Baptism of our Lord Sermon
Sermon
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 1/11/2009
Baptism of our Lord – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 1:4-11
A man is out ice fishing. He cuts a hole in the ice, puts the hook through and waits. As he sits there, a large voice booms from above. “There are no fish here.” The ice fisher is shocked and jumps up. He gets up, moves his stuff to a new spot and cuts a new hole. Again the voice booms, “There are no fish here.” Again the fisherman moves to a new spot, cuts a new hole and waits. Again, the voice booms, “There are no fish here, this is an ice rink.”
In our text from Mark, we read of Jesus’ experience in his baptism. The heavens are torn apart, the Spirit like a dove descends on him, and a voice from heaven states: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
This can be looked at in many different ways. There is Trinitarian language being used. The description of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as Lover, Beloved, and Love can be seen. The Father, the Lover, sends the Holy Spirit, the Love, to the Son, the Beloved. You could look into what it means for God the Father to be well pleased with the Son, the Beloved. Is it based on what Christ has done while growing up, which is not mentioned in Mark, but shown in Matthew and Luke. Or is it based, what I prefer of the options, on a Father being pleased and loving a Son, simply because he is a son.
But we often pass over focusing on the Spirit. The Spirit descends upon Jesus, before that John says it is with the Holy Spirit that Jesus will baptize. The Spirit plays a very large role in this text, in the world, and in us. But as Lutherans we often overlook the Spirit, I know I have. I talk about Jesus a lot, I discuss God the Father, and think about the Trinity as a whole, but often the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is left on the sidelines.
This is not by purposeful thought. There is not as much to be easily found about the Spirit. Jesus talks about himself a lot in the Gospels, he also talks about his Father a lot. But the Holy Spirit is not given extended dialogue.
Today we get three big texts about the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ baptism is the first. In it we get both a statement of how baptism works, it is through the Holy Spirit’s power that we are baptized. And we get a picture of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Jesus’ life. We may not have seen this same descending of the Spirit in our own baptism, there may be those who did receive such a vision. But whether or not we see this vision, it is here showing us the Spirit in work in both Christ’s and our baptism. Baptism is not the work of the pastor, or of whoever may perform the rite, but it is the work of God, through the Spirit, with the Word of God.
During the recent scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, regarding the actions of some priests, the question arose. Are the baptisms performed by these priests tainted or invalid? The answer given is no. The priest merely says the words, it is the Holy Spirit that baptizes. The Lutheran church holds this same view regarding any question over pastoral behavior.
Again dealing with baptism we see the Spirit in work in Acts. Paul asks some people in Ephesus if they had heard of the Spirit. And when they say no, and here about Christ, they ask to be baptized. Paul baptizes them, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy.
Finally is Genesis one. The translation that is used in our inserts gives the verse as “while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters”. The Hebrew word for wind, Ru’och, is also translated as Spirit or breath, and is different from the regular word to be used as breeze or gust. Another common translation is: while the Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters. It is in the very beginning of creation, that the Spirit exists. The very same Spirit that descended on Jesus, that descended on us, is present in the beginning. The Spirit whose power created light out of nothing, creates order in the midst of the beginning chaos and void, descends upon us and creates order in us where there was chaos.
Everyday we can be distracted and again chaos can seem to enter our hearts, we then remember that the Spirit is with us everyday, and we remember our baptism, knowing that the Holy Spirit continues to work within us.
There is so much going on in the world though. I myself am caught up in the chaos, death and destruction occurring in Israel and Palestine at the moment. It seems hard to see the Spirit at work when that is going on. It is an unfortunate situation when the Holy Spirit is not heard within a heart and people can go against God’s will for peace. But we can see the Spirit at work even in such a situation.
The next verse after our Gospel reading is. “Mark 1:12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” The Spirit descending on Jesus immediately sends him out to be tested, into the chaos of this world, to try and bring order. The Spirit also sends us out into the world to try and bring God’s peace. Over the next week, there will be nearly half of the 66 bishops of the ELCA traveling to the Middle East to visit with leaders there. The Spirit is at work in people all over the world working to create peace in that land.
The Spirit was at work here in Booneville when we worked to provide food for those in need over the holidays. The Spirit comes upon us and dwells within us protecting us and working to create order in chaos, but the Spirit also pushes us out into the world, out into the wilderness, to help those in need, to bring peace where there is chaos. For we are Children of God, In the power of the holy Spirit we were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are beloved, simply because we are Children, and God is well pleased with us.
Let us Pray, God of grace and reconciliation pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces and peace and justice be experienced by all. Continue to shower your spirit upon us, remind us everyday that you create order where there is chaos, that you give us strength, watch over us, and send us out. Let your Spirit work within us, helping those in need, and working to bring peace to all the world.
