Mark 1:1-13 (NIV)

It can be hard to hear ancient texts with our modern ears and understand what’s being communicated. Our experience of the world is so different from the people who first heard this gospel. They didn’t have electricity, or tv’s, refrigerators or toilets, cars or smartphones… So if we want to understand this gospel, we need to get inside the story—the setting, the context, the feelings and thoughts of the characters, as best we can.

Mark’s gospel begins with a statement—a declaration of what this book is about—and a reference to the Jewish prophet Isaiah, setting his story (and the story of Jesus) within a much larger story, that of the people of Israel, their history and hopes for the future. He’s also speaking into the current moment. The first verse echoes the same phrase used to open writings about emperors and kings in that day. People hearing this verse would have known right away that Mark was making a statement about who Jesus is in light of Israel's history, and in light of the Roman empire who currently had them under their thumb.

As you listen to today’s passage, try to picture yourself in the scene. Imagine that you’ve grpen up hearing this story —the story of God and Israel, the tenuous tale of faithfulness and rebellion, slavery and freedom, the promise land and exile, empire and the Kingdom of God. And you, with your family and community, have been waiting. Waiting for the long-promised Messiah, the King who would bring your people back from exile. Bring you back to your place as the people of God, Israel, who God calls in the beginning of exodus, his firstborn son. And knowing all this you are among those at the Jordan, come to see John the Baptizer.

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What surprised you in this passage? What seemed different or out of the ordinary to you?

As you imagined yourself in the scene, what pictures, thoughts or feelings came to mind?

Camel hair, bugs, sandals and water. Heaven torn open and angels in the wilderness! This passage is both extremely earthy and what we would call extremely “spiritual.” In what ways does the collision of these two seemingly disparate worlds challenge your understanding of the way the world works? Or the way God works?

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The Gospel of Mark is one of the earliest recorded accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Church history connects Mark’s retelling with Peter’s eyewitness accounts as a source, but Mark puts the pieces of the story together in a way that sets his readers up for a new and much-needed perspective—a way to see Jesus as both the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and as the King over their present circumstances.

Mark was most likely writing to the Roman Christians who were under the intense persecution of the Emperor Nero in the first century. They needed encouragement. They needed understanding. They needed to see that the new King they had committed to follow was the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah. They needed to be reminded that suffering was indeed a part of following him, but that suffering did not get to have the last word.

The lame will walk. The eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear. Jesus’ actions of healing and restoration were the initiation of a Kingdom of Shalom, a putting back together of what the evil in our world had torn apart. Yet many could not see. Many were waiting for a king who would conquer their enemies by force, a Messiah who would hang out with the “good crowd,” the religious leaders, and those with political power. But Mark is asking his readers to go back and take another look at the Jewish prophets of the past. What did their Messiah look like? All throughout Mark’s gospel, he’s asking his readers the question “Can you see it?”

The Gospel of Mark reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not about political power or national pride. It’s a radical subversion of all that is anticipated. Strength through weakness, power and might through suffering and sacrifice. It’s an upside-down kingdom where the last are first and the first are last, where outcasts and beggars are the ones who can see clearly!

As we read through Mark’s gospel together, we want to invite you to consider the way that you see Jesus. What assumptions do you bring to your relationship with him? What might cloud your vision? Do you see him for who he truly is? We’ll do this together by doing what we can to place ourselves inside the narrative. As you listen we’ll ask you to imagine yourself in the scene, this might be new to some of you but this kind of practice actually engages different parts of our brian and can help us see familiar stories in new and exciting ways.

As usual, feel free to pause the podcast and go deeper, either in your own study, or with resources provided in our show notes from the Bible Project and more.

Thanks so much for listening, Join us tomorrow for our first episode in the Gospel of Mark.

Merry Christmas! We'll be taking a break until January 1st. Then we will begins series walking through the Gospel of Mark.

My wife and I have 2 daughters. And I will never forget the days that they were born. Both times I ended up sitting alone waiting to come into the operating room. Excitement, fear, joy, I felt it all. And as long as the 9 months felt, the 9 or 10 minutes sitting in that waiting room dragged on forever.

But as I sat there I reflected. On the waiting, on the longing itself. How we came to choose the names of each of our girls, and what it would be like to finally get to see them face to face.

Our oldest is Emma Katherine, which means wholeness and purity. We felt like the LORD was giving us that gift through her. Our youngest is named Alice Yvonne. We landed on Alice after having read a character description from Lewis Carrol, the author of Alice in wonderland. He wrote “alice is "loving and gentle", "courteous to all", "trustful", and "wildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life that comes only in the happy hours of childhood, when all is new and fair, and when Sin and Sorrow are but names — empty words signifying nothing!"

Our prayer is that the LORD would give you this kind of joy this Christmas.

Today look back how the LORD as met you this Advent as we reflect with the four postures that Bobby Gross shared with us at the beginning. Listen along and respond as you’re prompted.

Then we’ll read our final passage, an exhortation from the book of Romans.

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Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

Today’s passage gives us a chance to see the story of Jesus’ birth from another angle—from the perspective of his earthly dad, Joseph. Think of it, Joseph had the role of tending to the work that God was doing in and through and out of Mary. He didn’t make it come about, he couldn’t make it come any quicker, and he couldn’t stop it once it started. He was called to be utterly supportive of Mary.

