PostScript: A way in the wilderness
The word ‘way’ in Mark’s Gospel offers a starting point for exploring ‘the way in the wilderness’ this Advent (Mark 1.2-3).
Context and Reflection
A vital key that helps to unlock Mark’s Gospel is offered by the biblical quotation of verses 2 and 3. As already referred to in this week’s ‘Bible notes’ it is actually a composite quotation, which links together a verse from Malachi and a verse from Isaiah. I wonder, however, if the ascription of the quotation just to Isaiah is intended as a clue to encourage readers to dig a bit more deeply? What fascinates me is that in the original Greek there is one word – and only one word – which appears in both halves of the quotation. That word is odos which is variously translated as ‘road’ or ‘way’ or ‘journey’. (In contrast, the two instances translated into English as ‘prepare’ are different words in Greek.)
I believe that the word odos appears in both halves of the quotation precisely as an indication that it is the key to understanding the Gospel of Mark. The word will reappear at significant moments, especially in the middle core chapters of the Gospel
e.g. Jesus…and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ (8.27); They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem (10.32); Bartimaeus…followed him on the way (10.52). ‘Way’ is a fundamental image for this Gospel. It was of course an early title for the followers of Jesus (Acts 9.1). I suspect that, initially, it was linked to the ‘way Jesus taught’. And I think that it may have been due to the genius of the writer of Mark’s Gospel that ‘the way Jesus taught’ shifted into exploring ‘the way Jesus walked’. The word ‘way’ then eventually came to describe not only the physical paths that Jesus trod, first in Galilee and then in Jerusalem, but also in a profound metaphor of his ‘path’ of self-giving, first in ministry and then eventually in his passion. In turn this sharpens the language that refers to those who accompany Jesus on this ‘way’.
John the Baptist is quite literally the ‘forerunner’ of Jesus on the way. One of the reasons we hear at such length about his death (6.14-29) is precisely because the death of the forerunner is intended to foreshadow Jesus’ own. Correspondingly those who are summoned to ‘follow’ Jesus will discover that it is not simply a geographical journey they are being summoned to make. It may well involve them journeying with Jesus into suffering too – and more.
Attached to this reflection is a photograph, taken by my husband and myself (c.1980) when we lived in the Middle East. It is of an ancient road in the arid ‘wilderness’ land near Aleppo. This remarkable road is described as Romano-Byzantine (it may date back to the 4th century AD). It vividly speaks to me of Mark’s metaphor of ‘way’: not least because, in recent years, the ancient Christian communities in this part of Syria have experienced all too obviously the ‘way of suffering’. For example, it was not far from this road that in April 2013 two Christian bishops were taken hostage – their fate is still unknown.
This ‘way’, both for John and for Jesus, begins in the wilderness (1.4,12). The wilderness is above all a place of ‘stripping’. Stripping us down from excess, from pretensions, stripping us naked of the subterfuges we so often use to hide from God and from ourselves. Neville Ward in his classic book The Use of Praying wrote the telling words ‘Mankind cannot bear very much reality’. The wilderness is a place where we may be asked to bear more reality than we feel comfortable with.
Sometimes the wilderness we encounter is an actual physical place. I can well remember leading groups of students on long treks through the Judaean wilderness near Jerusalem. It was an awesome experience, not simply because of the beauty of our surrounds. A large measure of its significance came from the awareness that (quite literally) a few water bottles, a map, (and hopefully my sense of direction!) might well stand between life and death for us all. Life itself was thus given a new importance and clarity.
More often perhaps we have metaphorical ‘wildernesses’ that we are all called to spend time in at different points of our lives. They are periods of time when circumstances leave us bare so that we have to wrestle with ourselves – and perhaps also with God. Our only companion may seem to be our shadow – whose acquaintance we would often prefer not to make. There is a tremendous painting of Christ himself in the wilderness, in which the figure of Satan is actually painted in as Christ’s shadow.
There is a sense in which our experience as nations, as communities, as churches and as individuals since March this year has felt to many of us like ‘a wilderness’. We have in many ways been metaphorically ‘stripped’ and deprived of distractions and thus forced to bear far more reality than is normally the case. Churches too, because of the restrictions they are required to follow, have also needed to ask themselves questions about what is essential – and what is not.
