Gen 1: 1-5 (OT page 1)
Psalm 29 (B.A.S. page 738)
Acts 19: 1-7 (NT page 139)
Mark 1: 2-11 (NT page 34)
The 1994 movie Pulp Fiction,
directed by Quentin Tarantino, begins with scene of two unusual characters
committing armed robbery in a restaurant.
The robbery is committed by a very loving and very violent couple with
the unusual names Honey
Bunny and Pumpkin. As is the case with
most of Tarantino’s movies it is very violent and at times hard to watch but
also very funny in a dark way. However,
Pulp Fiction is unusual as it presents the plot in a less than a
straightforward manner. The viewer is
not really sure what is going on in the story for the first half of the movie. There are many seemingly disconnected scenes
and events – plots and sub-plots with twists and turns which the audience has
trouble putting together. However, as
the movie develops the story all these disparate parts slowly come together and
the plot is revealed. It is a ground-breaking
way of telling a story in a movie which has been copied in other movies since.
Today is liturgically very much
like that. We are not sure how all these
parts fit together. We are not sure what
is going on with the story line. We have
a few plot lines going on at the same time and if we don’t pay attention we
will lose track of the story. Just last
week we had we had Epiphany – with the arrival of the Wise Men – the Magi finally
get to the stable bearing gifts for the Christ Child – better late than never
certainly applies here.
Epiphany took place last week
on the 6th as it always does.
So we should be in the season of Epiphany with the change in liturgical
colour being green. However, the
calendar call for white as you can see on the Altar. That is because we are also celebrating the
Baptism of Christ by John in the Jordan River.
We have the Gospel reading Mark 1: 2-1.
We were celebrating Christmas and the nativity of our Lord just a few
days ago. But John doesn’t have anything
to do directly with the Nativity. We go right from the Nativity story to the
Baptism – quite a leap. We have to
wonder what is going on in this story - this plot of the Life of Jesus. We can
only hope that it all comes together if we pay attention and stay with the
story. Of course we are told very little
about Jesus’s life between the birth and his baptism. At least we seem to have the consolation that
it’s not violent like Pulp Fiction. Or perhaps
it is—we will have to wait and see how this story unfolds.
Well the plot line actually
follows the life the Jesus quite closely.
Jesus baptism by John in the Jordan River is the start of Jesus public
ministry. Mark’s Gospel actually starts
at this point – it has no account of the nativity of Jesus. Some people—even some Christians—are
surprised to be told of this. We depend
on Matthew and Luke to give us that part of the plot. The story of Jesus life basically with one
minor exemption jumps from his birth to his baptism. We know almost nothing about his life
growing up from the Gospel – with the exception of his journey to the temple
when he was twelve. So in this sense we have an ending and a beginning.
The beginning is reflected in
the OT reading the beginning of the creation story in Genesis. The OT reading gives us another beginning—the
beginning of all creation. As few weeks
ago we heard about John as the voice in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way
of the Lord.” He prepares for the
coming of the Christ Child – the Messiah.
And so it begins and ends for each beginning marks and ending. But we do not know the ultimate end of the
story yet. That still must unfold.
So is this story one without
violence unlike Pulp Fiction? Actually,
no. We do have the slaughter of the
innocents – King Herod orders all children two year old and younger in and
around Bethlehem killed in his futile attempt to prevent the usurping of his
throne by the new King of the Jews. But
the baptism—surely there is no violence in the part of the plot we have
today. Well, the assigned Gospel reading
cut off the story prematurely. If we
read on to the next verse we have a new subplot, 12And
the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.13He
was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild
beasts; and the angels waited on him.
This is no nice,
pleasant church baptism here. The
wonderful epiphany of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, the declaration
from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” No—immediately we have a twist and turn—the
unexpected happens. That same Spirit—now
not in the form of a peaceful dove—but something much more dramatic with an
implication of violence—drives him into the wilderness—apparently against his
will if not violently.
Why baptism at the beginning of the public
ministry? Jesus submits to the Baptism
of John for the repentance of sin—he who is without sin. This baptism is to me as much an ordination as
a baptism. Jesus is ordained to begin
his journey that will take him to the cross.
It is a journey which is worthy of a plot by Quinten Tarantino—will have
twists and turns, betrayals and traps sprung but escaped through wit and God’s
will.
Jesus did not need to repent but he did need a way
to mark the beginning of his ministry.
In a sense that happens at every baptism. It marks the beginning of a new journey—for
us—imperfect humans that we are—it is one that marks leaving the old life
behind. The slate has been wiped
clean.
There is a dramatic representation of this in Pulp
Fiction. One of the principal characters
Jules is a hit man—he kills people for a living. Jules has an interesting twist on his
occupation. Just before he is going to
kill someone he quotes the bible – a passage from Ezekiel. As Jules put it so succinctly:
There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path
of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and
the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good
will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly
his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down
upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison
and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my
vengeance upon you."
As Jules explains he has been saying this
for years and if someone heard this he knew he was a dead man. However, after Jules experiences what he
considers a miracle and escapes what seems certain death he has
an epiphany – seemingly a revelation from God.
I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it
was a cold-blooded thing to say to someone before I popped him. But I saw something
this mornin' made me think twice. See, now I'm thinking: maybe it means you're
the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here... he's the shepherd
protecting me in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous
man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. And I'd
like that. But that ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the
tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the
shepherd.
I have cleaned up some of the language given where
we are – if you want the unexpurgated version you can find it online. As a result he decides to give
up his life as a hit man and goes straight.
That, is a true epiphany and a true beginning. What God asks of us is not perfection. God asks that we try “real hard” and have the
intention of turning our life around and making a new beginning. May we all have a new beginning in Christ in
this New Year. Amen
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