By Kali Miller, residence life coordinator
Scripture: Mark 1:1-8 (NRSV)
I have found through my short 24 years of life, that in basic human relationship and through positions of leadership, we find the need to pretend that we don’t have junk in our lives. We want others to think we are on top of the mountain, all of the time, but the truth of it all, we’re not. In fact, I get a lot of freedom from saying, “it’s okay to not be okay.”
I want to feel a different kind of peace. The peace that comes from our Creator. It’s not my job to lie and create the perfect image of myself so others think nothing is wrong. It’s okay if I am struggling. It’s okay to ask for help from others. I need to be vulnerable and to accept the times in which I fail. It’s okay to look bad and that’s the most humbling thing I can tell myself. Christ forgives me and in my chaos the Sustainer brings peace.
It wasn’t John’s appearance that brought the crowds of people. No, it was the need for people to find freedom. I can imagine what the people of Jerusalem could be feeling in that moment, the anticipation of wanting to be free of the junk, and John’s message was simple: that repentance is the way to the forgiveness of sins. John gives the people — and us — a very important message, that not only will they be baptized with water, but with the Holy Spirit. This message of empowerment is an important reminder that not only will we be forgiven if we ask, but that we are filled with the Holy Spirit allowing us to live devoted lives.
Scripture: Mark 1:1-8 (NRSV)
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”who will prepare your way;
3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”