Scripture

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God....
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mark 1.4-5)

Reflection

Mark ‘s Gospel opens quite abruptly: no account of the Baby born in a stable, no ancestral history. The Good News, says Mark, is here, now. It demands your attention, and a response.

The ‘beginning of the good news’ is about repentance, about recognising where we have gone wrong and seeking God’s forgiveness. Why did people flock out into the wilderness to hear John’s challenging message? Surely because they were aware that something was missing in their relationship to God, and they glimpsed a way to put things right.

In this season of Advent we are challenged to take an honest look at our own shortcomings and to pray for God’s loving forgiveness. Set free, as St Paul says, from the burden of guilt, we find new confidence and energy, strengthened by God’s grace to follow more closely in the steps of Christ.

May this Advent be a time of blessing for us all.

Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen