The Baptism of Our Lord
(Year B) – Sunday, January 8, 2012
Emmanuel Lutheran Church,
Lancaster, PA
Texts: Mark 1:4-11
For
those of you who don't know me, my name is Evan, and I am privileged
to serve as the vicar at Christ Lutheran, just down the street, this
year. You might know my wife, Brett, who served there last year and
could be found here at Emmanuel on more than one occasion. She
happens to be here today. Since I became her husband last July, I've
learned powerfully that marriage changes things. First of all, I can
now include my wife in my sermons...at my own peril. But there's
other things. I've learned that I really can let go of my
borderline-obsessive-compulsive desire for neatness, and that a few
things lying around the house, not where they're supposed to go, is
not really the end of the world. I've learned to appreciate reality
television more than I ever thought I could. And I've discovered
that sharing the fullness of life with another is much more amazing
than I ever imagined. Nothing will ever be the same for me.
I
imagine for those of you who are parents, the birth of your children
transformed your life in ways that cannot even be put into words. To
behold, to hold in your arms, the wonder and mystery of a new person
who just months ago didn't exist, is a life-changer to say the least.
To consider the creative power of God unfolding in a little baby, to
imagine the possibilities God has in store for him or her, is
breathtaking. From recently observing my brother and sister-in-law
experience both the joys and challenges of caring for their three
month old daughter, I can tell that nothing is or will be the same
for them. Their decisions, their dreams, their bank account, their
sleep patterns, are forever different.
There
are times when our lives are suddenly changed in ways that we cannot
expect. Even if we know something is coming, like a marriage or the
birth of children, the full impact of these events, or the extent of
their influence, cannot be known until they happen to us.
The
gospel of Mark begins abruptly, not even taking time to form a
complete sentence, just blurting out, “the beginning of the good
news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark takes us right to the
first scene with good ol' crazy John preaching his baptism of
repentance way out by the Jordan river, telling of one “more
powerful” coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, whatever
that means. Who is this more powerful one? What does his coming
mean for us and for the world?
Mark
doesn't keep us waiting for long. Wasting no words, Mark says simply
that Jesus “was baptized by John in the Jordan...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.” Wait, what? The heavens
were torn apart? That's not really an every day event. Anything in
the news today, honey? Oh, just the heavens tearing apart. No, this
doesn't just happen! This is a big deal.
I'll
give a little more background. Back on the first Sunday in Advent,
back in November, we heard the prophet Isaiah cry out, “O that you
would tear open the heavens and come down!” Isaiah pleads with God
to come be with them and do surprising things to save God's people.
Mark is saying that this is exactly what God is doing at the baptism
of Jesus. Finally, God is showing up in the world in a surprising
and powerful way. But there's more. Mark uses the Greek verb,
schizo, meaning to tear apart. It's a forceful word. It
means to rend, to rip apart in such a way that something can't
be put back together again. At the baptism of Jesus, God tore open
the heavens that separated God from his children. God emerged from
behind the curtain. God changed the game. Nothing would ever be the
same. In Jesus, God moved in. God was born. There will be no
compromises – God is here in Jesus to love the creation, to love
his children, in a radical way. Things can't go back to the way they
were before. Jesus, God the Son, is here to stay and he begins
changing all the religious rules and proclaiming that he is the new
teaching, the new Torah.
Even
further, Mark uses this particular word schizo, to tear apart,
only one other time in his gospel – just after Jesus' death on the
cross when the curtain of the temple is torn in two. Jesus' baptism
is connected to his death. On the day of his baptism, receiving
God's Spirit, Jesus began down the road that would lead to Jerusalem
and his death on the cross. The next verses tell us that from his
baptism, this same Spirit drove Jesus immediately into the wilderness
where Satan met him asking for compromises. Couldn't you be not
quite so obedient? Couldn't you look out for yourself just a little
bit? But Jesus is sustained by the deeply personal blessing he
received from his Father's voice calling to him through the heavens
torn open, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.” Jesus is baptized into his Father's mission to reach us
with a reckless, radical love that would cost Jesus his life. Filled
with the Spirit, Jesus is revealed as God's Son, the One who is free
to be faithful to the Father's endless love, trusting that even in
death he will be vindicated.
Brothers
and sisters, in your baptism God tore open the heavens to reach you,
and nothing will ever be the same. God is on the loose in your life.
You are radically loved, valued, and blessed, contrary to what this
world tells you. With each new morning, God says to you, “you are
my beloved child, my daughter, my son, with you I am well pleased.”
But the Holy Spirit who has descended on you will not leave you
alone. You live in the wilderness of a world captive to sin, a world
where tragedy strikes the innocent and self-interest rules the day.
You are being called through the Spirit to your own baptismal
ministry.
You
are called through baptism to walk a different road of doing crazy
things like recognizing Jesus in the least of these, a road of
standing up for justice for the poor and vulnerable. But in the same
baptism, Christ has joined your name to his forever. You have been
baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In those
waters, you have died the only real death you will face. You have
died to living on your own, for yourself, and you have been raised to
walk with God in newness of life, a member of the risen Body of
Christ, empowered by the Spirit to fulfill your calling for the sake
of others. There is nothing to fear anymore. This baptismal journey
may lead you to cross boundaries, to do things you never imagined, to
recklessly love strangers, and even enemies. This journey may even
cost you things the world values the most – riches, fame, power,
prestige. But it will lead to blessings of God's grace and love
perceived only by the eyes of faith. Your world will never be the
same. And Christ will be with you, for you are his beloved child,
marked with his cross, sealed by the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
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