But, of course, the air in the wilderness is normally (except in the days of a khamsin wind) beautifully clear – enabling us to see life in a purer light. Near the beginning of CS Lewis’ Silver Chair, Aslan meets Jill on a mountain-top and says to her, ‘Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind.’ A wilderness is like that mountain-top! That is why at times in Christian history men and women have chosen to live as monks or nuns in the wilderness, to ‘see’ in a clearer light.
Aside the ongoing news about the struggle against COVID, there is one item of news this week that particularly caught my attention. It is also linked to pure air. It is the inquest into the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in which it is cogently being argued that ‘toxic air’ caused by an excess of vehicle pollution played a substantial role in her death.
There is also a sobering BBC News article on the food hunger in parts of the UK due in part to COVID.
The sense of longing (by many people at least) for the imminent arrival of a COVID vaccine bears a curious relationship with the Advent longing for Christmas! The ‘coming’ of the vaccine is widely referred to in the media.
This week’s Journey with Jesus blog (often worth looking at) contains a very good article on what wilderness might mean to us.
A Romano-Byzantine road in North Syria
Prayer
God of passion and power,
insistent, immediate,
challenging, compelling us with your story’s breathless beginning:
walk us into the wilderness
to hear your voice where silence reigns.
Give us insight, the vision beyond all seeing,
so we may look upon heavens torn open
and know that the time of good news for all creation
Is always now. Amen
This prayer could provide the basis for a discussion about the different aspects
of the wilderness.
Wilderness is the place of Moses,
a place no longer captive and not yet free,
of letting go and learning new living.
Wilderness is the place of Elijah,
a place of silence and loneliness,
of awaiting the voice of God and finding clarity.
Wilderness is the place of John,
a place of repenting,
of taking first steps on the path of peace.
Wilderness is the place of Jesus,
a place of preparation,
of getting ready for the reckless life of faith.
We thank you, God, for the wilderness.
Wilderness is our place.
As we wait for the land of promise,
teach us the ways of new living,
lead us to where we hear your word most clearly,
renew us and clear out the wastelands of our lives,
prepare us for life in the awareness of Christ’s coming
where the desert will sing
and the wilderness will blossom as the rose. Amen.
© Francis Brienen, ‘A Restless Hope’, URC Prayer Handbook 1995, used with permission.
There was an online Advent service held by the Diocese in Europe on 30 November – focusing on Advent and the Gospel of Mark. The order of service contains a number of prayers that might be useful to draw on.
Questions
- What places do you think of as ‘wilderness’? Why? Do you think of such wilderness positively or negatively?
- Do your experiences through the months of COVID resonate at all with a sense of ‘being in the wilderness’? What have you learned through this?
All-age activity
When I was teaching New Testament to people training for ministry one of the most exciting and interesting pieces of work I received from a student took us on a journey that focused on the language of ‘way’ and linked places ‘stations’ in the Gospel of Mark with places in the person’s locality, leading us through the Gospel with photographs and ending with the passion. For example:
- what is the ‘wilderness’ in your context?
- …the Jordan?
- …Galilee?
- …the mount of transfiguration?
- …the Temple in Jerusalem?
- …the place of the crucifixion?
Plan to build up a similar ‘way’ or ‘journey’ around your locality over the coming months, perhaps this week discussing together what local places you would want to include and why, and thinking about the resources you will need.
Young people
You have heard about Advent calendars – what about Advent maps! Find a corner of the church in which a large-scale outline of a map of the ‘Bible Lands’ can be created. It is fairly easy to do: you need a line to show the coast – another line to mark out the Jordan river/Sea of Galilee/Dead Sea. Ideally something to make mountains (the central range). This week mark out the ‘wilderness’ – probably beyond the Jordan and with a piece of string or similar create a ‘road’ from the ‘wilderness’ to the Jordan. Explore together what problems you would encounter in the wilderness and on that road. Continue the road in future weeks of Advent, with Galilee, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Dr Clare Amos is Director for Lay Discipleship in the Church of England Diocese in Europe. She especially cherishes the Gospel of Mark and often writes and teaches in this area. In her diocesan role she blogs at https://faithineurope.net – and in the coming months this blog is likely to focus on Mark’s Gospel on a regular basis.
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