Let me begin

Beginning (Mark 1:1) 
This one word, beginning (αρχη), does the work of 10,000. It tells us that Mark is not writing some simple tale about a bloke he met in the pub, but an epic saga of world-changing importance. It tells us that Mark is not some ignorant yokel who doesn't know his arse from his elbow, but a well-educated theologian who is intimate with the subtleties of Scripture. It tells us that when we read this book we had better hold on tight because things are going to get interesting. The author knows what he is doing so don't be fooled by the sharp dialogue and snappy anecdotes. He has met the creator of the universe and wants to introduce us to him in the only way he knows how, by telling his story. How does one word do all this? Because only one other book begins with this one word, beginning, and that's Genesis, which starts with the story of the whole of time and space, not just its beginning but its ending too. Now here, in Mark, is a story even greater, greater than all of human history, greater than all of created existence, a story of a person who extends beyond the whole of time and space yet who is contracted to the span of one short lifetime. It's quite a tale. Join me as we read it together.

A view across the fields to distant hills

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