Prepare the way of the LORD

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You."
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. 

- Mark 1:1-13

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.   Mark's Gospel begins at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, which would not be complete without the work of John the Baptist.  John is considered the greatest and last of Old Testament-style prophets.  Mark quotes from Malachi and Isaiah, revealing the work of John.  Gospel ("good news" or "good message") refers to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation.  This beginning is about the preparation necessary for Christ's ministry.  In the early Church, Christ's Baptism by John and His Nativity (Christmas) were celebrated on the same day.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  John clothing and appearance reminds us of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  Later Christ will say that John is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah's return (see Matthew 11:14;17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13).  John's image is one of radical poverty, complete commitment to doing the work of God he's given to do.  We note the significance of his understanding of Christ's work connected to the Holy Spirit.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   Christ's baptism by John is an occasion for Epiphany ("Manifestation") or Theophany ("Manifestation of God") in an appearance of the Trinity:  the Father's voice, the identification of Jesus as Son, and the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  This is the moment transition between the Old Testament and the New, the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  The Church also teaches that through Christ's baptism, the waters of the world are sanctified for Christian baptism.

 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. The work of the Spirit is immediate at this start of Christ's ministry.  His first work is to be tempted by Satan (see Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-13).  Each temptation is countered by Christ with reliance on God.  It is a preparation for His ministry; the temptations come as those which test Jesus in the areas of power, influence, and worldly glory.  They will manifest in various forms throughout His ministry, particularly with demands for proofs of His identity and authority.  That Christ was in the wilderness, in this start to His ministry, with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him (as in the scenes of His birth), reminds us that He is here for the salvation not only of human beings, but for the life of the world.   All of creation is involved in this endeavor, this adventure.

An important theme in today's reading is preparation.  Mark's Gospel begins simply and briefly, but its focus is telling and informing us about the whole focus of the early Church.  Jesus' ministry is the true good news, and this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ:  when the salvation plan for the world is brought forth.  We read of the preparation which is personified in John the Baptist.  He's a product of the whole history of Jewish spirituality.  He is the last and greatest in the line of Old Testament prophets.  His commitment to God and to a holy life is exemplary, legendary, and he is a figure revered in his own time for his commitment to truth and the God of Israel.  He "tells it like it is."  (And he will die for doing so.)  John is the Forerunner, in the title the Church has given him from the beginning.  His baptism of Jesus comes to prepare the way, as the quotations from Malachi and Isaiah emphasize.  It is John who "will prepare Your way before You."  John who has the voice which teaches to "prepare the way of the LORD."  John's baptism is preparation for the Messiah via repentance, but he prepares the world for baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus' baptism by John is in order to fulfill all righteousness, preparing the fullness of the time for Christ's ministry and Christian baptism that will follow.  The manifestation of the Trinity is a fulfillment of this time -- all that has come before has prepared us for this.  And finally the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness, the temptations preparing Him for the public ministry.   All of this is necessary before Christ begins to preach to the world and offer us His ministry.   The salvation plan of God unfolds through time in a kind of fullness we witness in the Gospels; everything is prepared for this "now," this moment of revelation and manifestation.  All the characters in the Scriptures witness to us the importance of preparation for the fullness of the time, and the Church has followed with its own teachings about preparation.  Repentance, prayer, practices such as fasting, are all forms of preparation for the fullness of our own spiritual lives, for what it means to be in the here and the now, alert, awake, and mindful of what we are to be about.  How do you prepare for tests in your own life?  How do we make the best of the time we have, the preparation for difficult decisions, for making the most of talents, intelligence, and opportunities?  If we start with the mindfulness of God, the recollection of relationship in prayer, we can't be far off from sensing the importance of "fullness," all the capacities inherent in where we are right now, what God offers us, and how to make the most of it. What is your way of preparation?  How are you a part of God's "fullness" for the world?  Our expectations are filled through the work of preparation, the mindfulness in the varieties of our spiritual practice, the decision to "Follow Him."