Baptism of our Lord Mark 1: 4-11

Scene 1: It was one of those days, not anything really exciting; people were doing what they always did. In the morning, the joggers were out jogging; and Mr. Feldman, who had retired last fall and hadn’t figured out what to do with his life yet, was out with his lawn mower at 6:30 because that was the time he always went to work. It was just one of those days.

And then, the first shockwave hit. The floor started to vibrate; Emma, our Australian shepherd, started barking and just about turned herself inside out trying to get under the dining room table. The pictures on the walls shifted and some fell, the coffee in the pot was sloshing around, and I quickly moved into the archway we had reinforced for occasions just like this.

Scene 2: It had been one of those sultry days. The heat and the humidity had been hanging heavy on our work. You know the kind of day I am talking about. It was one of those days when you feel like you have to swallow the air rather than inhale. Just the thought of work makes you sweat, and yet there is work that must be done, and so you go out and do it.

I got into my truck and headed out to the new road site to set the roadbed for the highway bypass, to sweat in the dust of the road and the gravel and the exhaust. Thank God, we weren’t rolling asphalt today.

Just about 3 in the afternoon the sky suddenly turned an ominous greenish yellow, and then the clouds started building. We tried to work faster, to get the last loads of gravel down and packed before the storm. But then, the wind picked up and huge drops of rain started to slant across the worksite, and we knew we were in for it. We looked to the southwest, and there it was. One of the biggest funnel clouds I have ever seen was barreling down on us.

The Sermon

If you think that you have heard this Markan text before, you have, or at least part of it. We just read the first four verses during Advent. But today, we are told what this baptism stuff that John is doing is all about.

The passage begins with John gathering the people of the Judean countryside and the people from Jerusalem to take stock of their lives and to commit themselves again to the Lord. They are to be baptized.

The people are drawn to John’s message and apparently many are coming to hear what he has to say. John is probably one of a long line of prophets who have told the people to recommit their lives. As such, his message is just another in a long line of everyday novelties.

Then this Jesus person comes from Nazareth and is baptized by John in the Jordan river. After that, nothing is the same again. We are told that the heavens were torn apart. Just take a few moments to think about what that might sound or feel like. (pause)

As a child, one of my Sunday School rooms had a picture of Jesus’ baptism. It showed Jesus in the water with John. They were smiling at one another like they were best friends. Neither Jesus nor John were wet above the waterline, but there was this dove coming down from a puffy white cloud. The sun was shining and there were some people on the shore, actually a beach, who were looking on. It was just one of those days.

But, if we are to take Mark seriously, we have got to understand that the day was anything but normal. This day, the entire relationship between heaven and earth has changed. The heavens have been torn apart, and the dividing barrier between heaven and earth has been removed. Our understanding of the relationship between heaven and earth has shifted, it may have actually fallen and lays broken on the floor. It is time to repair or replace that image we have as we stand in the reinforced embrace of God’s love.

After this Baptismal event, the world cannot be the same. A new creation relationship between heaven and earth has begun. A new light is shining; a new way of living has come for Jesus has come to the waters of Baptism, not for his own repentance but for the sake of the world. Today, in the Gospel of Mark we witness Jesus taking on the ministry that has been set before him. He begins the work of bringing healing and wholeness to God’s people. Jesus begins his ministry of teaching that will lead us to the cross.

Later this year, we will hear of the temple curtain being torn in two, but what we don’t often pay attention to is that there are two veils that separate the temple from the Holy of Holies. First, there is the temple curtain that would have had all the symbols of creation on it, but secondly, there was another curtain that protected the very presence of God from the outer world. It is this second veil or curtain that we see torn apart today.

And in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the earth-shaking changes, we see a dove, coming down from heaven—this sacrificial offering, a symbol of peace, coming down on Jesus—and we, with Jesus, hear the words, “You are my beloved son. With you, I am well pleased.”

In this new Heaven and earth relationship, in this beginning of understanding the importance and power of Baptismal living, we begin to have greater understanding and appreciation of those words of prayer Jesus taught us: Father in heaven, let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

From our reading in Acts, we hear that the baptism of John was not enough, that a baptism of water began the new relationship with Christ, but that the gift of the Holy Spirit was also needed so Paul blesses these people with the Holy Spirit.

In our Lutheran Baptism liturgy, we recognize that we die in the waters of baptism and are raised up to new living (our new faith life beginning). In this new life, we are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit forever.

A baptismal day can look like any other day of our lives, but there is something amazing and wonderful that takes place at the same time. It is earth shaking because in this baptismal moment we are brought into a new relationship with God and all of God’s people. It is not something that promises sunny days ahead. On the contrary what Baptism prepares us for is the knowledge that, in the struggles of life, in the midst of the storm, when we encounter whirlwinds of destruction and loss, we do not go into the world alone. In the waters of baptism, we are given wholeness in Christ; we are clothed in Christ; we are given the assurance that Christ will always be with us.

This new life is not limited by the world; it is given to us for all of eternity. These clothes will not wear out; they will continue to protect us to the final day of judgment and beyond. This new relationship of love, care, and blessing is not something that can be taken away from us; it is ours forever.

We know that this new life relationship will not always be easy, because the very next verse of Mark says, “And immediately the holy Spirit drove him into the wilderness.” Yet even in the midst of the wilderness, this new life relationship will prevail.

Today is just another day, not anything really exciting; people are doing what they always do and yet, this day is not like any other. In the midst of earth shaking events, in the midst of the winds of change and rolling thunder, Jesus enters into our lives in a way that brings new heaven and earth relationships of hope and possibility to the world through the driving force of the holy Spirit.