When watching the swearing in ceremony of President Joe Biden to his office of the presidency of the United States of America on the 20th of January 2021, there were so many flavours of Christian faith rolling all around. Before, I mentioned those Christian faith elements in that swearing in ceremony, for me it was the young poet Amanda Goreman whose poem, “The hill we climb,” captured the moment at that inauguration. The inaugural service began and concluded with prayers from two clergyman. President Biden sworn into his office by placing his hand on his big fat family Bible, which he has always used at the inauguration of his other offices that he has served. President Biden’s inaugural speech included a silent prayer remembering all those who have lost their lives in the pandemic. In pumping confidence and hope to his country after a devastating four years, President Biden quoted a verse from Psalm 30:5, “…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” He also quoted the words of St. Augustine from his famous book City of God, and said, “Many centuries ago Saint Augustine, a saint in my church wrote that a people were a multitude defined by the common objects of their love,” and explained that those objects of love include, “opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honour and yes the truth.” The popular hymn that was sung during the Civil rights movement in the US, “Amazing Grace” was also sung at this inaugural ceremony. There was so much uncritical public theology at play at the inauguration, perhaps that also demonstrates the American context today. I really wish and pray that President Biden will live up to all that he has quoted, said, and sang at the inauguration to his new office, so that faith will not be just limited to a rhetoric but will be translated into reality, into actions in transforming the society today, so that faith finds its relevance in the public sphere.
The text for this Sunday from Mark 1:14-20, is a recording of Jesus’s inauguration of his ministry, and more specifically the beginning of his ministry from Galilee. If you have a Red Lettered Bible, where the words of Jesus Christ are printed in red, we see the colour red begins at 1:15 of Mark, which is to say that the first words of Jesus at his inauguration of his ministry are, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.” Jesus lived up to all the words of his inaugural address, taking the kingdom of God near to the people, especially those outcastes and untouchables, and calling those in power to repentance and justice. Jesus’ mission inaugural address and his mission engagements have always matched with one another, and Jesus saw to it that his faith and his practice went hand in hand in this entire journey of life. Here I recognise two mission models that Jesus engages with. At a time when we are thinking of mission in the context of the (post)pandemic, these two models that Jesus engaged gives us some guidance in our way forward as churches and as faith communities.
1. Mission as Improvisation:
Right after his baptism in the river Jordan, Jesus was taken into the wilderness for forty days enduring the temptations, and after John the baptiser was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. Prior to his arrest, John, the baptiser was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (1:4) and people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (1:5). Now that John was arrested, that ministry of John has come to a halt, and as soon as Jesus came out of the wilderness, he came to Galilee and continued that unfinished mission of John by proclaiming the good news of God. Jesus improvised that mission model of John, by announcing the fulfilment of time, and the Kingdom of God to be near along with the message of repentance and believing in the good news. Jesus recognised the importance of the mission of John the baptiser, and in his absence, Jesus took up that mission, improvised and continued it. Both Mark and Matthew, picked on this mission as improvisation by Jesus in his mission inaugural address in their gospels, while Luke records differently where Jesus goes into the synagogue in Nazareth to read out the passage from Isaiah as his inaugural address and manifesto.
What was striking for me in this text in Mark and Matthew is that, when John proclaimed the baptism of repentance, there were many people, the whole of Judean countryside and all people of Jerusalem, flocked at him, confessing their sins. But when Jesus proclaimed the good news of God, improvising the mission of John the baptiser, both Mark and Matthew are silent in their recording about the number or the group that started to flock and follow him at his proclamation. Why were they silent? Were people not moved as much as they have been moved when Jesus proclaimed a similar gospel? Did this mission model of John not work for Jesus? The learning I take out of our Markan text is, perhaps what worked for John might not have worked for Jesus, and therefore the gospel writer did not record about the following of people to such a proclamation, as there wouldn’t have been many. However, Jesus attempted in his mission with a model as improvisation, building on what John the baptiser was proclaiming, only to learn that God works differently for different people in different contexts. This also explains for me the dynamism of God, for God works in God’s own ways beyond any predictions and assumptions, for after all mission is God’s. Interestingly, according to Luke, when Jesus spoke about the radical inclusion and preference of the ‘outsiders’ in his inaugural mission address, the audience were filled with rage, drove him out of the town and tried to push him off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Anyways, Jesus did attempt on the mission model of improvisation, proclaiming the good news like John, the baptiser and at every point in his life, God did not leave Jesus at any moment.
