“What To Do With a Good Start”

Mark 1:4-11

January 8, 2006

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Rev. John Fleming

I would like to invite you to be a part of a baptism this morning. In fact, our scripture lesson for this morning, taken from Mark’s gospel, invites us to do just that. I have always found it interesting the way that Mark begins his gospel. I want you to remember that Mark’s version of the story of Jesus doesn’t include wise men or shepherds; there isn’t a stable. There is not a word about Mary and Joseph. Instead, Mark begins his story of Jesus (Could someone give me a drum roll please. Could someone raise the curtains, maybe give me a “ta-da?”) by talking about Jesus’ baptism.

We are reading again this lesson. Part of it anyway. If it sounds familiar to you it is because we read verses four through eight just before Christmas today we add the two verses that tell the story of Jesus’ baptism. You will remember that the whole countryside was excited about what was happening out in the wilderness. A wild eyed prophet of a man was out near the River Jordan preaching about repentance and offering people, anybody really, the chance to have a new life. They were washed clean, ironically, with the muddy waters of the River Jordan. Out there is where we are invited to go this morning.

Now before we get there, I will need to make sure that you know how to act at a baptism. I wouldn’t want you to embarrass me. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure that you need any instructions about how to behave at a baptism. You see, every important event tends to create its own atmosphere. If you were to go to a funeral, even for the first time, you would know what to do. You would enter the chapel or a sanctuary, quietly greet the ones around you, look over the bulletin, read the vital information that is there, and wait. When the preacher stands up, or when the family comes in, you know that it is both a solemn time and a time to remember. Singing a praise song wouldn’t be appropriate. Let’s go to a happier occasion, a wedding. As you arrive at a wedding, music is being played. From the side door comes the minister and the groom and groomsmen. Then, down the center aisle, usually, come the bridesmaids. Then there is that great moment. Her mother stands. That’s your cue! You also stand and watch as the beautiful bride makes her way down the long aisle to meet her soon to be husband.

How do you act at a baptism? I think that you know the answer to that. I have seen you. When I invite a family down front, you watch. You dutifully turn to the appropriate page in the hymnal. Smiles appear on your faces as I scoop up the water and put it on the infant’s head. I’ve seen the look on your faces as I hold the child and walk up and then back down the center aisle, talking to him, speaking with her, about what her parents were promising and what his church is promising.

Now, the baptism that I am inviting you to this morning is different, very different. Before we arrive at the Jordan, I want you to hear this. What happens in the beginning can make a huge difference in shaping what comes next.

It is a baptism, His own baptism, that begins this gospel, Mark’s story of Jesus. It is easy, don’t you think, to overlook Jesus’ baptism as one of the more important events in His life. If you were to rank the top ten events in the life of Jesus would His baptism make the list? We’d list things like the Sermon on the Mount, some say Jesus’ best work. We would list several of His miracles, mentioning, for sure, when he turned water into wine. Now that was a neat trick.

The top ten things of Jesus’ life would include the day that he went up to the mountain top and became dazzling white in front of two of His disciples. You wouldn’t want to leave out the last supper. That’s a keeper. The crucifixion would be important to remember and of course Easter Sunday morning would have to be included. Easter morning would have to be number one! We open the gospel of Mark and it is as if Mark is saying, don’t overlook this one. This is a big day. This is an important day. As one preacher put it, “This is the launching pad for Jesus’ ministry.”

What exactly was this wonderful thing that happened out there in the River Jordan, the day that Jesus was baptized? Again, Mark’s description is brief, but he does tell us that Jesus saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove. Then there was the voice from heaven, some would argue, intended only for Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

If somehow we could forget what we know about the baptismal accounts from the others gospels and focus only on Mark’s version, we would see that Jesus, really, hadn’t done anything at all, to this point in the gospel. For sure nothing that deserved such high praise. He had not preached a sermon. He had not performed a miracle. He had not said a word. He had not called any of the disciples. Still, God didn’t say, “Well, let’s try this out for a while and see how it works out.” “With you I am well pleased. Right now. Just as you are. You are mine and I am very happy about that.”

So Jesus’ ministry begins with an event that allowed him to see himself, and who he was, through God’s eyes. And according to God, Jesus was loved, valued, and claimed. Wow! I think because Jesus was loved like this, he was able to love others. He was held in such high regard by His Father, that he was able to see the very best in others. Jesus knew who he was. He knew what he was supposed to do. He knew that god was with him and for him no matter what. So when difficult times came, when there were challenges to his ministry, when he was rejected in his hometown, he did not think, “I am awful at this! People hate me! Maybe I rushed into the ministry too quickly. Am I really supposed to do this? Maybe I should have stayed in the carpenter’s shop!”

