I love preaching on the Gospel of Mark, because the Gospel of Mark is a lot like camp. It starts with a bang; it moves at a crazy speed; it never really lets up; and it never loses sight of the point of it all. You may notice that this is Mark, chapter 1, and already a lot has happened! Jesus has been born and named and baptized; we’ve met John the Baptist; Jesus has called some disciples; he has exorcised some demons… and it’s only verse 29. By contrast, in Luke’s Gospel at this point Mary is just about to hear she is going to have a baby, and Matthew has barely moved past telling us Jesus’ genealogy. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist sees Jesus for the first time in verse 29.
Mark is like my
six-year-old when she is excited about telling me something that happened at
school that day. I learned to tie my shoes, and then I tripped, and then I had
to tie them again, and then that other girl laughed at me, and then I told her
that wasn’t nice, and then, you’ll never guess what!, she fell, and then I laughed
at her… and then… and then…! Hold up, kid, come up for a breath! But this
is a lot like camp, actually. Kids arrive at camp and we start the ball rolling
and then there are games and singing and dancing and meals and swimming and
Bible reading and how on earth did that week go so fast?! For the counselors,
it is more like “How did summer go that fast?!”
This is how most meaningful things in life go, whether it is a week at camp or raising children, falling in love or starting work at that dream job. Things move at a breakneck speed and, yet, we linger in the most meaningful of moments. You see, the Gospel of Mark does contain within it a multitude of incredibly meaningful moments, even if Mark himself does not stay there. Jesus is on to the next thing and the next thing like Santa Claus delivering presents on Christmas Eve. There is simply not time to stop, but this is not because Mark is a poor writer. Mark is hurtling us toward the cross; in the Gospel of Mark, it is all about the cross. And at Red Willow, this is not a bad summation of our ministry either, because here it is all about the cross; it is all about Jesus meeting us in the midst of a crazy, fast, exciting camp week in the middle of busy lives and breaking into our routine to proclaim a new thing that changes us. At Red Willow, we focus on the essentials, like the fact that because of Christ dying that death, you who were once outsiders have been brought in by the grace of God. It is so simple and powerful. Don’t linger on the next most important thing because you might miss the real bread and butter.
