It Begins!
Posted on Jan 11, 2015 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
As I noted in my sermon last week, Mark is the only one of the four Gospel writers that does not tell us anything about Jesus’ origin, his birth, or his childhood. Mark, was the first person to actually write Jesus’ story and for Mark, the very first thing that he felt was important for us to know about Jesus was that his ministry started when he was baptized. For Mark, the beginning for Jesus began with water. To begin, Mark says that, John, the one whose job it was to “prepare the way of the Lord” (1:3) is out in the wilderness preparing the way by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (1:4). Now his message must have been “good news” to those that were listening to him, because Mark says, “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” (1:5). People from all over the area were coming out of the cities and towns like Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem, and other towns into what today we might call the country. And when they got to where he was, they not only heard his message, they repented and were baptized.
When we were in Israel, we went to the Jordan River, and here you can see a picture of the river. Isn’t it beautiful? Now we don’t know exactly where John was when he was doing this, but from this story, we know for sure that it was along this river that he offered his baptism of repentance and forgiveness and it was here that Jesus comes to be baptized (1:9). And when his baptism is complete, Mark tells us that Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him and Jesus actually heard God speak to him, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased” (1:11).
Wow! Wouldn’t that be cool to hear God say, I am pleased with you. I mean, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder if I am doing what God is calling me to do and in his baptism, God says to Jesus, you are doing it. You are doing what I asked of you and I am pleased. Our text ends here, but we know the rest of the story and we will hear it throughout the rest of this year and what we already know is that when Jesus was baptized he was baptized into his ministry. That is what Mark wants us to know. For Jesus, a fundamental change took place in baptism. He went from living a generic life, to now being called into a life of service to his Father. And in that new life, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In baptism, a fundamental change takes place in us. Whether one is an adult who is baptized after accepting or an infant baptized into a family of faith a fundamental change takes place in that person.
Not long ago, a person came to me and asked why they should be baptized. After all, said this person, aren’t we saved by faith and if that is so, then baptism isn’t about our salvation. That person was right, we don’t need to be baptized to be saved, we are already saved. But, if we truly have faith in Christ, then we are followers of Jesus and if that is the case, then as his followers we ought to do what he says and Jesus tells us to be baptized, just as he was baptized. Baptism is something we do because Jesus did it and he said we ought to and he told us to do it because in that act of baptism we are fundamentally changed into a new life.
In our Lutheran language, we often say that baptism as a “means of grace,” that is, baptism is one of the ways that God’s grace comes to us. Now physically it’s only a splash of water, but what is truly special about baptism is that it marks the beginning of a whole new life for us. A life filled with forgiveness. A life filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. It proclaims to the world, and to us, that we are at one with Jesus and that we are truly part of the body of Christ, or in our language today, we are a member of the Church. I’m not talking about whether or not you are a physical member of a congregation, when one is baptized, that person is forever marked as one who walks with all those who gather in the name of Jesus.
As we have been preparing our new welcome statement, you know that we have been asking you for your opinions. In one of the few negative responses we received, the person was concerned as to whether or not we were helping the right people. This person is concerned that our statement is saying we are open to the wrong people. This person is concerned that even with our pantry pack program we might be helping people who are here illegally. For those of us who are baptized, the right people to help, according to Jesus, are all people. There is no such thing in Jesus’ church, and it is his church, not ours, all people deserve to be cared for and for those of us who are baptized, our lives ought to be lives lived caring for and finding ways to serve all in need.
Baptism is intended to be a gift of new life, and as we experienced just a few weeks ago, gifts are things that bring us great joy. I know I received great joy opening my gifts on Christmas morning. As people who practice infant baptism, I think all too often we take our baptism for granted. Too often, we fail to experience the joy of being baptized. But, when I was in Israel a few months ago, I truly experienced that joy when we visited the Jordan. While there, myself, and another Lutheran pastor we were traveling with, Pastor Ted Mosher from Good Shepherd in Lawrence, had the privilege of offering the Affirmation of Baptism to about 20 people in the Jordan River. I cannot tell you the joy we all experienced in reminding ourselves, in the very river where Jesus was first baptized, that this gift of baptism was something we all had already received. In that act in the river, we all felt great joy and our relationship as a group fundamentally changed that day. It was like a new beginning for us, just like it was a new beginning for Jesus.
But I also realized something else that day as I offered each person as they stepped into the river to partake in the Affirmation of their faith, I realized that the one who offers the baptism also experiences joy. You know I just said that I experienced great joy on Christmas morning when I opened my gifts, but I experienced a greater joy on Christmas as I watched my loved ones open the gifts that I gave them. For me, there is great joy in giving a gift and I believe the same holds true for God as we heard in our story today.
God offered Jesus the gift of baptism and Mark tells us that as Jesus came out of the water, God said “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” God experienced joy in knowing his Son had received his gift and God experienced that same joy, when you and I were baptized and every time someone is baptized.
Why is God pleased, because in baptism we are baptized into his ways and his promise of life. In baptism you and I began a new way of living and today we are challenged to live differently from the world so that we, liked Jesus, might change the world.
So what does this baptized life look like? A baptized life is one in which feeding the hungry and caring for the poor and needy is a way of living. Brothers and sisters, today, I pray you remember, you are baptized and in your baptism you a new life began in you and because of that gift, in you, God is well pleased. Amen.