20180114 “Baptism of our Lord”
Mark 1:4-11 Malcolm Stranathan
Mark 1:4-11New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 John the baptizer appeared[a] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with[b]water; but he will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit.”
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[d]with you I am well pleased.”
Sermon
Prayer
Over these next couple of weeks, we are going to be spending some time in Mark’s Gospel. One thing we are going to notice about the gospel writer of Mark is that, that unlike preachers, he uses an economy of words. For example, we are in verse four of the first chapter and Jesus is all grown up! Mark dispenses with the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, no shepherds, no babe born in a stall, no magi from a foreign land … rather he begins by saying,.
“The beginning of the good new of Jesus Christ, Son of God!” The prophet Isaiah wrote about a messenger in the wilderness calling out “Prepare the way of the Lord. ....
It has been a long time since the people of Israel had a prophet. Four hundred years and now also all grown up John, son of the priest Zachariah and Elizabeth (cousin of Mary), was drawing a crowd as he preached a message of repentance and forgiveness in the wilderness
People from all around came to see John, he was respected despite his unconventional wardrobe (camel hair) and a paleo diet of locust and honey. He behaved very “un-priest-like”, very “un_rabbi-ish.” I wouldn’t say that he was a humble man (he was known to challenge a king and religious types) but he definitely knew his place and role as he declared to the crowds that gathered. At one point that as he told people about the one who would come after him that He wasn’t worthy to do the most menial task to untie the sandals of the one who comes after him. That one is more powerful that John!
As the people would come to John, they would repent (which means to literally turn one’s life and attitudes around 180 degrees, from doing the things they used to do) and never turn back. John said, repent and he was labeled the baptizer because he would then baptize them with water as a sign of their repentance. As unique as John was, he wasn’t the Messiah, John declared the one following will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
The gospel writer Mark lurches ahead in the plot. “In Those Days!” he writes, Jesus came to be baptized by John. More economy of words. In the other gospel accounts, John puts up a fight. “Oh no, Lord, I shouldn’t be baptizing you, you should be baptizing me.” Mark just says, “Jesus was baptized by John” and as Jesus was coming out of the water HE (He who?, John, Jesus – it is a little ambiguous here) regardless what happened next is amazing.
The heavens part and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove and a voice from heaven declares,
“You Son, are the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
This text, and the parallel stories that appear in Matthew and Luke, are incorporated into the Revised Common Lectionary for the season of Epiphany because in this story we experience the divinity of Jesus displayed in a supernatural theophany – “God sighting” in which Jesus is a principle in the action.
I once had a very smart confirmand ask why Jesus got baptized by John. Their logic worked this way. John is here to prepare the way of the Lord. And Jesus is the Lord that John is suppose to be getting people ready for. And the way the people were getting ready was repenting from their sins. And so Jesus, who sinless, comes to John, for a baptism of repentance. What’s that about?
Confirmands… always ask the hard questions.
Well, it works like this. When Jesus came to be baptized, Jesus allies himself with the people who came that same day -
people who acknowledged their willful independence,
who didn’t honor the law,
and led lives separate from God,
and who wanted to turn their lives around (to repent of their sins).
In their acceptance of John’s baptism, they were preparing themselves for the coming of the Messiah.
As a moment of solidarity Jesus, joins the people in their act of contrition, not because he has done anything that would warrant being contrite over but rather to identify with them in their confession of their sin.
But that is not all, for as Jesus associates himself with sinners, he obediently places himself at the disposal of his Father so that all that he will do, his life’s work, from this point on will be to strive for the fulfillment and consummation of God’s kingdom which includes the redemption of humanity.
The Reverend John Wesley wrote, “God’s gift of baptism is necessary for all who hear the good news and want to unite with Christ.”
Think of Baptism as a door into the church community. In the UMC, any person of any age, nation or race can be baptized. Some of us were baptized as infants, others as adults. In Romans 5, this apostle Paul states, “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners proving God’s love for us.” Mark (10) Jesus welcomes little children and told his followers to have the faith of a child and also to receive them in his name. A document called The Apostolic Tradition – written by Hippolytus of Rome around 200AD -- outlines great details regarding the mode and manner of baptism in the early church including direction that when receiving households into the faith infants and children were baptized first, with parents or other family members making the response for those too young to answer for themselves. Then the adults were baptized.
