Lent 1 - Mark - The Kingdom of God has Come Near

Lent 1 - Mark

Mark 1.9-15

...the kingdom of God has come near…. (Mk 1.15)

Jesus stands in the water in the Jordan River; John baptizes him. It is a turning point in Jesus’ life—no longer a child traveling with his parents to worship in the temple. This scene marks the beginning of his ministry, a public act of commitment to what God has planned for him.

And a public affirmation by God: “You are my Son, the Beloved.” Publicly claiming Jesus and bestowing a blessing, “With you I am well pleased.”

Every time I witness a baby in white at the baptismal font, family gathered around, I imagine God responding in the same manner, saying to the baby, “With you I am well pleased.”

God has created each of us in God’s own image and we know of God’s pleasure in creation….pleasure in each creature, not just those who are brought to a baptismal font….pleasure in the baby born in the African desert, pleasure in the baby born in Cairo’s slums and pleasure in the baby brought to my own congregations’s font.

Khader Adnan (for background, see Ash Wednesday post below) has been much in my thoughts this week:

—I am frustrated that the only way this Palestinian prisoner could

make his story known was to engage in a hunger strike;

— am angry that 308 other Palestinians are also being held without charges;

—I am curious about what made Khader Adnan decide to give up his life with his wife and two small girls, knowing he will never even see his third unborn child;

—and I am distraught that my tax dollars support the Israeli military, knocking on doors in the middle of the night, arresting Palestinians every day.

Khadar was arrested at his home in Arabeh, about 20 miles from Nazareth. And, although Muslims do not baptize, Khadar has also assumed adult responsibilities—as husband, father, graduate student, and his choice to support the struggle for Palestinian freedom.

“Immediately,” Mark’s writer tells us, Jesus was sent into the wilderness—where he ate no food—40 days of discipline, preparing himself for the work ahead. And the writer reminds us that the authorities were arresting those, like John, who proclaimed the “good news of God.”

If we look carefully, we still witness glimpses of the kingdom of God coming near—kindnesses done, or a new baby welcomed into the community. But Mark’s gospel reminds me that the well-being—the shalom—God desires for us sometimes comes with great suffering and tragedy. The text reminds us that the end of the old world and the beginning of the new are birthed only violently, with the heavens torn apart, the veil of the Temple torn in two. Will Khadar Adnan’s fast birth such shalom?

Read his wife’s story of why Khadar Adnan engaged in the hunger strike. Randa Musa writes in The Guardian. [Photo shows his daughter Maali holdig a poster calling for his release.]

God of all creation, you have shown that you desire only goodness for us and for all of your creation. Show us how we can protect and nurture what you have given us. Show us how we can bring in your good news-announced reign of shalom. Amen.