RBWords

     The Gospel of Mark begins the story of Jesus not with an angelic visitation announcing either the birth of John the Baptist or of Jesus, but with a grown-up John and Jesus!  It begins also with identifying John the Baptist as the herald foretold in Isaiah (and Malachi).  Mark evokes the important image of the desert where God led the People of God.  Jesus appears in Israel's desert of waiting and is also tempted there to be unfaithful.  But John the Baptist remains important for his witness to the coming of the Messiah.  

     Each year our consumer culture seems to create a greater desert in which to cry out!  In place of a wild-looking prophet wearing camel hair and eating locusts and honey, we have instead a jolly bearded figure clothed in red and white and eating (at least traditionally) cookies and milk!  What about us?  Will anyone learn about the birth of the Messiah from us?  Our clothing may be ordinary and our diets a debatable diversity.  We may not think of ourselves as prophetic figures.  We might have to be creative - even more than all those outdoor lights and cartoon figures!  Even if the manger scene is much smaller than the tree and pile of packages, we can at least make sure it has a place of honor!  We can participate eagerly in the "giving tree" at the parish.  We could do with less items and give the difference to those who will have little or nothing to remind them of "the reason for the season."  

     The Gospel of Mark begins with "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God."  The story of Jesus Christ is not "once upon a time," but now and here.  I hope we can all let our desert world know about Him!   AMEN