Mark 1:4-11

January 7, 2024

The Baptism of the Lord

the Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And 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. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He 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. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And 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. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

| Centering Prayer |

The heavens were torn.

Ripped apart.

It is not as if

the divide had not

been previously breached.

Through covenant and law,

at the hand of

anointed

chosen

prophets

preachers

kings

and angels,

our God has

a record,

a history,

of intervention

– of loving intervention.

The heavens were torn.

Ripped apart.

Leaving an opening

for the Spirit

the Holy Spirit of God

to pass through

descend

and alight

upon him.

“This is my Son”

the voice called

from behind the jagged opening.

“My beloved

with whom

I Am

well pleased.”

The divide

between heaven and earth

has continued to be torn

ever since.

Two thousand years

and

fifty-plus generations later

have shredded

and left tattered,

like a faded

weathered

battle flag,

the barrier that separates

God’s heavenly kingdom

from God’s earthly kingdom.

The divide

is only a barrier of inconvenience,

one that simply gives the illusion

of privacy

of being alone

of being on our own.

In reality,

God is present

– Emmanuel –

– God with us –

– just beyond our perception.

The divide

can no more hold back our God

than a paper marquee

can hold back

a charging football team

being introduced

at a championship game.

The divide

Continues to be torn today.

Pastors, preachers, and priests

welcome to the font

young and old alike

to experience the same flood

experienced by Noah and Moses

to listen for the same water

that was turned to wine

to experience the same tearing of the divide

that our Lord

Jesus Christ

experienced at the hand of John.

…

Baptism was a practice of purification

By our Jewish ancestors,

Water washing away the dirt of wickedness and sin.

John the Baptist today

is proclaiming a baptism of repentance

for the forgiveness of sins.

People from the whole Judean countryside

And all the people of Jerusalem, St. Mark reports,

Country folk and city slickers alike,

Went to John,

In the Jordan,

Confessing their sins,

To be baptized

By its cleansing waters.

“Go wash up before you come to the dinner table,”

My mother used to direct.

Perhaps your mother or father did, too.

Clean up my side of the street.

Take care of my shortcomings

And make corrections of my defects of character.

Humbly confess my sins

Before God

And my fellowmen and women.

Thus, we make our confession before approaching the Upper Room’s table.

Jesus shaped baptism

Like a potter shapes their clay.

Go therefore. Make disciples of Christ.

Baptize. Teach.

Baptism becomes initiation

To the redemptive nature of the cross

And God’s salvation of the empty tomb.

…

In one of my favorite movies,

Three convicts happen upon a church gathering at the river

in antebellum Mississippi:

(O Brother Where Art Thou?”)

Delmar is washed of his sin,

Emerges from his baptismal water,

His proclamation becomes our invitation:

“I have been redeemed”

“Heaven everlasting is my reward.”

“Come on in, boys. The water is fine.”

…

We share

a common baptism

with Jesus

with one another

and with every other

child of Jesus Christ

who has come before us

and who will come after us.

Consider the tattered divide;

the rip

that occurred at your baptism.

With the pouring water

the Spirit of the Heavenly Father

breaking from heaven,

tearing into your life,

making a base camp

called faith.

Consider the Holy Spirit

Poured into your life,

Grace overflowing,

Love abiding,

Taking hold,

and will never,

ever,

let you go.

Into the river we go.

Together we wade.

…

Reverently I removed

the ledger from my shelf

opened to the pages

that list each of

the 137 people

I’ve lifted up to God

in celebration of their

baptism with water

and the tearing,

ripping

fire

of the Holy Spirit.

In the course of

Thirty-eight years of parish ministry

names rise off the page

with prayers of thanksgiving;

names separated by geography and distance

names separated by time and space

names separated by heaven and earth,

and very possibly, hell.

The great divide was broached

and the number of God’s children grew by one

the fourth of November

Nineteen eighty-four (1984).

Water whetted the matted hair

of adolescence lost;

Jeffrey,

who at the same moment

his soul was received

into paradise

when the respirator was turned off

and his parents cried out

in anguish.

My first baptism.

The great divide was broached

and the number of God’s children grew by one

when water whetted the infant head of Shawn,

conceived by parents joined in marriage

before God’s altar

and me,

whose birth

was attended by my beloved wife,

Cynthia.

The miraculous circle of life continued.

The great divide was broached

and the number of God’s children grew

with the baptism of

brothers Benjamin and William,

brother and sister, Jayden and Alyexia,

father and daughter, Stuart and Catherine,

mom, dad, and son, Paul, Cathy, and Collin;

each experienced the Spirit’s entry

and were welcomed by God’s

baptismal waters.

The great divide was broached

and the number of God’s children grew by three

the Sunday

Elizabeth, Benjamin, and Felicia

were presented to me

standing above a furnace grate

that began to belch black smoke

gasping in disrepair!

The great divide was broached

and the number of God’s children grew by one

when I held Alexa in my hands

and poured the waters of grace

upon her head.

In later days a line would be drawn

between Alexa’s parents and me,

a line of pain and hurt

that continued for years,

which only time and God’s grace has begun to heal.

Jessica, Richard, Kerry

Andrew, Amber, Trevor,

Kodie, Pamela, and Sean

and a whole host of

witnesses have been added to Christ’s kingdom.

They are more than memories

to a maturing and graying pastor.

Each is connected with Christ and me.

Together we wade

into the river of life.

Each shares our common baptismal waters.

Each is a Christian disciple or saint.

Each a child of God.

Each and every one of us

have been adopted by a loving Father

forgiven by a redemptive Son

saved by a compassionate Spirit

through the baptismal waters

touched by the same Holy Spirit

that descended

and alighted

upon Jesus in the Jordan.

The heavens were torn.

Ripped apart.

On this day

we remember

we recall

our Lord, Jesus Christ

– a new Epiphany of our God –

how he stood with John,

as if fly fishing for disciples,

in the midst of Jordan’s

rippling waters.

The heavens were torn.

Ripped apart.

And through the opening

we welcome the Holy Spirit

with praise and thanksgiving.

The Word of the Lord,

as it has come to me.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.