Mark 1:9-15
"At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.' At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of G-d. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of G-d is near. Repent and believe the good news!'
THOUGHTS:
When Jesus looked upward and saw the skies being torn open, I wonder if he saw the very hands of G-d peeling back the clouds, the blue expanse? It doesn't sound like the sky just casually rolled back, but instead it was torn open. I might be tempted to think it was violent; however, I want to picture it more as an emotional release. For all ages, G-d had been moving with humanity, guiding, leading, shifting, but it had been from afar. Not since the garden had G-d walked among his people. His presence came in other ways, but this physical presence, one that would walk among creation was one that he had not known in a very long time. What an emotional moment! Jesus steps publicly into the waters of mikvah, the waters of cleansing - the waters that bring ritual cleansing. Jesus' first act of submission -- he who knew no sin, who was the archetype of purity and wholeness, humbling himself to be ritually purified and in this very moment committing and submitting to the path that would bring him death. G-d walking among his creation once again knowing that the ultimate redemption was on it's way!
The first words of Jesus that Mark records - "The time has come, the kingdom of G-d is near. Repent and believe the good news!" The word time is kairos. It's not chronos - which is a chronological time, but instead it's an intersection. It's a moment or event when G-d collides with us and an encounter happens. We can't avoid chronos. That type of time comes and goes and we can't stop it, we can't hold it still. We all grow old. But we avoid kairos moments all the time. In these moments G-d comes near. He comes within our grasp. He reaches out to us. He woos us close to his side. And we can absolutely miss it...These moments are meant to change us = that's repent - simply think differently, change your mind. The word repent gets a bad rap. It is not always negative. In G-d's eyes, it's never a shaming or a humiliation. Repent in G-d's eyes is a positive thing and is just about changing how we think about something. These moments are meant to change our mind and cause us to believe. Believe involves action. The repentance portion changes our belief, but changing our beliefs or having beliefs is NOT enough. A true encounter with G-d brings a change of mind and a change of behavior. Our believe and our behave must line up. That is the path of discipleship. Through kairos moments our believe and our behave begin to intersect and we become more like Christ. The kingdom of G-d is near and we have a choice to live into it.
Jesus became one of us to walk among us a path to death so that we might have life - life more fully right now! So that we might be forever changed each moment of our life when we grab hold of these kairos moments. He is present to us. He is in all our moments. The question is: are we going to see him?
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our G-d. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O Lord my G-d, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, 'Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my G-d; your law is within my heart.' I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly." (Psalm 40:1-10)
ACTION:
Today, I want to embrace the kairos moments and I want to be forever changed. I will seek G-d in the small things and hold precious his presence.
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