Good News
Scripture Collage from the Gospel of Mark
1 – The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1).
2 – So starts the gospel of Mark. In the beginning, there is good news!
1 – 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” (1:14-15).
2 – You might ask what this good news is, and what it means that the kingdom of God has come near. Well, Mark doesn’t do so much explaining, and Jesus isn’t so inclined either. They’d both rather show than tell.
1 – That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons (1:32-34).
2 – Jesus brought good news into ordinary people’s lives. People who were hurting and suffering. He healed the sick and the crippled, he freed people from the clutches of evil spirits, he fed hungry bellies and rescued his friends from the raging sea.
1 – A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “if you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. (1:40-42).
2 – Jesus did share the good news in word as well – he spent much time teaching both his friends and the crowds that gathered around him. But he often shared stories rather than sermons.
1 – The Kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come (4:26-29). With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables (4:33-34).
2 – He spoke the word as they were able to hear it…
1 – Let anyone with ears to hear listen! (4:9).
2 – Because for some, the good news didn’t sound so good. It sounded hard and painful.
1 – Jesus looked at the man who came to him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions (10:21-22).
2 – But others seemed to get it more easily. He said:
1 – “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them (10:14-16).
2 – Enter like a child, like a camel through the eye of a needle. And his followers wondered if the news was really so good.
1 – They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible” (10:26-27).
2 – The news sounded less good to the rulers and authorities of Jesus’ day as well. What if this kingdom of God topples the house of cards we’ve worked so hard to build?
1 – When the chief priests and the scribes heard what Jesus said, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching (11:18).
2 – But for those with ears to hear, this gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed good news. And good news that cries out to be shared.
1 – They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak” (7:32-37).
Meditation
As we turn the page on a new year, I suspect that many of us are feeling in the market for some good news. A year ago, expectations were high that 2022 would be our breakout from a couple of tough pandemic years. But Omicron ushered us in, and though Covid restrictions themselves soon lifted, the weight of the world did not. The invasion and war in Ukraine soon started and has been a constant reality in the news and on the hearts of many ever since. Inflation quickly got out of hand as pandemic stimulus spending turned its corner, and we saw prices spike alongside a steep grind of interest rate hikes that have combined to hit many folks hard. And though our appetite for pandemic response fell off a cliff in 2022, the virus itself just mutated and carried on. And amidst a resurgence of other viral menaces this fall, the broken state of our health care systems has been put on full display. As has our utter inability to work together to find solutions. Which fairly describes the ongoing climate crisis, the state of homelessness and affordable housing in our communities, stalled efforts at reconciliation with indigenous communities, our increasing social and political polarization, and any number of other issues that dearly need to be addressed. All in the midst of our own personal and families stories of pain and loss and death.
So yes, some good news would be welcome right about now. And there have been plenty of examples, even through 2022. We could each name the joys and the graces that have also been part of our experience. The end of some hard journeys, help and support that kicked in at just the right time. New babies, milestone birthdays, love celebrated, health recovered, fresh starts begun. We know better than to expect too much from a new year, but we also know that there will be blessings to be counted.
In our worship here at church, we’re starting off the year with a reminder of the good news that is our heritage of faith. We’re using the Gospel of Mark in particular to connect us from the birth of Jesus that we just celebrated at Christmas to the passion of Jesus that we prepare for through Lent. So for the next seven weeks or so we’ll explore the ministry of Jesus as we read about it in Mark. A ministry that is, as the first verse of Mark affirms, all about good news.
Is this the kind of good news that we’re longing for in 2023? That will, perhaps be a question to hold before us as we explore the gospel. But I think it’s fair to name at the outset that Jesus’ ministry in Mark speaks very directly to matters of healing and healthcare, foreign occupation, financial stewardship, poverty, social division, sustainable living, death and loss and systems of injustice. And we’ll hit on a number of these as we move through some of the key themes from the gospel of Mark in the weeks ahead.
So, as we get into the gospel of Mark today, I thought perhaps a bit of background and context might be helpful for us here. I don’t tend to be all that concerned about historical quibbles to do with when a book of the Bible was written or by whom – most of the time I’m happy to let the scriptural text be spoken freshly and creatively into the present and see what the spirit might open up for us this time around. But sometimes this kind of context can shape our reading and interpretation in important ways, especially as we look to the bigger picture of how a piece of biblical writing fits into the arc of scripture.
In the case of Mark, contemporary scholars are pretty well unified in the view that this gospel is the earliest of the four that we find in our New Testaments. As the first to be written, it likely became source material for the somewhat expanded accounts that we find in Matthew and Luke. If this is the case, it really does make the gospel of Mark an extremely important and influential text within the Bible but far beyond as well. When exactly it might have been written is harder to know. It could have been anytime in the latter half of the first century, but certainly some years after the events it describes.
Who the author might be is equally a mystery, and perhaps even less important. Church tradition has often identified the author of Mark with the John Mark who was a companion of Paul and of Peter. This could be, but doesn’t matter a whole lot. In the end, this book of scripture is a gospel and not a history. I think it’s safe to assume that Mark wrote from a reliable set of stories and traditions about Jesus, but the text is not always concerned with historical details and accuracy. It is rather very concerned to share a message of good news that invites and encourages disciples of Jesus.
