The Rev. Linda McCloud
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
April 25, 2007

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee
and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
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.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

We are God’s Beloved
The Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist
Mark 1:1-15

Today is the feast day of Saint Mark the Evangelist. He was the first to write a gospel, probably around the middle of the first century A.D. Mark's is the shortest gospel – only sixteen chapters – but they are power-packed, action-packed chapters. Mark's gospel begins abruptly and ends abruptly. Mark gets right down to the business of addressing his audience with the first verse: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The three endings of Mark's gospel can be perplexing. Did the women tell anyone that Jesus was raised from the dead? Did they not tell? The answer is probably “yes” to both questions.

There are some identifying traits in Mark's gospel that I especially love. One is the story we just read about Jesus being in the wilderness for forty days. Mark says that Jesus was with the wild beasts. I like to think that the wild beasts enjoyed the company of the One who created them.

Another trait of Mark's gospel is his use of the word "immediately." This helps move the action along and shows Jesus' life to his Roman audience. The Romans were accustomed to hearing stories about the lives of heroes, and Mark wanted to reach his contemporary audience. If he were doing this today, Mark would probably make a movie and write a book.

Mark begins his gospel by declaring that Jesus is God’s Son. Then he portrays Jesus as a Man of Action who went about preaching, teaching, and healing, and finally suffering a wrongful death. To bring Jesus’ life full circle, Mark reports that at the crucifixion a Roman Centurion declared that Jesus is God’s Son. That should seal the deal for the Roman audience. Then there’s that mysterious story about the empty tomb.

The urgency of Mark’s gospel also makes the story easier to read aloud. There is an air of intrigue as the audience is let in on information about Jesus that the disciples in the story never seem to grasp. In the early days of the Church, it is probable that this Gospel would have been read aloud in its entirety at one session. This takes about two hours.

Mark's name shows up in scripture in more places than the Gospels. Mark had to bear St. Paul's disappointment with him when Mark turned back from a missionary journey. By the end of Paul's life, Mark was back in Paul's good graces. Mark was not one of the original twelve disciples, but he was friends with St. Peter, who was. Early church history tells us that Mark received much of his information from Peter.

As you noticed, Mark’s Gospel does not have a birth narrative. Neither does John’s Gospel, for that matter, but at least John’s Gospel reports that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Mark’s Gospel was written to be read to a church under persecution. The Roman Emperors were making life very hard for Christians. There was plenty of other social upheaval going on during Mark’s lifetime. The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. Thousands of Jewish persons were killed or taken into slavery. So Mark’s Gospel is brief and to the point for a world in turmoil. You can probably read its sixteen chapters in one sitting. I recommend that you do that. It helps to get the big picture when you live in a world that is still in turmoil.

Mark’s Gospel begins by telling us about John the Baptizer, who eagerly announces that Someone more powerful is coming after him. John the Baptizer sets the stage and introduces us to Jesus the Messiah, fully grown and ready to assume his responsibilities as savior and redeemer. This Jesus would baptize us in the Holy Spirit of God. This Jesus is God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. When we see this example of Jesus, we begin to try to live in such a way that God would be well pleased with us.

Here is the question that Bible scholars have debated concerning Jesus: When did Jesus in his humanity know for sure and certain that he is the eternal Son of God? Some say that it was at his baptism in the Jordan River. Jesus began his public ministry only after being baptized. This is another way Jesus identified with the human race. He participated in the corporate repentance of those being baptized. Can’t you just see Jesus queued up in line to get baptized? I wonder who was in front of him and who was behind him. The sinless one who would die for the sins of the world began there and then to identify with sinners. One of the biggest complaints the enemies of Jesus would have was that Jesus identified with sinners.

This baptism of Jesus was so pleasing to God that Jesus saw the heavens torn apart. A dove, now the universal sign of peace, descended on the Prince of Peace. Some have speculated that when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus, and a Voice came from heaven, this was the time that Jesus knew who he was. This is also a manifestation of the Holy Trinity – The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ baptism identified him as the Son of God. Our baptism identifies us as God’s children, too. In baptism we are sealed as Christ’s own forever. Have we fully grasped our identity as God’s beloved children? Sometimes it takes us a while to live into that because it boggles the mind. This is something for us to meditate on as we encounter the dynamic Christ of Mark’s Gospel.

Tradition says that Mark was the first bishop of the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, where he died a martyr’s death. But first he was a herald of good tidings. He spread the word throughout his world that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. We are still participating in that same holy mystery.

On this day we give thanks for Saint Mark’s faithful witness to Christ’s resurrection, and for the Gospel account that bears his name.

Amen.