Strange. I find it strange that we began last Sunday, the first Sunday of our new Church year and the new cycle of Mass readings (cycle b - Mark) with the 13th Chapter of Mark, and now this Sunday we begin with the beginning. But it’s not strange if you know more about the end and how it is related to the beginning.
Confused yet? The Gospel for today is the very beginning of the Gospel of Mark: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This summary opening line seems to begin a story of majesty and splendor. But once you read the last page of Mark’s Gospel and are stunned and confused at how it ends, and then return to this beginning, you might understand something startling. Each word of the opening line — “beginning”, “good news”, “Jesus”, “Son of God” - takes on a whole new meaning because of how the story unfolded.
How can there be a beginning when there is no ending? Mark’s Gospel is known for not having a very clean ending. The last line has the women disciples, although charged with a mission to tell Peter and the disciples that the crucified Jesus goes before them into Galilee, running away from the empty tomb in silence and fear. This is an indication that the story of Jesus continues and that fear is an essential feature of discipleship. That is why “the beginning” of the first verse of this Gospel is still the operative word for the last verse. This is a story that has no ending.
The “good news” will not be the standard story of political correctness, triumph over enemies, and coming out on top, and the conventional meaning of a god that conveys privilege and prestige will be reversed. The destiny of Jesus will be to encounter deadly resistance from political and religious authorities; incomprehension and abandonment from his closest friends; and eventually to suffer, die and rise. Strangely, in the mind of the author of the Gospel of Mark, all this will be considered good news and will supply revolutionary insight into the standard religious titles of “Christ” and “Son of God”.
So, in light of the story that follows in this Gospel, the opening line is a stunning expression of transformed Christian consciousness. None of those traditional words remain intact in the end. All are stripped of conventional understanding because of their relationship to the actual reality of one word: Jesus.
The good news of Jesus “begins” before it begins. John the Baptist comes out of a past tradition which preaches repentance which repeats God’s eternal plea, “Come back to me.”
This is the week of the Communal Penance Services in our Lawrence area. Prepare for the end with a new beginning and receive the grace of the Sacrament of Confession.
God Bless,
