-- by The Rev. Jason Ke (trans. J.L.)
(A Sermon for Sunday, December 7, 2014, at St.James' English Language Service)
Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
INTRODUCTION
Good
morning, my dear friends in Christ! This is a sermon about beginnings.
Among
the 66 books included in the Bible – 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in New
Testament, only two books start with the word “beginning”: One is Genesis,
saying “In
the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth …” (Genesis 1:1, NRSA) and the other is the
Gospel of Mark, saying “The beginning of the good news of Jesus
Christ
…” (Mark 1:1, NRSV)
The
name “Genesis” comes from a Greek word meaning “beginning.” And the book of Genesis talks about the
beginning of all things and all beings – all created by God, the Creator.
That’s
why The Nicene Creed starts with
these words: “We
believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all
that is, seen and unseen.”
Man
was also created by God. – Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve, the very
first human beings? God created them in
his “image” – “In the image of God he created them.” (Genesis 1:27b, NRSV) God took some soil from the ground and formed
a man out of it; he “breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7b NRSV) And then God let human beings have “dominion”
over everything, including the fish, the birds, and all animals. (Genesis 1:26) So, by the grace of God, the human being is the
most important “life form” or “living thing” that God has ever created.
However,
as a created being, man destroyed the good relationship between him and
the Creator. Man, in a sense, is the
only being who has broken the relationship of mutual trust with
God. And, as told in Genesis 3:9-13, when God wanted to
restore man to the original good condition, man “made excuses,” trying to shirk
his responsibility and shift the blame to others (推卸責任、諉過於人). –
Adam said it was Eve’s fault, and Eve said it was the Serpent’s fault!
If
Adam had repented of his sin at the outset, he might have been forgiven
by God; and after that, the world might have become a much better one – much
better than the real world we are in today!
Now,
let’s move from Genesis to the
Gospel of Mark. I’d regard the “beginning”
mentioned in Mark as the second beginning, the New
Beginning. Do you know why I call it
the “new beginning”?
KEY MESSAGES
There are three Key Messages, or points, in today's
sermon:
I.
God the Creator Comes Again to Humankind...In Person
The
Gospel of Mark starts with these words: “The beginning of the
good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, NRSV) In another version, this same verse is
translated like this: “The Good
News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, Easy-to-Read Version)
Many
other English versions use the word “gospel” in place of “good news.”
For example, the ASV (American Standard Version), the ESV (English Standard Version), the ISV (International Standard Version),
and the KJV (King James Version)
all translate the word as 'gospel.' Although “good news” is a more modern
expression in English, the term may be misunderstood if no explanation of it
is made. Many people today have begun to associate the
phrase “good news” with commercial or material things! It's
important that the Gospel, or Good News, of Jesus Christ be totally distinct
from any other kind of “good news” that we might
hear of. The Gospel, the “Good News” about Jesus is unique. Never has there been anything like it.
Well,
why do we say that the coming of Jesus was good news? – If Jesus
came into the world just like a prophet or a teacher, or simply
as a social or political reformer, then the book that describes what
he did and said in his life should be entitled “A Biography of Jesus”
or something like that. But the author of The Gospel of Mark
used “good news” for the “biography” he was writing. He must have intended to
tell his readers that Jesus was not merely
a “great man” in a general sense, but that Jesus is God the Creator
himself.
Yes,
Jesus was the Word that became flesh (道成肉身): “The Word
became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us.” (John 1:14a, TEV) And most unusual of all, when coming into the
world, Jesus did not disturb or startle the people as did mighty kings or emperors. Those powerful kings and emperors, when visiting a place or area, would come with
their bodyguards or soldiers and be accompanied by some “key figures” and so
forth, to display the pomp and splendor of the aristocracy. It
was like their having an entourage of the paparazzi of that time.
But
Jesus, who always has the nature of God, gave up “all he had” and took upon himself the nature of a
servant. He just willingly “emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:7, NRSV).
In
Taiwan, we had an important election just a week ago, on Saturday, November
29. You might have noticed such a
phenomenon: In order to win the election, all the candidates had tried very
hard to “show” themselves – to make themselves visible, for example,
on TV, on the radio, or in the print media; and some of them had even “showed
off” to such an extent that made people feel a strong sense of dislike towards them. – Can any politicians “empty”
themselves and become so extremely humble?
I don’t think I have found any!
As
for Jesus Christ, we know he did empty himself; he is God, but he humbly
came into the world as a human baby who
then grew to adulthood and sacrificed himself on the cross in
order to save all human beings. So, his coming was good, good, good news! There
is no other “good news” that is
anything like it.
II.
The Lord Jesus’ Coming Was Not and Is Not an Accident
The Gospel writer Mark quotes the prophet Isaiah: “As it is
written in the prophet Isaiah …” (Mark
1:2a, NRSV) “It began
as the prophet Isaiah had written …” (Mark 1:2a, TEV.) It was in the eighth century BC
that the prophet Isaiah had spoken of the Lord’s coming. (See the endnote譯註)
In
other words, what Jesus Christ said and did during his lifetime on earth was the fulfillment of
what God had previously proclaimed through the ancient prophets. And the prophets’ words would not end up
with nothing; their prophecies would be fulfilled, because the Lord God is
a faithful God.
