Sermon notes for Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Mood:
energetic
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
SUPERHERO 6 of 6
REVIEW [superhero/morph/encounter/every power/takes time/gift that makes a difference]
MOTIF
> Difference between superheroes and us: Your secret identity cannot be kept secret. [Kent/Parker/Wayne]
—> ... can’t live with two identities. [MARK 8:38]
> First act of obedience: MAKE IT PUBLIC—not only in what you say but in how you live: Baptism, immersed in water, in front of other people.
> Baptism is done publicly—in front of others. Baptism is a sign that says, “I cannot keep the power that is in me a secret.” [[Baptists ... deficient theology of baptism ... Roman Catholic: Sacrament ... overreacted ... lost sight of fact that it is uniquely holy.]]
DILEMMA
> Why can’t I keep it a secret? Why can’t I have two identities?
TEXT: Mark 1:4-11
> Following Jesus is weird.
—> When you join a human organization, you pay your dues, get your membership card, go on with life.
—> When you join with the followers of Jesus—with this trail of humanity that stretches all the way back to the cross ... with all these men and women who have been crazy enough to join their lives with the life of Jesus—we half-drown you with water, give you a towel, and let you know that God wants your whole life nothing less ... and, in fact, God’s pretty stubborn about this and refuses to accept anything less.
> Following Jesus is weird. What’s more, the God who’s revealed himself in Jesus Christ refuses to embrace the notion that there might be other gods, “I, I alone am God.” This God is so not with the times.
—> You’d think that, if you’re part of an organization this weird, you’d keep it a secret, like other movements in the ancient world ...
——> ... among the Jews, there were “Essenes.” They baptized, obedience, ate locusts [in Damascus Rule, recommendations ... cooked alive in fire or water]—but they had the sense to go out in the desert, north edge of Dead Sea so they didn’t annoy the rest of the world.
——> ... among the Gentiles, there were “mystery cults,” worshiped one god and practiced strange rituals—but they had the sense to do it all secretly and not open their membership to just anyone.
—> But God—this crazy, unpredictable God who spins a world out of his very words, who shows up in burning shrubberies, and plants his feet on this planet in the flesh of a peasant’s baby—doesn’t have the common sense to keep his craziness a secret. It’s as if God wants everyone to know!
> John the Baptist tried—he started in desert at southern end of Jordan, but word spread and soon everyone (1:5) was headed into desert. He just couldn’t keep it a secret.
—> Granted, John may not have been completely sane, what with his camel’s hair and leather [reminded people of Elijah, 2Kgs1:8/Mal4:5-6] and eating locusts [IMAGINE JtheB OPENING RESTAURANT/HIS HOUSE] [FDA regulations for food contamination].
FDA Standards: Apple Butter: Less than four rodent hairs per 100 grams, fewer than five whole insects per 100 grams./Coffee beans: No more than one live insect in two immediate containers/Mushrooms: Fewer than 20 maggots per 15 grams/Fig preserve: 12 or fewer insect heads per 100 grams in two consecutive batches/Hot dogs: You don’t really want to know.
> But his baptism? This was far crazier to people then than to us.
—> Baptism wasn’t a new idea. TWO HEBREW WORDS: [In Jewish tradition ... mikveh, immersion in water [immersion following confession] ... practiced among the Essenes along edge of Dead Sea]
—> Here’s what was weird: Among Jews, only two types of people went through mikveh—Jews who were defiled and, especially, Gentiles that wanted to become Jews.
—> To experience mikveh was to turn away from one way of life to another, to go a new direction.
—> There’s a Hebrew word ... [shuv] meant “to turn around.”
—> John is implying that all of humanity needs to turn around—many leaders didn’t think they needed to.
—> “Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”: repentance is for forgiveness.
> What John was saying: “The kingdom of God is here—but you can’t see it, none of you, because you’re all defiled! You’re looking the wrong way! Shuv! Turn around!”
—> [[[1]]] Baptism is a vow—a solemn covenant-promise before God—to live a life of shuv. [Saying to God: “Take my life and shuv it.”]
> If you have been baptized, your life becomes a life of shuv—that’s the essence of the Christian life: I have turned my life away from myself, away from the world, toward God. [Partly ... when I see something that can cause me to sin, turn away. Also, whenever I see something that’s a reminder of the goodness and beauty of God ... sunset, someone in church serving, pure laughter of a child, wife, daughter.]
—> Keillor: “God speaks in ordinary things like cooking and small talk, through storytelling, fishing, and caring gently for animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music, books, raising kids—all the places where the gravy soaks in and the grace shines though.”
—> Most of all, I turn my life toward the cross, utmost love and sacrifice.]
> For Jesus, he was turning from the life of a carpenter to the road that will lead to the cross.
