The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
(Mark 1:1 NRSV)
That’s it! That’s how Mark does it. The shortest and earliest written of the four Gospels (good news) telling the story of Jesus begins with no fanfare, no preliminaries and not an angel or a shepherd in sight; just a straight message that what follows is good news, life-changing news. There are many people around the world today who would share that view: that in Jesus of Nazareth God has done something new, and as a result the world is a different place.
There is still scope, though, for that good news to be heard by fresh generations, or for it to be heard again as the radical truth which it should be.
We live in a time which is, in one sense at least, not unlike the time in which the gospels were written. In a similar manner to the First Century AD (or CE if you prefer) the Christian message must take its place in the great market-place of ideas which is the modern world. That’s fair enough. If the message has validity then people will listen. In addition, just as the Roman roads of the First Century facilitated a huge improvement in communication, our age is experiencing a communication revolution of its own. There has never been a better time to share the Gospel message.
In each of the reflections in Three Minutes with Jesus you will have the opportunity to think about some aspect of the Christian faith via a short passage from the New Testament. They are not “bible studies” as such, but perhaps a starting point for a conversation or an exploration.
The coming of Jesus did herald a new era: the Coming of the Kingdom of God – the Kingdom of love, justice, forgiveness and peace. Even if the followers of Jesus have often failed to live up to those Kingdom values that doesn’t change the basic truth.
But perhaps it is better to say that the coming of Jesus enabled not so much a new start, as a new opportunity for our lives to be lived as God always intended; less of a new beginning, more of a new way to be.
Jesus,
show me that your story is still Good News:
for me, for those I love, for my community
and ultimately for God’s world.
Amen.
Just a Thought . . . 