And as we practice waiting this Advent, we stand to learn a lot from Joseph. We have no power in and of ourselves to bring about that for which we long. We have now ability to make it come any faster or really dictate how it happens, I’m sure this would not have been Joseph's strategy. Yet like Joseph we can terry, and we can tend to what to LORD is doing among us. We learn from Joseph the act of essential support, without which the story would not go on.

And so we are to the LORD. He doesn’t need us to bring things along, but he makes space for us to participate. The questions is what does that look like in this season, and how can you be faithful to it?

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. Where in your life might you be called to the role of essential support? How can you tarry with and tend to the work that the LORD is doing among you?

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:39-56 (NIV)

Have you ever been part of planning a surprise party? Or maybe a marriage proposal? Or Christmas morning for a child? There are a few scenarios in our culture where keeping a secret with another person brings excitement and eager anticipation. Today’s passage brings together the birth stories of John the Baptist and Jesus. Two mothers—one elderly, one a virgin. A Holy Spirit filled prophecy and a spontaneous spoken word. God is at work, moving in wombs and tongues, in the hill country of Judea and on the busy trade routes of Galilee. Joyful expectancy is in the air and in the bodies of two unlikely women. The Messiah is coming. In fact, though unseen, he is already here.

As we continue in yesterday’s story, imagine yourself in the scene. What would you be feeling? Thinking? And how would these words of Mary hit you, even now in your life?

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. What emotions were you aware of as you listened to this passage? Where did you feel resonance, where did you feel dissonance?

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

Today’s passage brings us to what a lot of us grew up calling “The Christmas Story.” The long-awaited Messiah is coming, and the chosen vessel for his formation is a young unwed virgin. Again we look to Mary, we take in her story, we try to get inside her head and heart, and we ask the Lord to give us even a fraction of her faith.

As you listen to the passage today, try to hear it with fresh ears. Take in the words in light of the previous days and weeks of Advent, in light of the story of Israel, in light of the longing, the lament, and the hope we are invited into. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the heart of Mary who said, “Let it be in me, according to your word.”

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. What encouragement did you find in today’s passage? What situations in your life do you need courage and faith like Mary’s to be able to offer yourself to God with open hands?

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Psalm 123 (NIV)

One of the side-effects of this pandemic has been the sudden abundance of time to binge-watch tv shows. One of my favorites is called The Repair Shop. It’s a reality tv show, taking place in the beautiful British countryside. People from miles around bring their broken heirlooms—from teddy bears and record players to furniture and paintings—to be fixed, restored, made to look and hold up as if they were new. And it’s incredible—not only the skill of the craftsmen and conservators doing the work, but the effect of their work on the objects’ owners. They nearly all shed a tear as they behold their formerly torn, stained or broken treasure now shining, in full color and in working order. And I often cry too. It’s beautiful.

As we enter this final week of Advent, we are likely experiencing a number of emotions. Christmastime this year is not what it usually is, for most of us. And waiting for the hope that we hold onto is not an abstract idea. If we weren’t cognisant of our world’s pain before, 2020 has made us see it clearly. Perhaps more than ever we long for God’s peace, his Shalom—that peace that brings not just a ceasefire between enemies, but a putting back together of what has been torn, shattered, damaged.

And as we enter this week, we look to Mary as our example—of how to wait, how to trust God, how to walk in humility and submission to his good and loving will.

Today’s passage is another of the Jewish Songs of Ascents. And it’s a picture of the type of humility and trust that Mary would later embody—quite literally. As you listen to the passage, ask the Lord where you might need to press into this posture of submission and humility and into this fuller vision of Shalom.

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. As you’ve experienced seasons of feeling overcome by the pain of the world—or if you’re in that season right now, how might the Lord be asking you to draw near to him and lift your eyes to him for help?

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Micah 5:2-5 (NIV)

Today’s passage takes us to the book of Micah. Micah was a prophet at the same time as Isaiah. Similarly, he prophesied Israel’s downfall to the kingdom of Assyria. He also prophesied about a coming Messiah, describing him as a shepherd—one whose origins are ancient, one coming from... the small town of Bethlehem.

Today’s passage reminds us that God often chooses the small things, weak things, imperfect, humble and unlikely things to work out his plan of redemption in the world, even in the midst of approaching armies.

So as we wait for the LORD this Advent, what areas of your life, your family, your community, might God want to use to bring about his purposes?

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. In the turmoil of our world today and in your own struggles and pain, what does it mean for Jesus to “be our peace?”

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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I Thessalonians 5:12-24 (NIV)

Have you ever been in a situation where someone was bullying you or telling lies about you or threatening you? When it feels like your life is being scrutinized in these ways, things like personal integrity become suddenly very important. Confidence in what you believe about yourself and the world are needed to make it through. Today’s passage takes us to one of the early church communities, in Thessalonica, and these followers of Jesus were experiencing just that. They left behind the Greek gods and idols of their culture. They pledged allegiance to a new King—Jesus, and because of this they were being severely persecuted by Rome. Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians to encourage them, knowing that the cost of their faithfulness to Israel’s God was great, but that their hope in him was greater.

As we practice sitting in the tension of joyful expectancy, and painful waiting this Advent, we receive these words as an encouragement and a challenge.

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1. What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?

2. It’s easy to get distracted from the mission of the church and to forget that we have a hope that transcends the struggles of our world. Where in this passage did you find encouragement? Or challenge?

3. Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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