This is certainly how Mark starts out: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” And it’s how Mark’s Jesus starts out too: “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.”
This proclamation of the Kingdom of God becomes an important theme throughout the book. Jesus spends quite a while talking about it – especially in chapter 4, though here through parables that conceal as much as they explain. And he spends even more time offering glimpses of the Kingdom through a wide ministry of healing and cleansing and working miracles of good news for particular people. In Jesus’ presence the Kingdom of God has come near. And in this Kingdom there is relief for the suffering and compassionate care for people in all walks of life.
But for someone who comes with good news to share, the Jesus of Mark’s gospel often seems a little reticent for the word to spread. His parables, for instance, are apparently designed to keep those not in the inner circle in the dark: “And Jesus said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand’” (4:11-12). Jesus’ words are for those with ears to hear and eyes to see.
Over and over again, after Jesus heals someone or casts out an evil spirit or does some other miraculous sign, he commands those who saw it to tell no one. Which, besides being a laughably impossible instruction to leave with someone who for the first time in their life is suddenly able to hear and speak, is an odd way to proclaim good news. Even Peter gets this treatment when he finally offers his breakthrough confession, that “You are the Messiah.” “But Jesus sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him” (8:30).
So what gives? What’s with this good news that remains hush-hush? This Kingdom that stays hidden in plain sight? Jesus’ world was aching for good news no less than ours. They knew about illness, occupation, crisis, division and death too. Why not spread a bit of cheer? Well, there are probably a number of explanations. But the one that makes sense to me is that Mark’s gospel is as concerned about discipleship as it is about good news. Or maybe rather, the way to receive this good news is to turn and follow in the way of Jesus. Becoming a follower is how you get ears to hear and eyes to see. In this sense the gospel of Mark perhaps casts a particularly Anabaptist vision. It’s not just about what you believe, but how you live it out. How you follow in the way of Jesus every day.
And the truth is that even the disciples who dropped everything to go with Jesus have trouble figuring him out. The good news is often a little more than they can wrap their heads around. And as Jesus makes plain a number of times, the stumbling block is the cross. It is the way of suffering and servanthood, the way of humility and self-giving love. This is where Peter misses the boat immediately after his confession – rebuking Jesus for speaking of his impending rejection and death.
If we’re looking for good news that will raise our status, ensure our financial security, sucker-punch our enemies – then we won’t find much to cheer about. We won’t have the eyes to see or the ears to hear the good news that Jesus proclaims. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (8:34-35).
And so Jesus tells people to keep quiet about the things he has done, lest they get the wrong idea. If you don’t see the good news through the cross, you don’t see it at all.
Of course, if you don’t see the good news through the resurrection, you don’t see it either. And here’s where Jesus’ ministry of love and compassion truly does become good news for all people. What we see as Jesus walks the countryside and engages with people is a beautiful sprinkling of resurrection. Sometimes literally, as he raises a child so sick as to have died. Each healing and cleansing, each compassionate word, each meal shared across social divides, is a glimpse and a shoot of new life. But always planted like the seeds Jesus talked so much about – released into the earth to die and yet bear much fruit.
It’s hard to deny that this is a rich and complex kind of good news. Not the quick fix or the easy answer variety. But it is, unquestionably, the life-changing variety. We see this in the lives of those whom Jesus encountered, and we see it in the stories of disciples who have come to Jesus through Mark’s gospel for almost two thousand years.
Last week I attended a memorial service in Hamilton for a family friend who died suddenly from a rare and unexpected reaction to a cancer treatment that he was receiving. Jesse was just 31 years old – the same age as my younger brother, who’d been a close friend since childhood. He left behind his parents, a partner of not nearly enough years, and a baby boy who got to know his Dad for just 11 weeks. They found out about the pregnancy on the same day that Jesse received his cancer diagnosis. Let me tell you, it was a messy day. A lot of tears, but also a lot of hugs and smiles in the midst of it.
Jesse was a remarkable and unique individual. Truly larger than life, he was a bit of an eccentric – a genius builder and inventor who could make or fix just about anything. He was a nature-lover who converted his friends to winter camping and was passionate about sustainable living. He also had an amazing capacity to live in the gifts of the moment, enjoy life and care for others. He tried to live and love like Jesus, and had a huge impact on the lives around him.
During the Eulogy, Jesse’s sister reminded us that there is no explaining Jesse’s death. No accounting for why he died when he did. We can only account for his life, the gifts he both received and shared. The people he touched, the love he leaves behind.
I think about good news, and I understand why the quick fix and easy answer variety will never be enough. Any good news worth the name will have to speak into this reality of loss, not to mention so many others that people experience every day. Any good news will have to be as rich as Jesse’s life and as complex as the emotions on a day of both grief and celebration. We need good news that has gone to the grave and yet blooms again in all the sparkle of colourful clothes we were invited to wear to Jesse’s service. We need the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God – in whom God’s renewal has come near to us. A good news that we only see and hear as we let our lives go. As we spend it for others. As we follow Jesus into the full range of our human experience that all this might also be raised to life again.
There is good news for us in 2023. There will be bad news too, plenty of it and perhaps some we may hardly be able to bear. But in the midst of it the good news still walks and speaks and touches and heals and restores just as it did so many years ago. May we meet this good news again through gospel and through the Spirit as we follow Jesus together.
Amen.