Reflection: Second Sunday of Advent

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Bible passage

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Reflection

Beginnings matter; writers know that beginnings matter. St Mark knew that when he wrote, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. It is not the beginning we expect. No Christmas story, no baby in a manger. We are not even in Bethlehem. Like Genesis and St John’s gospel, St Mark insists this is indeed the beginning; it is the start of everything. According to Mark, the thing we need to know about the beginning of everything is that there is good news, and the good news is Jesus Christ. The good news is not a plan or set of rules to live by, nor is it a promise of happy ever after. The good news is the life of Jesus Christ. To make sense of everything you need to know about this story, this life.

The good news is that we can trust (dare to believe) that our lives and our world will not end badly, there is hope. The hope does not depend on us being brave, or strong, or right. We will not be saved by an agenda, or a slogan or a programme. The good news is that Jesus, the Son of God lived a life like ours. The good news is that we are only asked to be human, fully human. The good news can be worked out in your life and mine. The good news is that living, living like Christ, will save us all.