Epiphany 1 - The Baptism of our Lord

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: Epiphany 1 - The Baptism of our Lord
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: January 9,2000

TEXT: Mark 1:7-11 - The Baptism of Jesus
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. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

See also Isaiah 42:1-9 - I have given you as a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

ISSUE: Mark’s Gospel account makes it clear that Jesus is His Son, Son of God. His identity is certain, and God is well pleased with him. The Baptism of Jesus is like a creation story. It is a new beginning, with the old left behind, Jesus steps up to the family of God. The baptismal incident marks a new beginning for us all. We are all called out of the past with its heartaches, pain, shame, guilt, and suffering to be the renewed and redeemed people of God.
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This Sunday marks the beginning of the Epiphany Season. It is that time in the Church year when we celebrate the fact that the coming of Christ was and is meant for all people, Jew and Gentile alike. It is the great manifestation that God comes to all of his people.
In these past weeks we’ve dealt with all of the birth stories of Jesus in Luke with his shepherds, and in Matthew with his account of the Wisemen and the fight of Jesus into Egypt. Out of that experience he is seen to be a dynamic leader like Moses, and he is the Nazarean, or the branch out of King David’s line, to be the savior of his people. John’s Gospel account does not give a birth account but it does speak of Jesus as the expression of God’s Word and Logic from the very beginning. Now, today, Mark’s Gospel account has neither a birth story nor a specific philosophic or theological statement. Mark begins with Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordon by John. It is believed to be a symbolic birth story.
I have mentioned many times in my sermons that in Jesus’ time, this first century period, a person’s family was everything. You were dependent upon family for education, work, who you married, business contacts, friends. Without a family you were lost and dead. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son. He leaves his family and ends starving in the pig pen. Jesus leaves his family goes into the wilderness where he meets John the Baptist. He leaves his family. He leaves the old system behind and is baptized in the River Jordon, by John the Baptist who is calling people to change and repentance. It’s a new birth, just as we are all born out of the water of our mother’s womb. Jesus is brought up out of the water. The heavens are torn open, and a voice is heard. You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. Mark’s gospel is telling us that Mary and Joseph and Jesus’ earthly family is not at issue. Rather, Jesus is of God. God the Father takes responsibility for the paternity of Jesus. Mark declares this to be the fact of new creation, and new hope for the world. It is up to his readers to declare through their awareness of Jesus that it is true. Truly this is the Son of God. This Jesus is the new Adam, the new beginning of what a child, a man, a woman of God looks like.
The baptism of Jesus in the River Jordon where the dove descends and God speaks is not the first experience of new beginnings and new birth experiences. The Scriptures, especially the Hebrew Scriptures are full of these kinds of experiences. They begin with the creation story itself in the Book of Genesis. The creation is without form and the Spirit, the holy winds like the flapping wings of the Dove bring order to the creation. And the universe comes into being.
The wonderful and cherished story of Noah and the Ark tells a story of God washing away the unrighteous and corruption, and Noah, his family and the animals, start a new creation. The old is washed away, and a new creation begins.
When Moses leads God’s people out of Egypt the come to the banks of The Sea of Reeds or Red Sea. The evil oppressive Egyptians are in pursuit. A powerful wind, a Holy Wind, of the Spirit of God, blows the waters apart as God’s people led by Moses escape the evils of the past and enter into a new pilgrimage. It’s a baptismal experience of passing though the river bed, and leaving the past behind, and carrying on as the people of God.
After years of wandering in the wilderness, and worshipping the Golden Calf, Joshua brings the people of God to the River Jordan. The priests step into the river carrying the Covenant Box which contained the Ten Commandments, and the river stops flowing. The people pass through the River Bed and enter into the Promised Land. (Joshua 3:16)
Elijah the prophet transfers his power to Elisha the Jordon River, and Elisha struck the water with his Elijah’s cloak, and the Jordon parts again for Elisha to cross over and return to his people. It is, again, a story of a new beginning for the Prophet Elisha who takes on the power of the prophet Elijah. (2Kings 5:11)
