Mark 1:1-8 (NRSV)
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Chapter 1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Verse 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
Devotion
Why does "the good news of Jesus Christ" in Mark's Gospel begin with a call to repentance (which sounds like bad news)? And what are the people who are going out to see John repenting from, exactly? Our text doesn't provide answers. Rather, it leaves room for us, as contemporary disciples of Jesus Christ, to interpret the relationship between repentance and the good news of Jesus Christ for our own lives. God comes near to each one of us in Jesus Christ, and we are called to respond to God's advent with repentance. And, in so doing, we receive once again the good news both of God's forgiveness and of our belovedness.
Prayer
We thank you, O God, for the gift of faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ in our lives—those who have called us to repentance and those who have announced your divine forgiveness and love. Strengthen us through your Holy Spirit and teach us to welcome your coming into our world; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.