Mark 1:1-13

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

It's interesting to me that Mark begins his gospel story with the baptism of Jesus. There is no account of Jesus in the story until he comes to John at the Jordan River to be baptized. No birth narrative, no stories of teen Jesus in the temple, no Joseph and Mary, nothing prior to the baptism. Before Jesus arrives, John tells the people "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." To me, this is the most significant statement in today's passage. John's prophetic message and recognition of who Jesus is, helps us understand everything that follows.

When Jesus came out of the water, the scripture tells us that the Spirit descended on him. The spirit in the form of a dove and then a voice boomed from heaven. I don't know about you, but if I were there, I would have freaked out. If you think about it, it's a pretty scary scene.

I have been scared before, and I have heard sounds from the sky that boom like thunder. I've also seen birds land on people before. Combine all those elements and mix them with John's prophetic message, I still don't think we have the entirety of the scene. 

John says that baptism with the Holy Spirit goes beyond baptism with water; there's more to it. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are renewed, restored, and born again as a new creation. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we follow the teachings of a man who embodied pure unconditional love for all of humanity who bids us do the same. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are Christ's own forever, and nothing on earth can break that bond. 

The question for us today, as we are in the wilderness of Lent, is do we know this? If we are baptized and are brought into the life of Jesus, don't we know that we are recipients of such awesome power and responsibility? Don't we know that we are responsible for showing others who Jesus is by our life and action? As we prepare for the paschal feast, before we start to examine where we have come up short, we first need to remember who we are as baptized recipients of the Holy Spirit. We are beloved of God, we are agents of the Holy Spirit, and we belong to Christ Jesus. 

Titus 1:1-16 (NRSV)

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began— in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour,

To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

I left you behind in Crete for this reason, that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach. It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, ‘Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.’ That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

How many times have we heard someone say about someone else, “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions.”  I personally think that is why the Christian Church suffers. It's because the leaders don't live up to the standard set by society. It is important, as Christians, that we show who we know God to be by our actions, lest we be counted with the hypocrites. I am reminded of the old camp song, We are One in the Spirit with the line "They will know we are Christians by our love!" However, we must keep in mind that we are ALL human, with all the brokenness that goes along with that. That's not an excuse, but more an overall assessment of the human condition and why we need Jesus. Jesus is the one who reconciles and restores the world to God.

The introduction of the letter from Paul to Titus is full of encouragement for Titus. But, with his newly appointed position in Crete, there comes much responsibility and accountability. Paul sets the bar high in his description to Titus of what it means to be an elder or a bishop. He sets the description in contrast to those of a lesser caliber; those he calls rebellious. Paul doesn’t hold back and warns Titus of the deceivers and rebellious people, especially those who could be sitting right next to him! Nobody is exempt from ridicule.

How do we know the others are? Who are the false prophets, idle talkers, or deceivers? I would say that we know them by their actions…  There’s an old saying that if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck then it’s probably a duck. However, if it doesn’t, then it’s probably not. So beware of those who “profess to know God, but deny him by their actions."

In relation to our Lenten journey,  this reading begs the question, “are we showing the world who we know God to be by our actions?” If not, we probably need to use this season to take a long hard look at ourselves and at what we are doing (or what we are not doing). Lent is the season of change, repentance, and turning around. In Greek, it's called metanoia. It’s never too late to turn around and get going along the right path.

Mark 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Then he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.  When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard.  But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted.  Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed.  He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.  What then will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not read this scripture: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'?"

“Beloved son” is the term that stands out to me today.  We know Jesus as the only beloved Son of God.  In the parable story that Jesus tells, it is easy to place Jesus in the role of the beloved son that the tenants of the vineyard seized, killed, and threw out of the vineyard. 

Parables are succinct stories that have no historical integrity but display events so that they have an alternative meaning and a lesson to be learned.  Jesus uses parables to explain situations, and this parable of the vineyard owner is no different.  The vineyard owner has been paralleled with God, and the ones sent to collect the produce are the mighty prophets of old.  Jesus himself is the Son.  The tenants are the world and could be Israel in this case.  Jesus sites for them a psalm that they would easily recognize (Psalm 118:22-23).  The audience would immediately understand that the story Jesus is telling has a distinct meaning for what is about to happen to him.

The tenants have been given great responsibility for the vineyard, which is well equipped with a fence, a wine press, and a watchtower.  God has given us everything that we need, yet we continue to turn our backs on God, not acknowledging all the wonderful blessings.  The world has rejected and killed all the prophets of God and then reject and kill the beloved son.

The call today is not simple.  It involves understanding and accepting the responsibility to care for the creation (the vineyard) that God has provided for us.  In that, we are expected to honor and respect God’s prophets.  It also involves placing Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, at the foundation of our life so that everything else aligns with Him.