2. Mission as Innovation:
Having proclaimed the good news, right after the arrest of John to the Galileans, Jesus now works on the mission of innovation, perhaps working on a new way of doing mission, which was to move into the communities seeking and finding people to follow him. Such a model of mission, which I call as innovation worked well for Jesus, and ever since then Jesus pioneered in innovating new ways, and adventurous ways of doing mission all along his life and ministry. Again, Mark and Matthew agree to this mission of calling the first disciples, whereas Luke had a different version of calling the first disciples, that included a miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus later passed along the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and Andrew, two brothers and James and John, two other brothers and invited them to follow him, and they left their nets and followed Jesus Christ. These four disciples were the first recruits of Jesus Christ in his movement for the Kingdom of God, and called them in the public sphere, at their own workplaces to follow him.
Jesus' mission of calling his first disciples was a mission of innovation. Firstly, Jesus’ mission innovation was seen in his choosing the Galilean area as his starting point for his mission engagement. In the first century Palestine, the Galilean area had more ‘non-Jews’ than Jews, for Jews were concentrated in the Judean parts and in Jerusalem, so in order to explain that as a messiah, he has come for all people, including those Galileans. Galilee was also a place for social dissenters to the Roman empire. So, Jesus chose that part of the world to choose his first disciples, and that explains his innovative and inclusive mission endeavour. Secondly, Jesus' mission as innovation was demonstrated in his journeying to the streets and sea coasts of Galilee, rather than to the temples and synagogues. As a Rabbi, Jesus was supposed to be in the temples and the synagogues, but to demonstrate his innovative mission, he chose to tread the dusty soils, at this instance on the sea coast of Galilee. Jesus always travelled into the communities that were overlooked and forgotten. Thirdly, Jesus' innovative mission was seen in his calling Simon & Andrew, James & John to find them at their workplaces and inviting them to follow him. Jesus did not search the religious spaces and places to find his first disciples, rather called some hard working people, who are willing to take the risks and challenges at their work, in this case in fishing on rough seas and waters. Fourthly, we notice Jesus’ innovative mission in his call to those first disciples, who were fishermen, to follow him so that he will make them ‘fish for people’ (17v). Jesus’ emphasis was on people, transforming them, and the mission of his first disciples was to fish people for the kingdom, and be a channel of transforming people in their occupied society. That call of Jesus to follow him, gave a sense of confidence to Simon, Andrew, James and John, for they knew they were being called for a greater purpose, and therefore immediately responded to that call and challenge.
On recognising the innovative mission of Jesus, these four disciples found their call, found their sense of discipleship and immediately left everything and followed Jesus Christ to work for the kingdom of God. This innovative mission of Jesus worked well for that time and context, for God who entrusts mission to people, works on God’s graciousness, which includes innovation and reimagination.
The relevance of this text for us today is: In the mission of God, God works through God’s people with creativity, innovation and wonder. No two ways of doing mission need be the same. For what was applied in one context, in one time period need not be the same for another context and another time period. So, to those of us engaged in the mission of God, the calling for us is to wait on God to be creative, relevant and challenging in our attempts for the kingdom of God. Mission of God is diverse and innovative. Secondly, following Jesus in this post-secular context is to be ‘fish for people,’ which is to say that following Jesus is to be and become a channel of transforming people and communities around us for the kingdom of God. Following Jesus today does not account for the numbers in the churches, rather it is sharing God’s love through our actions for change in our society. We will be known as Christians by our love and only by our love, love for God that needs to be demonstrated as love for neighbour. Thirdly, in our context today, mission is all about treading the dusty roads in our communities, travelling into the overlooked communities, being with them, listening to them, and joining with them in transforming our society. If we want to be innovative in our mission for God, as churches we are called to journey into our communities, for God is at work there. In the mission model of John, people flocked and went to him into the wilderness. In the mission model of Jesus, Jesus went into the outcasted communities, offering hope and bringing healing to them. The choice is ours, and may we join with Jesus in being innovative, creative, gracious and relevant in our mission for God, and journey towards our local communities.
The final words of Amanda Gorman’s poem at the Inauguration reverberate in my ears, offering a sense of hope in our mission forward, for the mission of God is diverse and innovative. Allow me to quote her words here:
When day comes, we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it
If only we're brave enough to be it
I want to conclude my reflection with the words of John Bell, in his famous song, “Will you come and follow me (The summons)”
Will you come and follow me
if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown
in you and you in me?
Will you leave your self behind
if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
should your life attract or scare,
will you let me answer prayer
in you and you in me?
Raj Bharat Patta,
22nd January 2021
Pic Credit: https://www.workstars.com/recognition-and-engagement-blog/2017/06/07/4-examples-nurture-innovation/
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