We have to choose – between life in the wilderness and life in the jungle, between living in caves or building with bricks and mortar. Sometimes the choice is not ours to make. We have to fit into a ready-made civilisation or the aftermath of one that has outlived its usefulness.
The Gospel – i.e. Christianity – had its beginnings in the wilderness. Mark’s version makes no bones about it. It was in the first instance just a voice. Put into context, the voice had been heard before – in fact centuries before. The prophet Isaiah had seen this coming. Mark spends time pressing this point. The voice is a quotation.
One thing led to another. The herald had people flocking to him. Amongst them was a man from Nazareth. He responded to John the herald as many others had done. Then came another voice, not that of a herald or a long-dead prophet. A voice from heaven commended this man saying, ‘You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.’ We are not told who heard the voice. Neither are we told whether it was followed by any further explanation. What we are told is that the man from Nazareth felt compelled to go into the wilderness where he encountered angels and wild beasts.
We interpret that as we will. There is much that is not being said. But the significance is clear. Something new is afoot. This is the introduction to a new chapter in the human story.
It begins not with a committee or a manifesto. It begins with a voice, a message. Well did Eugene Peterson entitle his translation of the Bible as ‘The Message’. Christianity was a message before it was an institution.
We have to preserve that order. It is not easy. Institutions readily develop out of messages. We human beings have our fleeting lives and pass away from the story. Institutions remain. The opening words of Mark’s Gospel are there for all time to set the pace and take us back to priorities.
PREYA BUK
Newly authorised for services in the diocese of the Northern Territory, Australia is the Kriol Preya Buk, a translation of the prayer book into the local language. The diocese comprises one-fifth of the Australian land-mass, has 230,000 people of whom 30 per cent are indigenous Australians and has as its Bishop, Greg Anderson, who was previously head of the department of mission at Moore College, Sydney.
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