January 11, 2009 Message

Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
“A Memory of Baptism”

The Epiphany Season begins with the baptism of Jesus and ends with his Transfiguration. In both, there is the voice from heaven, which "shines upon" (the literal meaning of the Greek word from where we get "epiphany") Jesus, making him more clearly known to the world.

There is power in the words of scripture – words that reveal the nature God.

Genesis 1:1-2 says that in the beginning, a creating “wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” In the NIV, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And in the Message, “God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” Psalm 29:3 speaks of a “thundering voice… over mighty waters.” And Mark 1:10-11 speaks of, “the Spirit descending like a dove on him” as Jesus “comes up from the waters.” And in the “voice from heaven” saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” It is these kinds of words that create an images for the mind and a memory for the soul.

William Paul Young, uses such words in his book The Shack, when he describes the Holy Spirit as wafting “about like an eddying wind,” or “never quite knowing which way she was blowing” or the Spirit’s moving “in tandem with the breezes.” Words impact us.

After reading the gospel lesson today, there is no doubt about Jesus’ identity. He is the beloved Son of God. God says so – in all four gospels. And in parallel accounts found in the other three gospels, Jesus’ baptism “fulfills all righteousness” (Matthew); the Spirit remains with Jesus (John); and prayer becomes an important part of the story (Luke).

This identity is reinforced by similar declarations at the Transfiguration, at his birth and at his resurrection. It is at his baptism that God claims Jesus as his own. Grinning from ear to ear, God says, “He is mine!” Jesus’ baptism creates for us that same memory of baptism in which we are claimed also as God’s own – maybe not in the same sense, but claimed nevertheless.

God is well pleased with Jesus. One of the most important realities of life is to know that God is well pleased not only with Jesus, but with us as well. God delights in Jesus and also delights in us. God delights in our uniqueness, even though we are sinners. To know that God is pleased with us transforms our lives.

Assurance comes from hearing. In Mark, it is Jesus who hears God’s voice; in Matthew and Luke, it is those present; and in John, it is John the Baptist. The point being, not everyone there that day saw the Spirit or heard the voice “from heaven” even though the different gospels help to create that memory for us. Through these gospel accounts, we can hear and see the events of Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus was the Son of God, but his baptism gave him the verbal assurance that he was indeed God's son. It was an assurance given before anything Jesus did. I believe God says the same thing to us in baptism -- or to paraphrase it, God the Father declares: "I like you" or as Young writes of Papa saying in The Shack, “I am very fond of you.” God's "liking us" or fondness for us, is not based on what we have or haven't done. It is "us" that God likes, not what we do.

This frames our identities as well. God's “liking” us is a first and final word about who we are and to whom we belong. This is “the truth” that should frame our life as Christians, a gift and blessing that brings freedom for growth, service and love.

Unlike us, Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit; but like us, his baptism gave him the visible assurance that the Spirit was definitely present with him. And knowing that, Jesus was able to face anything that came his way. The Holy Spirit likewise empowers us.

The gospels tell us that through his baptism, Jesus has God’s "stamp of approval." Might the same be true then of our own baptisms? Shouldn’t we see our baptisms as giving us the assurance we are children of God? And shouldn’t we see our baptisms as filling us with the Holy Spirit so we can face whatever lies ahead?

Luther said the strength of his faith was found in his baptism – when God put his claim on him. We have that same assurance through baptism of being children of God and being filled with the Holy Spirit – a baptism not of our own doing, but of God’s doing.

In our baptism, similar things happen to us as happened to Jesus when he was baptized: 1) The Spirit of God comes into us and remains in us; 2) We are declared to be a child of God; and 3) We hear that God is well pleased with us.

In the memory of our baptism, we are able to hear the voice that speaks to us over the waters – the voice that proclaims to a world of conflict that we are all “very good” and claims us all as “beloved.”

In the memory of our baptism, we are able to see the Spirit moving in and out of our busy lives. And in that memory, there are moments of ‘epiphany’ when we are able to see the Spirit’s hovering presence beckoning us toward a different way, to a new creation.

And in the memory of our baptism, of long ago or yet to be, we are able to hear a voice from above, breaking open the heavens, a voice stronger than any storm or any mountain, calling out to us, saying. "Beloved." "I am very fond of you." "I like you a lot."

That is God's word for us today as we remember the Lord’s Baptism, and ours as well.




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Quotes from
The Shack, Wm Paul Young, Windblown Media, 2007.
Resources
Living By the Word; Christian Century, Dec. 30, 2008; Frank M. Yamada
Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_baptism_of_jesus.htm
Crossmarks by Brian Stoffregen, Faith Lutheran Church, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x4.htm
Christine D. Pohl, Asbury Theological Seminary, http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1637