January 10, Baptism B (Mark 1:4–11)
Readers of Mark’s Gospel know that a divine fragmentation could happen at any time.
I think that I always wait with bated breath, hoping that folks who institute harm will come to some kind of justice. I waited with bated breath for the verdict when George Zimmerman was tried for the killing of Trayvon Martin, and I waited with bated breath to see if Darren Wilson would be indicted for the killing of Michael Brown. I waited with bated breath to see if any of the police officers who fired shots that killed Breonna Taylor would face any charges. No one has paid for taking any of these Black lives. If I held my breath any longer, I would pass out from lack of oxygen.
Why am I thinking about Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Breonna Taylor? I think that when those of us from communities who know that our lives do not matter no longer hold hope for the “center” to take our lives seriously, we realize that we must get away from that center. I argue that this week’s passage from Mark shows people doing exactly that.
Mark’s Gospel begins by highlighting that he is writing about the gospel of Jesus the Christ (an imperial statement in itself). Then the Gospel writer cites Isaiah but in fact provides an amalgamation of Exodus, Malachi, and Isaiah. “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me,” he writes, quoting Malachi.
