‘Where does love come from?’ by Owen Lynch - 9 January 2022
Why do we value love so highly, and does it have a source we can identify? This talk by Owen Lynch begins a series looking at Jesus through Mark's gospel, which is thought to be based on Peter's eyewitness accounts. At the start of this gospel, Jesus' arrival seems to remind people of the beginning of the world and life itself. The relationship between Jesus, Father and Spirit could suggest that God isn't just loving, but is love itself. Could getting to know Jesus and seeing love in action connect us with the source of love?
Based on Mark 1:1-13:
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way’ –
‘a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.” ’And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Questions for reflection and discussion
How well do you think you know Jesus? What more would you like to know? If you could see Jesus through the eyes of one person close to him, who would you pick, and why?
Many scholars believe that Mark’s gospel is put together from recollections of the apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ closest followers and the person Jesus picked to lead his church. If Peter is the source of stories in Mark’s gospel, what do you expect they can tell you that other writers can’t?
Mark identifies Jesus as ‘the Messiah’ - a promised saviour Israel had expected for centuries. Why do you think this was important to people in Israel at the time of Jesus? Can you think of anyone or anything people recently have been waiting for to save us from danger or distress? If so, how does it feel to hear news that a saviour is on the way?
Mark writes that when Jesus was baptised, heaven was torn open, the Spirit was visible and the voice of Father God was heard. How would you have felt if you were there? What do you think it could mean that God is “one God” existing as three persons - Father, Son and Spirit?*
One view about this is that God is relational, containing and expressing love in a similar way to a family or community. What kind of love do you think God expresses in this way? What kind of love do you then expect God to share with people like us?
Where do you feel a need for more of God’s love in your life, relationships, family, community, workplace or anywhere else? Could you ask him to supply this? What do you think a “yes” from God about this would look like?
*Don’t spend too long on this one - scholars are still debating it about 2000 years later.
Find more about Mark’s gospel.