I don’t mind telling you, that in my years in the ministry, when there have been tough times, when the weeks have made me weary, when I felt like I have let people down and failed, I have had such thoughts. I have thought, “What am I doing here?” The problem for me is that there is no carpenter’s shop to return to. I am not trained to do anything but be a minister. Jesus faced strong opposition. I never have. Jesus faced temptations head on resisting them. Jesus didn’t have to hang out with the high and mighty because he was comfortable with who he was. Jesus felt worthy no matter who he was with. Jesus did not struggle with these things, I think, because of his great start, his baptism.

Now, what happened with Jesus can happen with us. Jesus’ baptism is a model, you see, of what happens when we are baptized. Baptism, oh, I wish we had a baptism this morning, like Annie Grace’s, some three and a half years ago, signifies a great beginning for all of us. It tells us who we are, in God’s eyes. We are loved. We are valued. We are claimed!

There are a lot of issues with baptism. Do we baptize babies or should people be a certain age? How much water should we use? Do you have to go under the water, or is a scoop full enough? Look again at Jesus’ baptism. None of that really matters. What matters is that we get a beginning that grounds us in the love of God, a love that launches us into a great life. We have to claim our baptisms. We have to remember them. Jesus didn’t have to do anything on the day he was baptized and like most of the things that happen to us, the meaning of it is something that we really discover later. You see, the purpose of Jesus’ baptism is seen in the days and in the three years that followed the afternoon in the chilly Jordan.

It is easy for us to enjoy the moments of baptisms. I love baptizing babies and as I said earlier, I love the expressions on your faces. The babies, usually are adorable. There is a sense of celebration on baptismal days. But the real effectiveness of it all is what happens later. Parents have to decide week after week, “Should we get up and go to church or sleep in? You know we were up late last night. Do we teach our children to pray? Do we give them the lessons of faith?” We make promises on baptismal days. We say, among other things, “We will surround this child with a community of love and forgiveness that they may grow in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.”

I am thinking, particularly now, about my sister’s four children, Hunter Hope, Harrison, and Hallie Castle. There is a church in Conway, Arkansas that promised to do these things for the four of them. These baptisms, any baptisms, and the effectiveness of them happens when Sunday School teachers take seriously the lessons they prepare. It happens when the church board tries to answer the question, “How can we help parents raise their children?” Did the baptism take? The real effectiveness of one comes when the tough times arise, when we are discouraged because of what other people are thinking and saying about us. In those moments, we must hear the words, “John, you are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Your baptism matters!

Let me close with a story that now Bishop Will Willimon tells of a time when he was a pastor. He says that a nineteen year old boy returned, one summer, from his first year of college. He went to see his pastor and declared, “I’m not going to be attending church this summer.”

When his pastor asked him why, he said, “College opened my eyes. I am not sure about religion anymore. I have discovered that I do not need the church to get by.” Will Willimon said, “That is interesting.” The young man said, “Aren’t you worried? I thought that you would go through the roof when I delivered this news!” The preacher had known the boy for five years. He had baptized him two years before. He had watched him during his high school years. He knew that his family situation was a tough one. The church had taken care of him and even played a part in his paying for college, and so the preacher said, “No, I’m interested, but not concerned. I’ll be watching to see if you can pull this off.” The boy said, “What do you mean, ‘Pull this off?’ I don’t understand. I’m 19. I’m grown. I can do whatever I want to do, can’t I?” The preacher admitted, “I was nineteen once and feel the way you do. I’m just saying I’m not sure you can pull this off.” He asked, “Why not?” Will said, Well, for one thing, you are baptized.” The boy said, “What does that have to do with anything? Will said, “Try forsaking that, rejecting that, and maybe you will find out.” The boy said, I’m not sure that being baptized has to do with me”. His preacher said, “For one thing, there are people here who care about you. They made promises to God when you were baptized. You try not showing up around here this summer, and they will be nosing around, asking how your year went, what you are planning on doing with your life.”

“And then there is God. There is no telling what God might try to do with you. From what I have seen of God, once you are claimed, you don’t generally get off the hook. God is relentless about this sort of thing.” The boy shook his head, stumbled out of the door. But a couple of Sundays later, the boy was back in his place in the Sanctuary, on the second row.

So what are you going to do with the great beginning that God has given you. Let us pray.

(Special thanks to Rev. Jeanie Burton for a few ideas in this sermon. Special thanks to Will Willimon’s ministry and particularly for the story that ends it. And thanks to my church on Durwood Road who continues to remind me of their love for Jesus and His church).