I used to tell the men in my Jail church services that one of the reasons I had to do Jail Ministry was because God used the time it took me to prepare that sermon to engage with me. If I had not had to prepare, I am sure I could have found all sorts of excuses not to read the Bible that week. It is embarrassingly easy to let the cares of the world distract us from spending time with Him… the God who made the entire Universe. Isn’t that shocking?

In the original Star Wars movie, Luke Skywalker is trying to convince Han Solo to help Princess Leia, by telling him that she’s rich and the reward he’d get would be worth it. When Han asks how big a reward, Luke replies: “Well, more wealth than you can imagine!”. And Han Solo’s reply is classic: “I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.”

In the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, after exhorting us to support each other in love, and reminding us of the humility and obedience demonstrated by Christ, he tells us (Philippians 2:12-13) … my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both the willing and the working according to [his] good pleasure.

In the gospel of John, chapter 1, when John the baptizer sees Jesus walking by, he tells his disciples “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The next morning, Andrew (Peter’s brother) and John (son of Zebedee) are with him, and he says the same thing; and Andrew and John set off immediately to follow Jesus. When Jesus notices them, He asks them one of the deepest questions we will ever face, a question we must all sooner or later face: “What do you seek?”

We ended last time with Jesus’ warning that you cannot put new wine in old wineskins. The New Covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31 cannot fit into the mould of the Old one. Does that mean that the Old one was somehow wrong or bad?

Mark’s gospel begins with John the Baptizer proclaiming that the prophesied coming of the Lord was about to become a reality. We know from the other gospels that his call to action to the people was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Mark tells us Jesus took up that call to action after John was jailed. What does that call require of us?