εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“The beginning of the gospel (Αρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου) of Jesus Christ [the Son of God].
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare (κατασκευάσει) your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
‘Prepare (ἑτοιμάσατε) the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.’”
John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ)
proclaiming a baptism of repentance (μετανοίας) for the forgiveness of sins.”
“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare (κατασκευάσει) your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
‘Prepare (ἑτοιμάσατε) the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.’”
John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ)
proclaiming a baptism of repentance (μετανοίας) for the forgiveness of sins.”
(Mark 1:1-4)
θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
Do you have a favorite Advent Text from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah? For many, this Sunday’s proclamation from the Prophet of Hope is the signature Word of Advent found in the Old Testament only overshadowed by Isaiah 7:14 (“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and you shall name him Emmanuel.”) George Frederick Handel enshrined Isaiah 40 as the opening oratorios in Messiah.
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
As for the Sacred Text at hand, all four Evangelists employ some aspects of Isaiah 40 as Jesus’ Public Ministry commences in the region of Galilee. The Synoptic Evangelists also include the command “Prepare (ἑτοιμάσατε) [Mark 1:2, Matthew 3:3 and Luke 3:4].” Take note of the verses in this Sunday’s proclamation from Mark: “Behold, … he will prepare (κατασκευάσει) your way (Mark 1:2)” and “A voice … ‘Prepare (ἑτοιμάσατε) the way of the Lord’ (Mark 1:3).” The English word prepare appears twice in 2 verses, yet the Greek verbs are different: κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo in verse 2) and ἑτοιμάζω (hetoimazo, in verse 3). Is the Evangelist making a point here by using two separate verbs or is he simply availing himself of a theological thesaurus, varying the words to keep our attention?
Considering the myriad of insights one could bring to the Marcan Gospel, ‘fluff’ is not one of the Evangelist’s characteristics. In fact, when one examines the Greek Text of what is perhaps the first written Gospel, one quickly discovers difficulty in reading. Saint Mark’s favorite word is AND (καί, kai in Greek). From a grammatical point of view seems he has confused the word and with a period! Many note that he writes in ‘run-on’ sentences and the over use of and joining 1 thought to another is a nightmare for teachers and professors of writing, not to mention scholars translating the Text. But this gives us an insight into the Evangelist. For Mark, time is short – not necessarily chronologically but time in the sense of acting now to prevent a situation from getting worse. One might liken this to an infection in the body: far better to ‘nip it [the infection] in the bud’ because if it is permitted to fester, one runs the risk of a loss of limb or even one’s physical life despite aggressive antibiotics. The Evangelist bluntly, boldly and urgently records the events of Jesus’ Words and Deeds with the intent that one will permit the Person Jesus to transform the hard heart and open one’s heart to God the Father's way of living, known in the Gospels as the Kingdom of God (more on the Kingdom of God, to repent and to believe when we return to Ordinary Time in January).
This background is meant to form a basis not only for our reception of Mark’s Gospel this Liturgical Year, but also to make a case, from a human perspective, that the 2 distinct verbs – both translated into English as prepare – is intentional on Saint Mark’s part. In verse 3, notice the proximity of the command (yes, a command!) ἑτοιμάσατε (hetoimasate) to the verse concerning John the Baptist’s proclamation of “baptism of repentance (μετανοίας) for the forgiveness of sins.” While μετάνοια (metanoia) is often translated “repentance,” it is composed of 2 Greek words: “beyond (μετά, meta)” and “mind (νοῦς, nous).” To go “beyond the mind” in antiquity was the equivalent of “going to/from the heart.” ἑτοιμάσατε (hetoimasate) is about putting ‘heart’ into your thoughts, your words and your actions. Permitting your heart to invade thoughts, words and actions minimally raises the bar of attentiveness. Increasing attentiveness is more properly perceived and received as recognizing that Holy Spirit is guiding our lives. When you and I are inattentive and attempt to run life according to personal agendas, life gets messed-up and messed-up big time! Recall what happened in the Garden: when humanity stopped listening to the words of the Creator our guard dropped. Our inattentiveness to the words and instructions for life from the Creator resulted in listening to another voice, a divided voice that brought division and alienation into human nature requiring the incarnate and consubstantial intervention of Jesus the Christ.
Speaking of the Garden … there is still another prepare verb to consider: κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo in verse 2). Many English translations of the Sacred Scriptures render this verb prepare, and do so perhaps because the verb is not frequently used in the New Testament. Literally κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo) means ‘to create’ or ‘to fashion vessels necessary for persons to live.’ This verb has a decidedly concrete, touchable, tangible – CREATED focus. Notice the proximity of this verse to the opening verse: “The beginning of the gospel (Αρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου) of Jesus Christ” (verse 1). Biblically, Αρχὴ (arche, beginning) has a connection with THE beginning, Genesis. This is the same Greek word that Saint John uses to begin the Fourth Gospel and it is the same word that is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX). The Creation motif is certainly not out of place here and it ties in well with Advent being both a time and a way of living in which something is new, something new is being created. Naturally the question arises, what? What is being created? What is new?
