn to God for grace, life, and salvation... and in God, we'll find them and more.
• This is the good news and it's meant for us. This is the message that applies to us always. This is the good news that changes our lives and turns us around, the original meaning of “repent.”
• As we read more of Mark's Gospel as well as the other three Gospels, we'll hear more of this good news. Our Lenten observance will serve us and the good news by clearing our minds and hearts to hear again with a new freshness and power what we've heard for so many years, beginning with these words:

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."