The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
who shall prepare thy way;
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight—"
St. Mark hits the ground running as his Gospel begins. There is an urgency in his writing that leaves one breathless. Again and again, St. Mark will write, 'immediately' as the action unfolds.
St. Mark has no time to lose. We must get out the Good News. The entire world must hear it right now! As we read his Gospel, we understand that this is a matter of life and death.
We lost some of that urgency and fire as we go about every day of a congregation. We also make the assumption that all those who need to hear the Good News have heard it.
The Gospel still must be proclaimed. Many in Clayton County, Iowa alone need to hear this Word. We must never assume that all have been evangelized. Jesus commanded us to go and proclaim the Good News. He did not set a time limit.
St. Mark understood that until Jesus returns, now, this minute is the time the Gospel must be proclaimed.