In one way, Advent is a time of a new creation – a creation that is not only spiritual (change of heart) but also something that is quite touchable, tangible and visible. While the Season is about being made ready for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, the readiness for His Nativity requires the creation of a new attitude in us who bear His Name. The attitude or disposition is this: as a Christian is Jesus the singularly, unique Person Who grounds my life and the life of our parishes? This is one of the fundamental questions the εὐαγγελίον (euaggelion, Good News, Gospel) poses - Who is Jesus? Those who self-identify as “Christian” may have varying levels of intellectual, catechetical, and cultural ‘knowledge’ ABOUT Jesus. But the timely Advent question is, ‘has this knowledge been permitted to become love FOR, WITH and OF Jesus?’ Knowing what we have done and do for people we love can be a pattern for growing in love that Christ offers. Being with Him, hanging out in silent prayer, attentive celebration of the Sacraments and pondering His Word, saying NO to anything not of Him and charitable service in His Name are some of the simple acts to respond to His invitation of love. Accepting this invitation permits His work of loving creation to continue in our lives and the lives of our communities. These graced works prepare and prepare each of us for Jesus.
This background is meant to form a basis not only for our reception of Mark’s Gospel this Liturgical Year, but also to make a case, from a human perspective, that the 2 distinct verbs – both translated into English as prepare – is intentional on Saint Mark’s part. In verse 3, notice the proximity of the command (yes, a command!) ἑτοιμάσατε (hetoimasate) to the verse concerning John the Baptist’s proclamation of “baptism of repentance (μετανοίας) for the forgiveness of sins.” While μετάνοια (metanoia) is often translated “repentance,” it is composed of 2 Greek words: “beyond (μετά, meta)” and “mind (νοῦς, nous).” To go “beyond the mind” in antiquity was the equivalent of “going to/from the heart.” ἑτοιμάσατε (hetoimasate) is about putting ‘heart’ into your thoughts, your words and your actions. Permitting your heart to invade thoughts, words and actions minimally raises the bar of attentiveness. Increasing attentiveness is more properly perceived and received as recognizing that Holy Spirit is guiding our lives. When you and I are inattentive and attempt to run life according to personal agendas, life gets messed-up and messed-up big time! Recall what happened in the Garden: when humanity stopped listening to the words of the Creator our guard dropped. Our inattentiveness to the words and instructions for life from the Creator resulted in listening to another voice, a divided voice that brought division and alienation into human nature requiring the incarnate and consubstantial intervention of Jesus the Christ.
Speaking of the Garden … there is still another prepare verb to consider: κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo in verse 2). Many English translations of the Sacred Scriptures render this verb prepare, and do so perhaps because the verb is not frequently used in the New Testament. Literally κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo) means ‘to create’ or ‘to fashion vessels necessary for persons to live.’ This verb has a decidedly concrete, touchable, tangible – CREATED focus. Notice the proximity of this verse to the opening verse: “The beginning of the gospel (Αρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου) of Jesus Christ” (verse 1). Biblically, Αρχὴ (arche, beginning) has a connection with THE beginning, Genesis. This is the same Greek word that Saint John uses to begin the Fourth Gospel and it is the same word that is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX). The Creation motif is certainly not out of place here and it ties in well with Advent being both a time and a way of living in which something is new, something new is being created. Naturally the question arises, what? What is being created? What is new?
In one way, Advent is a time of a new creation – a creation that is not only spiritual (change of heart) but also something that is quite touchable, tangible and visible. While the Season is about being made ready for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, the readiness for His Nativity requires the creation of a new attitude in us who bear His Name. The attitude or disposition is this: as a Christian is Jesus the singularly, unique Person Who grounds my life and the life of our parishes? This is one of the fundamental questions the εὐαγγελίον (euaggelion, Good News, Gospel) poses - Who is Jesus? Those who self-identify as “Christian” may have varying levels of intellectual, catechetical, and cultural ‘knowledge’ ABOUT Jesus. But the timely Advent question is, ‘has this knowledge been permitted to become love FOR, WITH and OF Jesus?’ Knowing what we have done and do for people we love can be a pattern for growing in love that Christ offers. Being with Him, hanging out in silent prayer, attentive celebration of the Sacraments and pondering His Word, saying NO to anything not of Him and charitable service in His Name are some of the simple acts to respond to His invitation of love. Accepting this invitation permits His work of loving creation to continue in our lives and the lives of our communities. These graced works prepare and prepare each of us for Jesus.
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
