Some people say that even though the Gospels are beautiful, they lack detail. I came across this little story, which I love.

As Joseph teaches Jesus the secrets of a Carpenter, he shares what life has taught him so far.  Like all parents, he probably talks too much, and yet .........
"Remember Jesus, the best way to begin is to clear a space.  To stop the mind from judging.  There is always more than we think there is.  Judgement stops more appearing.  It cuts people, and situations, down to the little we know.

And then we avoid shaming someone.  The Law is our measure.  But never use is as a hammer to hit or a saw to cut.  The purpose of the Law is to clear spaces for Love to grow, but it can break people and lose its sense of purpose.  It always fears life will get out of control, so it likes to make examples of people who break it.  So find a way to honour the Law and the Person who has broken it.  This is not easy.  It requires making Law work for Love.  Love is the Sun, Law its weakest ray.

Once something happened and I was tempted to judge.  But I held back, I dreamed and I waited and a bigger door opened.  A door that is hard to find.  I was led into a room filled with sunlight, a home for the Spirit.  Your mother and you were there.  And a presence of light that talked to my fears. All distance was crossed, all separations connected there.  It was a dream but I wasn't asleep.  The dream woke me up, and the beam was gone from my eye.  I saw clearly the adventure making a home for the Spirit would be.

So see everything twice Jesus.  See it with your eye and then with your heart.  At first glance a piece of wood may look useless.  You might be about to throw it out.  But see the beauty beyond the surface, the arm of a chair hidden in its shape.  And when you see loveliness, embrace it.  Take it to your home.  Don't hesitate or ask questions.  Argue with everything, Jesus, but always be faithful and obedient to Love."

There is a little piece of Wisdom that goes, 'Just because someone has asked you a question doesn't mean you have to answer it.'  In today's Gospel, St John the Baptiser is a great example of this!
Perhaps a story, in thIs year of Mark, will explain.  It is the story of a parish that had begun the fall apart.  The young people had voted with their feet, those left behind barely spoke to one another and people had stopped believing that the direction offered was the right one.

Once upon a time, in the streets that surrounded the parish church, there lived a Rabbi.  The parishioners would see him from time to time walking their streets and would say to each other, "The Rabbi is walking the streets."
The Parish Priest was worried about the decline in the parish.  He had prayed and worked to change the situation but to no avail.  One day, he saw the Rabbi walking the streets and decided to ask his advice.  He walked up behind the Rabbi, who turned and hugged the parish priest and whispered that he knew the situation.  
When the Parish Priest asked for his advice, he was astonished when the Rabbi said, "Someone in your community is the Messiah!"  Then he turned and went on his way.  
The Parish Priest met some parishioners who has seen this encounter and they asked, 'What did the Rabbi say?" "One of us is the Messiah," the parish priest said incredulously.
The news spread through the parish like wildfire.  Parishioners began talking to one another. " One of us."  "Which one?"
Slowly things began to change in the parish, as everyone began to search for the Messiah in each other and listen for the voice of the Messiah in each other's words.  The Parish began to grow inside and out as people came to receive genuine solace and direction.

Of course, the truths in this story are not really about who was the Messiah.  Instead,  it invites a new level of attention as we ask questions or listen to each other.  Remember the poem by Hafiz?  " How do I listen to others?  As if everyone were my Master.  Speaking to me His last Cherished Words".

Marks' Gospel opens with a beginning which has no end.  And, in the light of the story that is to follow, it is clear that he seeks, more then anything, to transform the consciousness of every disciple.  He does this by stripping the titles, 'CHRIST' and 'SON OF GOD' of their usual meaning.  If the reader wants the story of Jesus to be a story of earthly triumph and glory, they will have to think twice.

Mark tells the story of Jesus and it is Jesus' destiny to meet deadly resistance from those who think they are running the show.  It is Jesus' destiny to be misunderstood and abandoned by his disciples.  It is Jesus' destiny to be written off and written out and then to rise again.  All of these will provide the true meaning of the titles with which He is adorned.

The Prophet John calls people to himself.  The ones who come to him do so because they have begun to notice they are in prison and have come to be freed from sin.  John demands they change their minds and their habits.  He calls them to a painful self examination. To shake off the shackles of the past, to walk away from what is hurting and destroying them and others through them.  To say 'No' to what has imprisoned them, and to emerge from the waters of Baptism with a new sense of what mercy and faithfulness look like, what justice and love feel like.  In short he gives them a renewed experience of freedom and purpose.

John watches them emerge from the waters.  He deflects their gratitude and tells them that there is Another who will now restore their zest for life through His Spirt.  To all on the edge of life giving change, the Baptist whispers his secret.  "I am the beginning before it begins."

And all they have to do now is wait and welcome Him when He comes.