Two notes:
--We monkeyed with the lectionary a tiny bit, because I wanted to celebrate Epiphany on Sunday, Jan. 7, which was slated as Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. So we were a week late on this Sunday.
--I wrote this sermon and then turned it into a sermon/devotion when we needed to cancel church.
Sermon for SMHP, Year B, Baptism of our Lord, Jan. 14, 2018
Mark I:4-11
4John
the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.5And 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.6Now John
was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey.7He 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.8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit.”
9In
those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan.10And 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.11And
a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.”
So I’ve been
having an interesting relationship with water over the past few weeks.
Water is one
of those things. On an average day, you
don’t think much about it. You shower in
it. Brush your teeth with it. Use it to make a caffeinated beverage.
Water is
nice.
Except when
it attacks.
It kind of
attacked us this week, didn’t it? We
went to bed on Wednesday night and it was a balmy night in the fifties. I let our dogs out at 3 am, and a gentle rain
was falling. It was about 45 degrees.
By eight am,
the temperature was at freezing, and by two hours later, it was barreling
toward twenty degrees. And freezing all
of that gentle rain on cars and streets and everything else with the misfortune
of being outside.
Water’s not
always so innocuous…
For about
three weeks now, I have been pretty consumed with keeping water from destroying
our church. That singular purpose
involved buying new heaters and bringing heaters from our house and making sure
we’ve get enough heat in every nook and cranny (and gigantic fellowship hall)
to keep the pipes from freezing.
There’s been
help, of course. Steve and Tavis have
filled and refilled the kerosene heater.
Colleen drove to the hardware store Friday night to get a new heater to
replace the one in one of the bathrooms.
We’re all working together to keep those pipes from freezing.
Which is a
funny phrase, if you think about it.
It’s not frozen pipes that cause problems, is it?
…it’s the
water in the pipes. Freezing and
expanding and causing the pipes to break and crack and send water that is
supposed to be gently flowing through iron and copper out into the rooms, where
it causes all sorts of nefarious mischief.
Water is
like that. We control it…most
of the time. You turn a tap and out it
comes. Pull a lever and down and up it
rushes, taking with it stuff you don’t want in your house.
That’s all
pretty modern, though, isn’t it?
In the time
of Jesus, water—getting water, keeping water where you wanted it, having enough
water—these things consumed a lot of time.
Especially for women, who were generally tasked with the procurement of
water, especially in towns and cities—places with wells.
àHow
often do you think about where you’re going to get water?
àWhen
you do think about water, what sorts of words come to mind?
John the
Baptizer was out in the wilderness, dunking people in water as a means of
forgiveness and repentance. Today we
call that the “means of grace,” meaning that God’s grace is conveyed in the
sacraments—baptism and communion.
It was just
water.
But John understood
its power.
He also
understood that there was even more power coming in the baptism Jesus would
offer.
That baptism
would convey even more than forgiveness and repentance. It would convey the
Holy Spirit. A person being baptized
into Jesus—the baptism of the Christian Church—would receive the Holy Spirit.
àWhat
does receiving the Holy Spirit feel like?
Look like?
àCan
you tell when someone has received the Holy Spirit?
When Jesus
was baptized, the heavens (sky) opened up, and the Spirit descended. God’s voice spoke from heaven. It was a whole Trinitarian Rave! The power of that water, that moment, that
baptism was on full display. Jesus is
the Son. Of. God. Halleluiah!
I’ve been a
pastor for seventeen years now. I’ve
done a few baptisms. They’ve been
nice. I’ve baptized some of you. I’ve baptized your children.
And never
once has the Spirit descended like a dove and a voice boomed down from the
ceiling.
But don’t
think for one moment that the water in the font—the water in which we baptize,
the water in which we were
baptized—don’t think for a moment that there isn’t profound power in that
water.
That water
has invited the Holy Spirit to take up residence in the life of every person
who has been washed in it.
That water
has connected you to every other believer you see in church [edit: every person you will see in church next week
and every person who has been in church with you].
That water
claimed you as part of the church, and there is no water that can wash away, or
freeze away, or flood away, that claim.
You are God’s. You are in the
grip of the Holy Spirit, as vaguely creepy as that might sound.
The water of
baptism still reminds us that we are forgiven, and calls us to repentance—to
turn away from that which doesn’t lead us toward love of God and each
other. That water is a means of grace
that works its power in us until we are received directly into the arms of our
loving God.
The water of
baptism has cleansed you and made you a new creation in Christ. How will you harness the power of that water?
Questions for Reflection
1. How can I remember
and honor my baptism?
2. How can I be
mindful of the presence of the Holy Spirit?
How can I call upon the Spirit’s help when I am feeling weak or
alone? When I am struggling to serve
others, or to care for myself?
3. What power has the
water of my baptism awakened in me?
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