What About You?

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).

The opening verse presents the theme of the Gospel of Mark. Mark lays his cards right on the table, so to speak.  He says, “I am about to lay before you such wondrous words and actions of this man Jesus, that you will see that he was and is no mere man but the actual Son of God.”  It is clear that Mark is begging the question throughout the gospel: “See, do you get it now who he is?”

And this was [John the Baptist’s] message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (1:7-8).

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out,  ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (1:23-24).

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,  ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (2:5-6)

Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God” (3:11).

[The disciples] were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (4:41)

People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (7:37).

Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (9:7)

The pivotal verse in the gospel, is 8:29: “But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

If Mark were reading his gospel, you could easily imagine him stopping at this point, look intently at his listeners and say, “What about you?”

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy The Lord of the Rings, four little hobbits meet a strange man who rescues them from being gobbled up by trees and then invites them into his home.  The next day, Tom Bombadil entertains his guests with many stories.  The hours and the stories pile up.  Let’s pick up near the end.

When they caught his words again they found that he had now wandered into strange regions beyond their memory and beyond their waking thought, into times when the world was wider, and the seas flowed straight to the western shore; and still on and back Tom went singing out into ancient starlight, when only the Elf-sires were awake.  Then suddenly he stopped, and they saw that he nodded as if he was falling asleep.  The hobbits sat still before him, enchanted; and it seemed as if, under the spell of his words, the wind had gone, and the clouds had dried up, and the day had been withdrawn, and darkness had come from East and West, and all the sky was filled with the light of white stars.

Whether the morning and evening of one day or of many days had passed Frodo could not tell.  He did not feel either hungry or tired, only filled with wonder.  The stars shone through the window and the silence of the heavens seemed to be round him.  He spoke at last out of his wonder and a sudden fear of that silence:

“Who are you, Master?’ he asked.

“Eh, what?” said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinting in the gloom.  “Don’t you know my name yet?  That’s the only answer.  Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless?  But you are young and I am old.  Eldest, that’s what I am.  Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn.  He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving.  He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights.  When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent.”

We have in the Gospel of Mark one older than Tom Bombadil, one much more mysterious, and one far more important to know.  For the more we learn about Jesus, the more we learn about God, indeed, the more we learn about ourselves and who we were intended to be.  Jesus is not just an interesting character to know.  He is after all, the Savior, the Son of God, about whom and through whom the good news for us has come.