In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
The Apostle and Evangelist Mark begins his Gospel in the same way as St Matthew, by giving the lineage of Christ. But whereas Matthew begins with His lineage from Abraham,
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
Mark’s begins with,
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
For Matthew the importance is to show how Christ is the fulfilment of the Promise to Abraham, for Mark the importance is to show how He brings a universal Salvation: for one he gives His biological lineage according to the flesh, for the other he gives His divine origin. One and the same Christ, but two different perspectives, not in disagreement but complementarity.
And how, dear brothers and sisters, are we to present this Gospel? How are we to introduce Christ? Do we set Him forth as our banner, do we shout “Jesus” from the rooftops? Christ is the heart of our Faith and our Faithfulness, Christ is at the core, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:” says the Apostle,
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
First Corinthians 15:3–8
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the Apostles.
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
Yes indeed, Christ crucified and risen is the centre of our Faith. Yet a crucial detail lies in the first sentence, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received.” Christ is the core, but Christ must be communicated through someone. Someone must prepare the ground, must soften the heart that the Gospel might be received. If I am a Christian today it is because others have brought Christ to me. Christ is not a concept, a philosophy, an ethic which might just occur to a person, He is Himself a Person Who must be introduced.
And to prepare the Way of the Lord, the Forerunner and Baptist is sent. He is not the Christ but is sent to prepare His way,
After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
And this is our example. We are sent out to bring Christ into the world, to introduce Him to those who are in need of Him. I am not the Message, the Gospel, but I must bear witness to the Gospel, bear witness to Christ, bear witness that death has been defeated, that sin no longer holds us unjustly, that we no longer need to follow after idolatry which seeks to manipulate us and to control us. The ministry of the Forerunner is our ministry, our purpose, our calling.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord does not call us solely to find rest in Him but to bring others into that rest. “Great art thou, O Lord,” says St Augustine,
And greatly worthy to be praised: great is thy power, and of thy wisdom there is no end. And man, who is a part of what thou hast created, desireth to praise thee; yea, man, who carryeth his mortality about him, the proof of his sin and the testimony of this, that thou, O God, dost resist the proud, even man desires to praise thee. For thou hast stirred him up that he may take pleasure in praising thee; because thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart knows no rest, until it may repose in thee.
St Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book One
Let us, therefore, not be satisfied that “We have seen the True Light,” but go out, “in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Prepare His way through faithfulness, prepare His way through gentleness, prepare His way through loving our neighbours. Let us all prepare His way, let us,
sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear;
First Peter 3:15–18
having a good conscience, that when they defame us as evildoers, those who revile our good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.
That we may offer true praise, glory and worship to our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Victor over death, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
Timothy, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
— Second Timothy 4:5–8
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ John was baptising in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”
— Mark 1:1–8