In your Son’s name,
Amen
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 1/11/2009
Baptism of our Lord – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 1:4-11
A man is out ice fishing. He cuts a hole in the ice, puts the hook through and waits. As he sits there, a large voice booms from above. “There are no fish here.” The ice fisher is shocked and jumps up. He gets up, moves his stuff to a new spot and cuts a new hole. Again the voice booms, “There are no fish here.” Again the fisherman moves to a new spot, cuts a new hole and waits. Again, the voice booms, “There are no fish here, this is an ice rink.”
In our text from Mark, we read of Jesus’ experience in his baptism. The heavens are torn apart, the Spirit like a dove descends on him, and a voice from heaven states: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
This can be looked at in many different ways. There is Trinitarian language being used. The description of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as Lover, Beloved, and Love can be seen. The Father, the Lover, sends the Holy Spirit, the Love, to the Son, the Beloved. You could look into what it means for God the Father to be well pleased with the Son, the Beloved. Is it based on what Christ has done while growing up, which is not mentioned in Mark, but shown in Matthew and Luke. Or is it based, what I prefer of the options, on a Father being pleased and loving a Son, simply because he is a son.
But we often pass over focusing on the Spirit. The Spirit descends upon Jesus, before that John says it is with the Holy Spirit that Jesus will baptize. The Spirit plays a very large role in this text, in the world, and in us. But as Lutherans we often overlook the Spirit, I know I have. I talk about Jesus a lot, I discuss God the Father, and think about the Trinity as a whole, but often the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is left on the sidelines.
This is not by purposeful thought. There is not as much to be easily found about the Spirit. Jesus talks about himself a lot in the Gospels, he also talks about his Father a lot. But the Holy Spirit is not given extended dialogue.
Today we get three big texts about the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ baptism is the first. In it we get both a statement of how baptism works, it is through the Holy Spirit’s power that we are baptized. And we get a picture of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Jesus’ life. We may not have seen this same descending of the Spirit in our own baptism, there may be those who did receive such a vision. But whether or not we see this vision, it is here showing us the Spirit in work in both Christ’s and our baptism. Baptism is not the work of the pastor, or of whoever may perform the rite, but it is the work of God, through the Spirit, with the Word of God.
During the recent scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, regarding the actions of some priests, the question arose. Are the baptisms performed by these priests tainted or invalid? The answer given is no. The priest merely says the words, it is the Holy Spirit that baptizes. The Lutheran church holds this same view regarding any question over pastoral behavior.
Again dealing with baptism we see the Spirit in work in Acts. Paul asks some people in Ephesus if they had heard of the Spirit. And when they say no, and here about Christ, they ask to be baptized. Paul baptizes them, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy.
Finally is Genesis one. The translation that is used in our inserts gives the verse as “while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters”. The Hebrew word for wind, Ru’och, is also translated as Spirit or breath, and is different from the regular word to be used as breeze or gust. Another common translation is: while the Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters. It is in the very beginning of creation, that the Spirit exists. The very same Spirit that descended on Jesus, that descended on us, is present in the beginning. The Spirit whose power created light out of nothing, creates order in the midst of the beginning chaos and void, descends upon us and creates order in us where there was chaos.
Everyday we can be distracted and again chaos can seem to enter our hearts, we then remember that the Spirit is with us everyday, and we remember our baptism, knowing that the Holy Spirit continues to work within us.
There is so much going on in the world though. I myself am caught up in the chaos, death and destruction occurring in Israel and Palestine at the moment. It seems hard to see the Spirit at work when that is going on. It is an unfortunate situation when the Holy Spirit is not heard within a heart and people can go against God’s will for peace. But we can see the Spirit at work even in such a situation.
The next verse after our Gospel reading is. “Mark 1:12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” The Spirit descending on Jesus immediately sends him out to be tested, into the chaos of this world, to try and bring order. The Spirit also sends us out into the world to try and bring God’s peace. Over the next week, there will be nearly half of the 66 bishops of the ELCA traveling to the Middle East to visit with leaders there. The Spirit is at work in people all over the world working to create peace in that land.
The Spirit was at work here in Booneville when we worked to provide food for those in need over the holidays. The Spirit comes upon us and dwells within us protecting us and working to create order in chaos, but the Spirit also pushes us out into the world, out into the wilderness, to help those in need, to bring peace where there is chaos. For we are Children of God, In the power of the holy Spirit we were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are beloved, simply because we are Children, and God is well pleased with us.
Let us Pray, God of grace and reconciliation pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces and peace and justice be experienced by all. Continue to shower your spirit upon us, remind us everyday that you create order where there is chaos, that you give us strength, watch over us, and send us out. Let your Spirit work within us, helping those in need, and working to bring peace to all the world.
In your Son’s name,
Amen
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