January 24, Epiphany 3B (Mark 1:14-20)
Jesus’ ministry shows that preaching has consequences. We should preach anyway.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching.” The NRSV translates the last word as “proclaiming,” but either word works. My preference is preaching, because while we may occasionally refer to our pulpit work as proclamation, we by and large think of ourselves as preachers, and of our work as preaching. In Mark’s Gospel, that’s the first of Jesus’ works. He comes out of the gate preaching; all other actions follow. And what does he preach? “The good news of God,” the gospel.
While the campaign season of 2020 is behind us, preaching remains a formidable task as the United States experiences another peaceful—if highly disputed—transition of power. Among the many concerns affecting and afflicting the clergy with whom I serve, high on the list has been the challenge of preaching with integrity without becoming “too political.” That will remain a challenge in this season of transition, and well beyond.
This text from Mark has struck me more deeply in this time than it ever has before. What a powerful endorsement of the work we preachers do, this reminder that, at least as Mark tells the story, preaching is how Jesus launches his earthly work. It’s the pointy end of the spear or, to use less martial language, the first act of vulnerability.