—> This sort of life is not easy: [Calvin and Hobbes ... “I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution” ... so do we.]
—> We think it’s disgusting to fill our bodies with a few bugs—which, as John demonstrated, really won’t hurt you—and yet we will fill our minds and bodies with things far more corrupting than a few locusts ... things that tear at our souls ... rather than simply turning away.
—> Whenever I do not turn, I am breaking a vow that I made at my baptism.
> But baptism implies something more than a life of shuv.
> [[[2]]] When you are baptized, you confess that you believe something greater is coming.
—> 1:7: “After me ... someone greater ... not even worthy to untie sandals” [Rabbis could require follower to do anything but deal with his sandals—only slaves.].
—> Throughout Scripture, whenever God’s people pass through the water, it’s because they believe something greater is coming. [RED SEA/JORDAN RIVER/HERE, JOHN/THEN, GREATEST PERSON OF ALL SHOWS UP.]
—> Something greater is coming—not greater than Jesus but greater because of what we learn about Jesus. [Heaven ripped! Schizo—something that’s opened can be closed, something that’s ripped can't be easily put back together.]
——> The point? At the baptism of Jesus, the kingdom of God—the revealed presence and power of God on the earth—has tumbled through the sky and is falling upon the earth and nothing can hold it back!
——> Jewish peoples expected that, when this happened, God would come through that gaping gash in the eastern sky, sword drawn. The release of God’s Spirit would be like a burning fire, erupting from the sky.
——> But imagine their surprise when what falls from the sky is not the blinding glory of God’s presence, but a gentle shimmering that flutters to the earth like a dove, gently falls upon shoulders of this carpenter from Galilee. Here, in human flesh dripping with the water of Jordan, is the kingdom of God.
> Why a dove? Gentleness, peace ... A pigeon, a trash bird best known for dropping its goods on statues. It was used as an offering by people who couldn’t afford a lamb—people that the world viewed as “trash.” It is a sign that God’s deepest desire is to take our trash and turn it into his treasure—a sign that, regardless of circumstances, something better is coming.
[[[3]]] Baptism shows that God can turn ordinary in extraordinary, trash cans into treasure chests.
—> Baptism: Jordan, dirty river ... yet it becomes the place where God reveals his presence. Here: Same water goes in toilets.
—> At Jordan, to a carpenter—someone the rest of world might have viewed as trash: “You are my beloved Son. I delight in you.”
—> YOU: When you receive Jesus, baptized in Holy Spirit [1Cor12:13] ... saturated with God, because you are his child and he delights in you. [NOUWEN QUOTE]
—> In this sense, baptism is like a security blanket [reminds child of mother’s warmth, closeness, presence until mother returns/blanket is not mother] ... [reminds us of this: “Even if I cannot feel it, Holy Spirit surrounds me and saturates me. Despite times I feel like trash, I am God’s beloved child. He delights in me”--until Jesus returns].
—> God longs to take the trash that’s in your life and turn it into treasure. [Sins: In turning away, you allow God to meet needs/Pain: Tool to love others/Disappointment: Trust] ... Baptism is a reminder of God’s longing.
> At every crucial point in history of God’s people—before he takes them to a better place, the place of his treasure—he takes them through water: Before placing Adam and Eve in Eden {Gn1:1-2} ... / Red Sea / Jordan into Promised Land / Jesus, Jordan / Before throne of God, river {Rv22:1}]. In baptism, we say, “Though my eyes cannot see it, I live already in the Land of God’s Promise.” [ISA 43:2]
RESOLUTION
> Why can’t I keep it a secret?
> (1) Your superpower isn’t one that you can hold in—it consumes your whole life ... shuv [if it isn’t transforming your whole life, it isn’t real/”superhero life” versus the real person.] Some of you have “secret identity”--one way at church, another at school or work/perhaps simply silent/worst of all: They know you’ve claimed to follow, see you living no different. God is jealous.
> (2) All of this is too good to be kept a secret. You will want to share it.
> Personally witness to one person [dry mouth/sweaty palms] [simply share what God has done for you] ... “I don’t know how!”
APPLICATION
> Baptism isn’t a ritual you do; it is a life that you live.
> Each time someone is baptized, they join with [Red Sea/Jordan/Jesus/millions of saints], believing that one day they will cross the final river, the one that flows before the throne of God.
> Martin Luther: “I have been baptized”—he knew God had entered into a covenant with him, God would hunt him down, kept him coming back to God.
"I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will satisfy all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, in Jesus Christ I am your brother, through the Holy Spirit I am your friend. Wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."
May the Spirit of Baptism give you life, may the faith of your baptism give you strength, may the community of the baptized give you support, and may Jesus Christ---the baptized one---keep you in his Father's love, now and forever, Amen.
Posted by timothypauljones
at 1:36 PM CST