God
controls the history of the human race; he can make come true whatever he
says, very unlike
human beings! Isaiah says, in chapter 40, verses 6b to 8, “All human
beings are like grass; they last no longer than wild flowers. Grass withers and flowers fade when the Lord
sends the wind blowing over them. People
are no more enduring than grass. Yes,
grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:6b-8, TEV)
Early
Christians earnestly waited for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. After waiting in vain for a period of
time, they became disappointed and began to have doubts about whether Jesus
would come back again.
But
St. Peter tried to rectify their sense of uncertainty, saying, “Do not forget
this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and
a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness. Instead he
is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:8-9, TEV)
Without
seeing Jesus’ coming back, those early Christians started having doubts about the
second advent of Christ. That's why Peter wrote those words that he
did. But how about us? Today, we live in a world of confusing
values; we are inevitably faced with all sorts of tests and challenges. To avoid being led astray, we should always
remember that God is faithful and that his words will never end up
with nothing. In other words, it is like this: God's word is the plant that always produces
good fruit.
III.
Baptism Is the First Step of the New Beginning
The
word of the Lord was conveyed to people through the prophets, who pointed out
that human beings had sinned against God for a long time. In
Chinese, God should be the “demandant” (原告) –
meaning something like “plaintiff” or
“claimant” or “complainant” in English; while human beings should be the “defendant(s)”
(被告) – just like a defendant
or respondent in a civil lawsuit.
But's that is where the comparison ends, because when these defendants (human beings) had
failed to get a foothold, the demandant (the Lord God himself) offered to help them . . . to show them the way . . . to provide the means for them to get a foothold. What a great grace! God wanted the prophets to comfort his
people!
Most
of the time a prophet would blame or reproach the people, instead of
giving them comfort. But, here in
Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 1, are words
of consolation. Not only that, but
here it is good news, saying that humans’ sin has been forgiven. This is the good news that
should be passed on . . . broadcast . . . advertised . . . to
all people in towns and in villages, for “their God is coming!” (Isaiah 40:9, TEV)
Isaiah says it this way: “See, the
Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his
recompense accompanies him. He tends his
flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close
to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11, NRSV)
This
prophecy was fulfilled about 700 years later when Jesus was born, wasn’t
it? – That Jesus came into the world is the really Good News for all human beings, isn't it?
And
yet, over 700 years after that prophecy,
when so very many people came to be baptized by “John the
Baptist” by the river Jordan, this charismatic “Baptist” said, “After me
comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy
to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7-8, TEV)
The
Lord God, whom I compared to “the demandant” a moment ago, just demanded
that the human beings (so-called “the defendants”) should sincerely repent and be baptized – Yes, repentance
and baptism is the only thing required by the Lord, the only
thing for human beings to do to restore the original good
relationship with God. And when we truly think about it, that is
an easiest thing to do, isn't it?
Possibly,
we might ask ourselves these
questions: “Am I really sinful? What
have I done wrong?” In Chinese the word
for “sin” is “zui” (罪),
and this same word (罪) also
means “crime.” There are not two
different words to mean “sin” and “crime” separately. So, when a non-Christian
Taiwanese is told that all human beings have got “zui” (罪), they might be
confused and annoyed, asking what kind of “crime” (罪) he
or she has committed.
Well,
talking about “sin,” the Scottish-born theologian John Macquarrie (1919
- 2007), the author of Principles of
Christian Theology, had a sensible explanation. Macquarrie pointed out that “sin” is “alienation”;
for instance, the created beings keep themselves apart from the
Creator, and wrongly regard one or some other created things or beings
(so-called “idols”) as their creator or creators.
When
a person relies solely upon himself
or herself, or pays more
attention to money, social status, personal relationships,
etc., than he or she does to God
the Creator, then that person is
a sinner. That includes everybody at some time in their lives. When a person gets a lot of money, or a very high social status, and so on, that
person might become so proud of
themselves or of that achievement that he has committed a grave sin – just like
Adam, the first human being!
CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, I would like to say that the whole purpose of The Bible is
to “save the world”: “For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17, New International Version)
And
St. Mark put the life story of the Son of God into a book and named it “The
Good News of Jesus Christ.” (Mark 1:1) He must have had three reasons to say so:
(1) The Lord God had come in person.
(2) His coming was not an accident, but a
well-planned event, which had been previously prophesized.
(3) He did not come to condemn the world,
but to offer a simple way of salvation – that is, faith.
Even the Son of God, who has always been sinless, was baptized by John the Baptist to set up a good example for all people to follow!
Even the Son of God, who has always been sinless, was baptized by John the Baptist to set up a good example for all people to follow!
= = =
譯註：原文「先知的預言早在主前第七世紀」，但一般公認以賽亞是主前第八世紀的猶太先知。參考英文維基百科：Isaiah must have begun his ministry a few years before Uzziah's
death, probably in the 740s BC. Isaiah lived until the fourteenth year of
Hezekiah's reign. Hezekiah died in 698 BC.)
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