Hello there. As promised, today we begin the Gospel of Mark. What immediately strikes me about this gospel is how raw it feels. There's no grand entrance, no polished religious performance, and no dramatic buildup. John is simply there in the wilderness telling people to wake up. And honestly, I can relate to that. When I read about John the Baptist, I didn't picture a clean-cut religious leader standing comfortably inside the system. I picture somebody socially disruptive Someone who people weren't sure about, someone challenging authority and spiritual complacency John wore camel hair clothing. He stood in the Jordan River calling people to repentance while speaking of someone greater than himself He said he was not even worthy to loosen the sandals of the one who was coming And really, let's be honest here. In his time, John probably looked dangerous to anybody in respectful society. In many ways, he reminds me of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, early 1970s. I grew up during that time. Young people questioned authority, questioned the systems, and questioned traditions that no longer made sense to them And society didn't always react kindly to people who challenged the system and were often rejected or feared I think John would've been viewed very much the same way. He threatened the comfort of traditional teachings and did challenge the people to wake up spiritually As a child growing up in church, I was also told about repentance But for me, much of it was connected to fear. I remember being taught that if we didn't follow the rules properly, if we disappointed God, somehow we would be passed over or left behind. As a child, that kind of thinking was terrifying There was also the expectation of publicly confessing sins before the congregation For some people, maybe that brought healing, but for me, it felt frightening and deeply personal I remember watching people stand up and expose their failures in front of everybody. And even at a young age, something inside me wondered, shouldn't some conversations stay between the soul and God? I was an extremely shy kid, so it was hard for me to understand. The sound of standing before anyone like that filled me with anxiety. But eventually, something happened that changed my understanding completely One Sunday, while listening to the minister speak, I heard something quietly within me say, "It's okay. Come pray with me." So I walked to the altar, and when I prayed, something came over me The only way I can describe it is that it felt like a bright light moved through me, all the way through me. It was so beautiful and so peaceful. I couldn't help but cry But for the first time in my life, I was not afraid. What I felt in that moment was not judgment, it was love Real love And I felt lighter than I had ever felt before That moment changed something inside me The fear that followed me for so long lost its grip As I continued reading Mark, I came to the moment where a voice speaks to Jesus and says, "You are my beloved Son, and with you I am well pleased." And when I read those words today, I couldn't help but wonder if divine love is bigger than many of us were taught Maybe the longing to belong to God exists in all of us. Maybe love was always meant to be the foundation. Then as you move along, Mark moves into the wilderness. Jesus leaves the river and immediately enters struggle When I looked deeper into the meaning of the wilderness experience, I found descriptions of spiritual testing, temptation, and inner struggle. And honestly, that felt familiar too Because many spiritual awakenings begin with light, but are followed by very difficult questions. After my own awakening, I still had to go back into a imperfect world And trying to be perfect in an imperfect world became very, very exhausting. I did not want to disappoint God. I did not want to disappoint myself. And even today, I still wrestle with some of those fears from childhood Not as deeply as before though, but they still echo from time to time Maybe somebody listening understands exactly what I mean. Maybe there are others out there that struggle with fear, pressure, shame, or confusion in their spiritual lives. If that's you, then I want you to know something. You are not alone So let's walk through this together one step at a time I believe God wants us to grow, to heal, to succeed, not to live in trapped fear. And I am grateful that what I found in my experience was not condemnation, but love So the word is given, love versus fear. Until next time, have a great day. And if you can shake somebody's hand, say a kind word to somebody, please do. Ask if you can give them a hug. It can't hurt, but ask. Some folks don't like hugs. I'm Rick, so I'll see you soon. Amen. Amen. Amen.