The prophet Elishah (2Kings 2:11) had also told the Gentile Syrian, Naaman, to wash in the River Jordon, when he was afflicted with leprosy, and Naaman was renewed and made clean.
The wonderful story of Jonah and the Big Fish tells another story of a new beginning. Jonah resists God’s call to him to call the people of Ninevah to repentance. He tries to flee from God aboard ship. A terrible storm comes upon the ship and it is not until Jonah is thrown overboard into the water that he is swallowed for three days by the Great Fish. On the third day, he is cast assure by the Fish, and begins again to call all people to repentance, expressing the gracious mercy that God seeks to extend to all people. Having been immersed into a symbolic death, Jonah is reborn to do the work of God.
There are many Scriptural stories of renewed baptismal experiences that through water people are given new hope, new callings, new adventures into being the people of God. It should not be a surprise to us then that Jesus’ ministry begins with baptism. He is a sign, a symbol, an assurance that God has called him to be His Son with a unique and special ministry as the Son of God. The flapping wings of the Dove are the sign of God’s Holy Spirit surrounding him, and the thundering voice identifies him as Son of God. Jesus has left the old order behind to become involved in a whole new life as the New Adam, the new man, the new revelation of what a son, a daughter, a child of God looks like.
In Jesus time there was a great deal of anger and frustration. People were cruel. These people experienced dreadful oppression at the hands of the Romans and by some of their own religious leaders. They felt shame by being a beaten people They lived in a system which often gave way to feuding among themselves, and lying to one another to preserve honor. They were a people alienated from one another, and from God. The greater majority saw themselves as failures, as poor peasants, trapped in a system and life that didn’t have much hope. John’s baptism, and Jesus’ baptism gave hope and potential for a new possibility of being the people of God again with hope, as the Lord of Love, of mercy, and gracious forgiveness came to them. His new life and hope said to them: “Come to me all of you who travail, who work hard, who are deeply in debt, who are heavy laden and have a broken Spirit, and are worn out with your grief, your pain, your suffering, you guilt and shame, and I will give you rest.” (paraphrase of Matt. 11:28)
What does all of this mean for us today? It is indeed a profoundly rich experience of how God has constantly sought to call his people to renewal, rebirth, cleansing, and new beginnings and hope.
In the modern world today, we don’t like to talk much or hear much about sin, shame, guilt, anxiety, and uncertainty. They are not the in-things to talk about. These are things we keep hidden away in our lives. But they’re all there just the same. Many people have some very poor images of themselves, and feel deep down great shame for their lives. There are those deeply enslaved in credit card debt and wonder if they’ll survive or see the light of day. There are those afflict with addictions to alcohol, to drugs, and to nicotine. All around us is the serious collapse of the family in our time. There are the perpetrators of violence and the victimized who see little or no hope of escape. We question the adequacy of our faith, our ability to do what we ought and should be doing. Shame for things long past, and foolish acts and decisions may well be buried deep in our spyche. At one time or another, I would imagine that we all feel a sense of being caught up in chaos, fear, inadequacy, poor self-image. We may well feel we are downing in situations over which we have no control. Remember that vivid Biblical story of Peter walking on the water, and he begins to sink in the storm, because he lost his focus on Christ. We need absolution. We need forgiveness. We need hope and new enlightenment. We need God to be there to lift us up and to reclaim us so we can start again fresh. We need to hear the voice of God saying, “This is my child, with whom I am pleased.”
Jesus living in the world’s chaos went to John and was immersed into the chaotic waters, and was lifted up. He heard the voice of God saying: “You are my Son, the child with whom I am pleased.” We too are called to repentance, to walk with Christ, to baptism, to renewal and to see the gracious voice of Christ calling to all who turn to him in our shame and guilt. We hear his voice calling: Come unto me all of you who are ashamed, broken, heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I will give you refreshment.(Matt. 11:28) . . . . . . . . . Come you blessed of my Father and receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. (Matt. 25:34) Be the children of God with whom he is well please. And it is not that fellowship and community of love that we baptize this child today.