Patti La Cross’s Homily from the Baptism of Jesus, January 10, 2021

Holy Wisdom MonasteryHomilies Leave a Comment

How welcome today’s Genesis reminder that in the early telling of our ancient history with God, the people knew God in light and life, in order rather than chaos. I trust we share an eagerness for light’s return – as our days lengthen just perceptively, and as we long to see our nation move forward in truth and order, towards justice.

I am grateful that today and for this liturgical year Mark is the Gospel we are given to break open. We began Advent with Mark, chapter 13, heard the opening verses the next week, and now return to it.  I invite you to spend time with this short Gospel on your own this year.

I believe that spending time with this Gospel in these months will help us gain perspective as we move through a tumultuous time in our country. I hope it will feed our faith and our courage to move forward in the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth.

I still look to Raymond Brown’s gospel commentaries, and always on Mark to Ched Myers’ Binding the Strong Man which I continue to find instructive and inspiring. It has been bread for a generation of anti-war activists, in dialogue with whom it was written. Today I want to share some of their insights with you as we enter this Gospel.

Scripture scholars widely agree that Mark penned this text about the year 70 – not 40 years after the execution of Jesus; and likely just after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.

Today we hear Jesus’ continuity with Jewish Scripture underscored by the Elijah-like prophetic figure of John the Baptist; and Jesus’ authority is announced by the very voice of God claiming him.

The only other times the heavens are opened in Mark’s gospel are at Jesus’ transfiguration and death.

In every other scene Mark’s narrative of Jesus is firmly rooted in the earthly elements of family, companions, journey, and conflict; he engages in synagogues and in politics, in encounters with relatable characters.

Mark clearly felt the need to commit this story of the historical Jesus to writing – to stabilize the witness – and as correction to the oral traditions. These were already seen as subject to distortion and even manipulation, by some leaders of the varied and scattered communities professing their belief in Jesus.

Some, for instance, who saw Jesus through a Greek lens, saw him as a wonderworker, one not fully human. Mark saw the suffering of the messiah as essential, so he balanced the Hellenistic title of “Son of God” with “Son of Man”; a title that could contain his suffering.

Mark is believed to be a Galilean, but likely did not know Jesus. He was however deeply knowledgeable about Jesus’s life, his companions, the land and sea where he lived and traveled, and the stories told of his acts and his teaching.

Mark was a Jewish Christian who could capably speak to his peers. Hisproficiency in Greek, along with his broad literacy, made him a skilled writer, capable of aptly challenging diverse communities.

When we read what he wrote to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who saw the Jewish revolt against Rome as the beginning of the “end times” a time of fear, we can imagine it and identify more viscerally with it after this week’s attempted insurrection in the United States Congress.

He wrote most likely during the Roman occupation of Galilee, possibly prompted by those recruiting Galilean rebel fighters; perhaps they were demanding that Mark’s own community pick sides. Some imagined that the second coming would be in Galilee, in the generation following their revolt. He spoke to them too.

Into these unsettled years, Mark sought to clarify that the person of Jesus in history does not change; this is the life he lived, this the way he died. How we embody Jesus’ vision is the challenge we face in our place and time. In his time, Jesus, prophet of Nazareth rejected military means and ends as counter revolutionary.

Mark’s original ending is not believed to have included a resurrection, or post resurrection appearances.

He writes to us too, that we might look clearly at the traditions and understandings that shape our faith practices and communities.

In a recent study group on the history of racism and churches, our group was asked to reflect on whether creeds may have a role in supporting justification of slavery. Our creeds profess a Jesus “born of the virgin Mary, suffering under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, rose – all with no mention at all of his radical way of living on earth. Hmm. We do have to ask, how has slavery and its reiterations lasted so long in a nation that believes itself Christian?

Jim Wallis wrote this week that “More is at stake now than politics. Let’s call it a choice between theological integrity and the idolatry of white Christian nationalism in America.” (A nationalism that believes it is particularly favored in this nation by God.) He asked that we all be vigilant at this time, a time for deep and fervent prayer for our nation and reminds us that faithful action must always follow prayer.

Mark’s genius was this unique and compelling story for all of us. He reminds us that Jesus lived, loved, and spoke bold truth in a time of oppression and upheaval, and died at the hands of a time of murderous mob.

And Mark’s Good News shows us the Home of God, as made present in Jesus’ forgiving, healing, feeding – and in his standing up to oppressors.

Our mission as those baptized in the blood of Jesus is the work of Light, Truth, and Daring in the very places where we live. As St. Paul asked the disciples in Ephesus, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

If you did, then what will you contribute to the reckoning, healing and growth of your community and nation in this year?

Will you risk putting your suggestions into community forums and editorials? Will you support affordable housing in your neighborhood?

Will you join those pressuring our Governor to free prisoners – of whom half a million nationwide test positive – and risk dying of – what Rev. Otis Wills III calls “Covid 1619, America’s oldest untreated disease, better known as racism”?

There are so many points of entry to the work of justice, and in whatever you are called to, I pray you peace on your way.

Let us pray for leaders of faith communities, especially in the United States.  May they embrace truth and have the wisdom and courage to providing guidance during this time of distrust, rage and violence, we pray…

For elected leaders in our nation, that they will fulfill their responsibilities for the wellbeing of all citizens; that they commit to truth and to exercise courage. We pray also for their safety…

For individuals and families around the world as they navigate recurring spikes of Covid infections, economic insecurity, exhaustion and grief. For their physical and mental health, we pray…

Finally, we pray O God that you shield the joyous: those celebrating birthdays, births, anniversaries, for we know that Joy is not frivolous but a gift of your Spirit.                   Shield the Joy of all Children, especially those whose lives are most stressed.

***

Binding the Strong Man, a Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus was originally published in 1988, by Orbis, Forward by Daniel Berrigan, 472p.

It appears that there is an abridged PDF version by Ched Myers available online!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *