In some ways Mark's opening is such a disappointment. Rather like his so called Shorter Ending with the women fleeing the tomb “for they were afraid.” Compared to Matthew and Luke with their grand genealogies linking Jesus back to Adam and Abraham; with their much-loved and treasured birth narratives with their angels and shepherds; the manger scene; the visit of the Magi and all the rest, Mark begins with a bald statement and then turns to the presence and preaching of John the Baptist with his rather edgy message. Nor is there any of the drama of St John's great Prologue: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” linking Jesus back to the act of Creation itself. What is going on here?

Mark's use of the word “beginning” itself could be seen to contain reference to the opening words of the Book of Genesis, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth” and indeed to the opening of John's Gospel quoted above. Sure John 's Gospel is normally regarded as written later than Mark but John's Prologue could well have been an existing hymn or liturgical song independent of the later gospel to which it was incorporated. Paul did just that in the famous passage in Philippians 2 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God... but humbled himself” and so on.

That “beginning” calls to mind that the God who acts in Jesus Christ is none other than the creator God of Genesis. And further more the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God is God's new act of creation, the source of new life, new beginnings and new hope. This gospel is not written to strangers to the good news of Jesus but rather to the church made up of believers. Mark writes first and foremost to the church, that is to us, who know the code words and the references. He does not need to spell them out in a long introduction.

I went to hear the pianist Piotr Anderszewski perform at Carnegie Hall the other night. He is a particularly fine performer but what attracted me immediately to his style was his total lack of what I call “carry on” before he played a note. Some pianists spend so much time adjusting themselves and sitting silently before the keyboard before they start. Not so Anderszewski who like Mark cut to the chase immediately: he sat down and played and may it be said played brilliantly.

It is that immediacy and breathless urgency in Mark which is again worth noting. The word “immediately” in the English translation is used over and over again. If you don't believe me read Mark chapter 1 when you get home. A lot happens in a few verses. These first 8 verses dispose of John the Baptist: he is arrested in v 14 and later in chapter 6 is put to death by Herod after the famous dance.

But the figure of John the Baptist or John the Forerunner is important to the tradition. That is why all 4 gospels mention him. He immediately gives Jesus a context in the economy of God's salvation. John stands in the tradition of the great Hebrew prophets quoting Malachi and Isaiah and with the model of Elijah hovering in the wings as it were. John is the link between God's saving actions of old and this new thing which is about to take place. He points us back to the prophetic witness to God's faithful love for his people and to God's promises for their future. His quote is from the familiar words from Isaiah 40 which we heard read as the first lesson: “Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God.” These words were directed to the Hebrew exiles in Babylon. They were words of comfort, of reassurance and of hope in God's future addressed to a people who had given up hope. For us they are real Advent words catching us up in this theme of quiet expectation and hope and trust in God's future.

But there is more to it than that. For not only do the words bring comfort and hope but more importantly remind us that the initiative is God's. “Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God”. It is God who is addressing the heavenly assembly. And in Mark John the Baptist quoting Isaiah and Malachi says “See I am sending out my messenger.” Once again it is God who takes the initiative and it is always so in the story of our salvation as we will witness in the Christmas story. God becomes one of us being born as a baby in Bethlehem. It is that primacy of God's initiative in our salvation that is so important for us as people of faith to remember. When times are tough; when things seem against us; when not much is making sense in our own lives or in the world around us, like the economy at present, it is easy to feel unloved or unwanted by or unworthy of God. Why would God bother with me? But the heart of the Gospel is that God does care; that we do matter to God; that we are loved for who we are; because God made us in love and for love and takes the initiative of love in the person and work of Jesus Christ. That is the good news. And that same priority can be seen in John the Baptist's proclamation of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This does not mean that God's initiative depends on our repentance but that our repentance is always in response to God's loving move towards us symbolized by baptism. The water of life is there for us to receive if only we would come to ourselves and turn from our self-centered ways to the overflowing love of God.

Last of all John is known as the Forerunner because he points forward away from himself to Jesus, who is the source of new life itself, that is the life of the Spirit of God. John says “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” As Advent proceeds so the sense of expectation, the sense of excitement grows as we prepare for the coming of our salvation.

Today, this Second Sunday of Advent, is listed in our by laws as the day for the Annual Meeting of the Parish. It is an appropriate day for such a meeting because the Advent themes are fundamental to our life. In all our deliberations as a parish; in the reporting; in the consideration of the budget; in the election of office bearers; in thinking about our life and mission we need to keep central to our thinking the Advent themes as seen in today's readings. All that we do as the people of God here needs to be seen in response to what God has done for us. We are what we are because of God's initiative of love towards us; in his calling us to be his people; in his gift of the Spirit to enable us to carry out our task; in his care and oversight of us in all our need. Secondly we need to make sure our life together as a parish, as the people of God here at Transfiguration is marked by that sense of expectation, of trust and hope that God is acting and will continue to act on behalf of his people; that God is faithful to his promises. Newcomers and strangers in our midst ought to be able to sense that we believe what we say; that all our talk of love and compassion and hope are mirrored in the way we act and treat each other.