There are several parts to a story that make it worth reading or telling. A good plot, interesting characters, and conflict and resolution are just a few of those characteristics that make a story stimulating. Perhaps the most important component that makes a story worth reading is the opening. Any story worth reading must capture the imagination of its readers through a good beginning.
It is well
known among readers of the four canonical Gospels that each begins with a
different opening. Matthew and Luke narrate the birth narratives of Jesus,
although they do so differently. John speaks about the Word that existed with
God, was God, and became flesh. Mark begins with a simple introduction and a
quote from the Old Testament. But Mark’s beginning is packed with interesting
points that contribute to his whole story about Jesus and that inform and move the
readers who hear his version.
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| Gospel of Mark from Lindisfarne Gospels, British Library |
Mark pulls
no punches when it comes to the subject matter of his story. He is not writing
a history of the Roman world or about any leaders in the Roman world. He is not
writing a history of the Jewish people or about just any Jew from the first
century. No, Mark is writing about this person called Jesus and specifically
about the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Indeed, many scholars
have suggested that verse one is Mark’s title to his whole story, signifying
the entire purpose of this Gospel.
Following
this opening verse, we read in verses 2-3 words from the Old Testament which
Mark attributes to the prophet Isaiah. Yet, the statements found here actually comprise a mixture of
quotations from the Hebrew Bible. Mark
is actually quoting from three different Old Testament passages (Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1,
and Isaiah 40:3), but he clearly credits all of these to Isaiah.
Why? Was
he mistaken? Or, might there be some purpose behind this seeming error?
I think Mark desires that his story of Jesus be understood against the backdrop of themes
that are found in Isaiah; specifically
the theme of wilderness wandering, especially because the emphasis in Isaiah is on the hope of eschatological salvation in
the wilderness.
Isaiah speaks about a new Exodus, which resembles
the Exodus from Egypt, and he tells about a messenger of good tidings (Isa.
40:9). Mark has proclaimed that his narrative is about the good news of Jesus,
who is God’s messenger of good tidings. Since Mark has introduced his narrative as a “gospel,” and has
followed that introduction by naming Isaiah as the source of the quotation to
follow, it is likely that he desires his readers to
understand this story in
light the theme of hope that we find
in Isaiah and to see this hope coming to fulfillment
in the coming of Jesus.
It’s as if Mark is
using these quotations at this
juncture in the story as a way of picking up the story of the past and continuing the hope begun in that former time, in the time of Jesus’
coming. In other words, in the
coming of Jesus, God is
at work within Mark’s story, fulfilling the promises of the past. By using
Isaiah as the backdrop to the story, then, Mark invites us to comprehend God’s
presence and activity in the world in Jesus.
This idea is carried forth in the first statement
that comes from the Hebrew Bible that Mark quotes, “See, I am sending my
messenger ahead of you.” Clearly it is God who is sending God’s messenger ahead of Jesus, who we know is John the Baptist, who
will be introduced in verses 4-8. John’s role is very specific; he is sent by
God to “prepare the way of the Lord” a direct quote from Isaiah 40:3.
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| Stanzione, Massimo,The Preaching of St John the Baptist in the Desert c. 1634, Museo del Prado, Madrid |
When we read verses 2-3, however, there
seems to be one path designated, but under two different names. “Your path”
refers to Jesus, and the way/path of the Lord retains its original reference to
God. So it appears that Mark is setting out a very close connection between
Jesus and God, and he is telling us that the Lord, God, is
active in the sending of Jesus to obtain the victory promised in the past,
specifically by Isaiah.
As God has been seen as active in sending the messenger, John
the Baptist, so God is seen here
as promising to enter into the creation to go the way of victory through the path
that Jesus will take. The way of the Lord is the way of the Son and the way of
God, which God will take in entering the world.
The “way of the
Lord” finds its fulfillment in the “way of Jesus” who goes to the cross to
suffer and die for humankind. It is the way of God bringing about victory over
God’s enemies through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
But the way of Jesus
is also our way. We are called to prepare the way of God in our own hearts and
lives and in our own word. In doing so, we are called to open ourselves to God
by following Jesus’ way of service and self-sacrifice.
As we journey
through another Lent, let us allow Mark’s opening to capture our imagination as
to how we prepare the way of the Lord by proclaiming to all the good news of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God as the fulfillment of God’s promises to God’s
creation.