In Baptism we are named, by name, and baptized in the name of the Triune God, The revelation of God at the Jordan River assures us that God is present at every Christian baptism. There is nothing routine about this event. Your baptism in the name of the, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is a reminder that God is with you from the beginning and throughout your Christian journey. Furthermore, we are no longer alone, now in solidarity with the community of fellow believers in Christ Jesus we give our lives over to God and we, like Jesus, enter into a public ministry..
The benefits of baptism are not restricted to a moment of time. While baptism only happens once in our life (God does it right the first time) it is a perpetual sacrament through which God can speak to us again and again. (Luther, every morning – I am baptized, remember you are baptized, it can speak to how you might behave and act ) As a perpetual sacrament, God is with us, the community of faith is present as well and we are beneficiaries of both from the very moment of our baptism.
You are baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sin.
Before water is poured and we are baptized we affirm statements as ancient as the church where we renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
This means that we will also stand up against wickedness, evil powers and continue to repent of your sin. This is a perpetual sacrament.
Don’t worry, you are not on your own to accomplish this for the next statement that you affirm that you accept the freedom and power that God gives (not by your hand but by God’s power!)
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
And just as Jesus associates with us in him baptism, you make a profession:
That Jesus is your Savior (he saves us from our sin ) and that we will put our trust in his grace (not hedge our bets but trust in him) and promise to and promise to serve him as your Lord. (My father often reminded my brothers and me that his household despite how we may disagree with him “This is not a democracy, it is a monarchy … we are beholded to Jesus and the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
Today, we come to remember our baptism.
Address to congregation following sermon and prior to the ritual of of reaffirming our baptism.
Friends,
In a few minutes, we will reaffirm our baptismal vows. I want to speak with you freely for a moment.
We will also eceive a special offering; it is one of the six special advances that we participate in for Human Relations Day. Typically, it is received on the same weekend that the holiday commemorating the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr.
At WUMC, we celebrate such core value as being family, and hospitality and evangelism. We see God vision that there will be no lonely people here! Well, I want to apoligize on behalf of a our congregation to a family that was rudely treated here. On Christmas eve, a family came to the 7pm service, first time. Their child was coloring and probably doing things children do. Then a person addressed the mother and said, “you need to take that child away to the nursery because they are ruining my Christmas eve experience.
The mother did so and stayed in the nursery angry at words that should never have been uttered. I am thankful for Michele who ministered to the woman in her distress.
I am embarrassed, offended and disappointed that that individual said what they said (may have been by a member or a guest regardless hurtful words were said) AND further no one corrected the offending person whose service was ruined by the presence of a child. We can do better. Someone, Anyone... should have put that person in check. Rude behavior is to be deplored and forgiveness sought and as I do not know who the offending party is I apologize on behalf of this congregation.
You have been given two letters: The Letter from the Council of Bishops and also the Letter from our resident bishop of the Baltimore Washington Conference of United Methodist Churches, Bishop Easterling.
These letters are drafted in response to news reports of inappropriate language used by the president in referring to countries in Africa (the largest and fastest evangisation field in the UMC and of where I celebrate many fellow colleagues in ministry) and also Haiti – a country that we have a missionary and school which we have financially supported over the years.
Rude behavior is to be deplored and an apology sought. A friend reminds me that this is political, however, it is not a partisan issue. Followers of Christ accept the freedom and power that God gives us to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. Words matter.
Several years ago, Jacki and I visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I am thankful that my ancestors came to this land in the hope for a better life. Least we forget, the majority of us have ancestors who came from oppressive conditions: some came as free, or indentured, and some brought as slaves. Emma Lazarus wrote a poem that wasn’t really given notoriety it deserved in her life but now is displayed on a plaque. The last verse states:
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
- Emma Lazarus
As we come to remember our baptismal covenant with God. Please pause at the altar rail pray for our country, its leadership, and for our denomination and our church … pray for forgiveness for the rudeness of one person and their misaligned understandiing. And for those who do so in here believing worshipt is a performance that could ever be ruined by the presence of a child RATHER when worship is an act we give to God. Ask forgiveness for your sins and for our corporate sins.
Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Service.
