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Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent

December 14, 2022

Invitatory

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: Mark 1:1-5

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. 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,’ ” so John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

Meditation – Peter Vanderveen

It’s probably fair to say that the most famous – or infamous – declaration of a beginning occurs in the book of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” As the first verse of the first book of the Bible, it’s hard not to read this as an indication of chronological time: as if everything started when God spoke and called the world into being. Before this, we assume, there was nothing, or, at least, there was nothing of any order, when time could be meaningful. The word “beginning” refers, then, to a singular point of origin from which everything has since arisen. 

But there is another way to read this verse. It has been suggested* that a more accurate translation might read “As a way of making a beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The difference may seem slight, but it’s dramatic. For in this rendering, “beginning” refers not to the chronological origin of all that is; it simply marks where the author decided to drop into the story of God and the cosmos. The page was blank. One has to start somewhere. It may have seemed logical to base all that was to follow on the foundational relationship between God and the world, for without the one there wouldn’t be the other. 

Given the vastness of the scope of the Bible, one could easily wonder how best to begin. Where does one start? How does one start? Beginning can be a daunting question. If I were asked about any of the relationships that are meaningful to me, it might be easiest to begin with some mention of when and how we met and what transpired; but, more importantly, I’d likely want to begin elsewhere, with some initial mention of what makes that relationship unique and worthy and lasting. I’d want to start by marking what is iconic, rather than what’s chronological. Then the rest of the story could serve to magnify this.

The first verse of the first Gospel written – Mark’s account – is a clear echo of the first verse in Genesis. It’s not even a full sentence. And, perhaps lazily, we tend to read it chronologically as well: as if Jesus became interesting when he showed up at the river Jordan when John the Baptist was preaching. And then we settle in for the Gospel’s extended travelog, following after Jesus as he moved from town to town, day by day. If this beginning marks merely a point in time, it can be quickly passed over.

If, however, you pause to ponder whether “beginning” might have a reference other than time, then this introductory sentence refers not to the start of Jesus’ ministry but to the nature of the “good news” that Jesus was somehow delivering. It highlights for us the abrupt interjection of something that was unexpected and thrilling, hence “news” that is startlingly “good.” And it informs us that this “news” is dynamic: it isn’t merely the pronouncement of a fact (something banal like “God is love”). It alerts us to pay attention to what will follow because the story will show us “what love looks like” and that “God is actively loving in precisely this way.”

This latter kind of beginning inclines me to read on – as if my life depends on it. 

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

     hallowed be thy Name,

     thy kingdom come,

     thy will be done,

         on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

     as we forgive those

         who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

     and the power, and the glory,

     for ever and ever. Amen. 

• Gabriel Josipovici: The Book of God