Mark 1:9-15In 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 forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
The heavens are torn apart and humanity and divinity are revealed together. For me that’s one of those 3D, stereoscopic action shots you see on the big screen. It brings to mind two other dramatic turning point moments in scripture – Jesus’ transfiguration when a voice from heaven says essentially the same thing and Jesus’ whole self radiated divine light and again at the time of Jesus’ death when the temple curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of creation was ripped apart from top to bottom. In each of these three mind blowing events God entered history and the barrier between humanity and divinity was abolished.
ReplyDeleteSo what was the consequence of these unequivocal actions? God was no longer distant, inaccessible, or conceptual. God was present in the person of Jesus who laid claim to all of creation as God’s kingdom. The power and the effect of God’s Presence is known right here on earth in the eternal now. This was and is the good news.
The thing is, just as soon as we hear the good news the beasts and the demons (inside and out) mobilize to drive us the other way. It happened to Jesus. Why shouldn’t we expect it to happen to us? I don’t know about you but every time I get a glimmer of the Light of Christ in my life I want to build a memorial to it, cling to it and make it my own. And if I manage to escape that temptation, my right arm grows long enough to reach around and pat my back. And if I manage to beat that satan back it’s not long before another throws a log into my eye. Truly I would be an utterly hopeless case except God isn’t far away. There are angels everywhere picking me up, brushing me off, whispering words of comfort and encouragement and reminding me of what is truly so. I too am the beloved child of God and nothing can keep us apart. This is very good news.
I like to follow the thought that God created everything. Since there was nothing but God, what He created was from Himself. Therefore, God is not only all around me, but inside, under, above, infront, behind, left and right of me. That is real comfort.
DeleteDebra, thanks for the powerful commentary. I will ponder that and your dream/s.
ReplyDelete