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Mark 1:1-8 I have to be honest with you. I’m not going to discuss the entire gospel lesson this morning. I couldn’t quite get past the very first verse – so that’s all I’m really going to talk about this morning. Every saga has a beginning. This was the tagline when Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace came out a few years ago. If you’re a Star Wars nut like me, it was an exciting time. If you remember, they re-released the original three episodes just before they came out with Episode I just to tease us even more. I remember being so excited about the Phantom Menace that me & my sister waited in line for over 6 hours to watch it at the midnight premiere. We got to the theater about dinner time and there were already about 150 people in line. What really cracked me up was that most of the people in line weren’t even born when the original movies came out. The very first Star Wars came out the year before I was born and most of the people in line were younger than I was. But, we were all eager to see how this whole Star Wars story started, whether we were around for the original or not. Because, as most of you know, when George Lucas released the original Star Wars, he skipped part of the story. He started right smack in the middle with Episode IV. But that was okay because in the original Star Wars movie, he tried to give us what he thought was the most exciting parts and the most important parts. Only later, when there was more money to be made and fans to appease, did he begin to work on the first three episodes, which were completed this past summer. His first three movies were classics by themselves and they accomplished exactly what he wanted them to – they made us want even more. Even as late as this summer, we wanted to know how Annikan became Darth Vader and how he and OB1 became bitter enemies. The original movies excited us, they teased us, they added some mystery and they made us beg for more. Every saga has a beginning. And in this first verse in Mark, Mark is claiming that this is the beginning. His very first words are, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” But this statement is misleading. Is this really the beginning of the story? Let’s take a look at where Mark begins his story. These first eight verses that we read this morning are filling in a little background, much like those words at the beginning of the Star Wars movies. And then Mark’s story picks up in verse 9 with Jesus begin baptized by John in the Jordan River. Now wait a minute. This isn’t the beginning, is it? Jesus is already an adult. Where’s the Christmas story? We know from other gospels that Jesus didn’t just appear out of thin air. Matthew begins his story with a genealogy and the traditional manger scene. Luke begins telling his story of Jesus even before Matthew does by starting with the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth. And John backs up the story even further by starting Jesus’ story at the beginning of time – in the beginning was the Word. So how accurate is Mark’s claim here, that “This” is the beginning of the good news? Jesus is already an adult and that’s not the beginning, especially if Jesus’ story goes back all the way to the beginning of time. I guess you could say that Mark did the same thing that George Lucas did with the original Star Wars – he didn’t start in the very beginning – he started right in the middle with what he thought was the most important part. Mark begins his story with Jesus’ baptism and when Jesus actually begins his ministry. He skips all the birth and childhood stories because that’s the kind of guy Mark is – he’s a no nonsense kind of storyteller. He knows who Jesus is, he knows the important parts of the story, and he’s going to tell you in a hurry. He tells you what you need to know and he hopefully does the same thing that George Lucas did by starting his story right in the middle - he teases you, he makes you excited, he adds a touch of mystery, and he makes you begs for more. Thank goodness we have the other gospel writers, otherwise we wouldn’t know anything about Jesus’ birth, most of his wonderful parables, we wouldn’t have the beatitudes or Lazarus or the footwashing. Mark gets straight to the point – this story is going to be about Jesus Christ and its going to be Good News. Now that’s something else to think about. What exactly is good news? We hear people say it all the time – did you hear the good news? I have some good news to tell you. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Think of the last time that you received some really good news. Maybe it was a good grade in school. Maybe it was a Christmas bonus that you were hoping for. Maybe it was the birth of a little baby into your family. But there’s a problem with good news. Good news isn’t always good for everyone and some good news for some people can even mean bad news for others. For example, if your friend has a baby, that’s good news for you, but someone in China could care less. Last week when the Rams scored 10 points in 30 seconds to beat the Texans, it was certainly good news for Rams’ fans, but it was bad news for Texans’ fans. And for some of you, I know that it seems like its been a long time since you’ve received any good news at all. So if we’re lucky enough to receive good news, the good news that we receive is usually fairly specific to us or those around us. So Mark is making a very bold statement here. He’s saying that this story, which he is starting in the middle, is good news. Good news for everyone! And he doesn’t put any limits or qualifiers on that. He’s not saying that its just good news to the Jews or to the people that Jesus actually spoke to or just to the Gentiles. He is making the broad based claim that this story of Jesus Christ is flat out good news for everyone. Period. That means that Mark intends this story to be good news for us as well. And so our question becomes: As we hear the stories about Jesus, which parts are good news to you? How is Jesus good news to you? Is it good news for you that Jesus can heal aching hearts and hurting bodies? Because he can. Is it good news for you that Jesus loves you unconditionally, even when nobody else does? Because he does. It is good news for you to know that your God walks WITH you rather than looking down on you from a distance? Because God is always with you, you are never alone. Is it good news for you that Jesus gave us the Sacraments so that we can each encounter him in a unique and special way through Baptism and Holy Communion? Because he did and we can. Is it good news for you that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that you are now forgiven and given a second chance at life? Because he did and you are. Is it good news for you that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, that death is no longer the end, that there is something more than this life, and that your lost loved ones will be raised again with you in the final resurrection? Because Jesus did rise from the dead, he is coming again, and death is not the end. Is it good news for you that Jesus showed us how to live out our faith and that you now have a mentor, an example, and a way to tell right from wrong? Because Jesus does exactly that by showing us what faith in action looks like. The Good News is all around us, and what may be good news about Jesus to you may differ from what the good news is to somebody else. But of this we can be assured – Jesus Christ is the good news and he is good news for everyone. Every saga has a beginning. John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, weird clothes, funny diet and all. This is the beginning of the good news, which IS Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now to you who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, the story, the saga continues with you. Amen.
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