阅读经文 

在今天这个消费者的市场，书本需要一个醒目的书名、耀眼的封面、构思巧妙的内容、和乎合潮流的插图。今天的书本会经过出版、推销、和购买的过程，但在二千年前却不是这样；书本都是写在卷纸上的，除了听到有人在公众场合大声诵读出来之外，大多数人都没有机会接触到它们的。

马可福音没有一个令人目眩的封面或书名，然而它的内容却肯定能引人入胜。它是“神的儿子，耶稣基督〔的〕福音”－－马可福音第一章第一节所说的，令人想起圣经中的第一句话：“起初......”（参创 1:1）创世记记载起初神创造天地，而马可福音则记载“神的儿子，耶稣基督福音的起头。”

除此以外，我们更看到马可所说的福音（“好消息”），是一个故事的起头，这个故事已经在继续延伸，远远超过耶稣在世传道事工的几年时光。而事实上，这是世界上最伟大的故事的起头，这个故事一直持续至2022年的今天－－并且会继续下去。读这卷福音书挑战我们去寻索，这个故事今天如何改变我们，以及在何处改变了我们整个人。在这里，故事便开始了，在这里，我们也开始发现生命的意义。

今天是新一年的开始，而在马可福音中，我们也开始找到在基督里的新生命的基础了。

In today’s consumer market, books need a bold title, an eye-catching cover, clever content, and slick graphics. Two thousand years ago books were not published, marketed, and purchased like they are today. They were written on scrolls, and most people didn’t have access to them, unless they were read aloud in public.

The book of Mark does not have a flashy cover or title, but it certainly has compelling content. It’s the “good news about Jesus …the Son of God”—and it opens with a phrase that reminds people of the very first words in Scripture: “In the beginning…” (Genesis 1:1). Genesis tells about the beginning of creation, and Mark is about “the beginning of the good news about Jesus.”

What’s more, we find that the gospel (“good news”) of Mark is the beginning of a story that goes far beyond the few years of Jesus’ work and ministry on earth. In fact, this is the beginning of the world’s greatest story that extends all the way into 2022—and beyond. And in read­ing this gospel we are challenged to find how and where this story changes everything for us today. It is here that the story begins, and it is here that our lives begin to have meaning.

Today we are beginning a new year, and in Mark we discover the beginning of the groundwork for new life in Christ.