Preparing
To help us grasp this opening passage of Mark’s Gospel, I’d like to take us to the particular spot. “Bethany Beyond the Jordan,” present-day Al Maghtas, is the place where John the Baptist was baptizing. It’s a little east of Jericho, far enough from the Judean countryside and Jerusalem to make a significant pilgrimage but close enough that many people can do it in two or three days.
And they did. Mark says “all,” which means a lot, and that they are streaming continuously for John’s baptism of repentance.
We live in a world that is drenched in sin. That is true today. It was true way back then, and as far back as humanity can remember. It tears away at us in every context and institution of our lives. We struggle with it as individuals, in our families, at work and in our communities. We are continually aware of how things could and should be better. It’s like we are slogging through a muddy bog and we just want to be cleansed of it. So please, someone, dump a bucket of clean water over me so I can start fresh. The deep-seated need is very real.
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Already... Not Yet... Christian Hope
The first Sunday of Advent - the start of our new liturgical year - can sometimes feel like spiritual whiplash. Webster’s says that Advent, by definition, marks the arrival of a notable person, thing or event… which makes perfect sense as we approach Christmas. But, the spiritual difficulty comes in that there are two, quite different Advents we unite in this season: the already fulfilled arrival of the Christ-child in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, and the not yet fulfilled second-coming of Christ the Divine Ruler at the conclusion of the age.
Last week we celebrated the final Sunday of Pentecost, worshiping Christ… the King over all Creation… who will return in victorious majesty to sit on “the throne of Glory” … where He will "restore all things” and “rescue His (scattered and anxious) people.” Last week… victory, and praise, and Christ’s wondrous, yet-to-come consummation event permeated our worship.
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Absolutely Right
You’ve probably never heard of St. Bernard’s Mission in Greutli-Laager Tennessee. You’ve probably never heard of Greutli-Laager, which is actually including two separate cities, Greutli and Laager, much as we might refer to Minneapolis-St. Paul, except as far as I know Minneapolis-St. Paul doesn’t share just one convenience store between them, which I believe is in Greutli so you can’t actually buy a laager in Laager.
But that’s not the point of the story.
St. Bernard’s had a very unique pattern of worship. Their congregation of about 20 was famous in the region because everyone sat on the right-hand side of the church. Only visitors sat on the left. No one really knew why or when it happened, it just did - a quirky little tradition. Everybody was on the right. We tend to sit where we sit, don’t we. I know I do.
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