March 9, 2003
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Prayer: Eternal and loving God, who revealed yourself to us in Jesus of Nazareth, open your heavens to us that the Spirit may come among us, reclaiming us, helping us to know our infinite worth in your sight, strengthening us to cope with temptation, equipping us to minister in Christ’s name. May our faithfulness draw others into your covenant community, where mutual trust and joyous service unite us in Christ. Amen. -(Lavon Bayler. Led by Love. Cleveland: United Church Press. 1996, p.57) The Lenten season, the six weeks leading to Easter began last Wednesday as our congregation joined Christians around the world in the journey that will lead us to Jerusalem. Lent is a solemn time. It is a time when the church traditionally pulls back a bit and concentrates its thoughts on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Lent is a time of reflection and renewal. It is a time when we make new commitments to God, and when we renew the commitments we have already made. It is not that our faith has failed us, it is that as is true with everything that is alive, our faith needs refreshing every now and then. When we are renewed we have a sense of energy and purpose for the work of ministry to which God calls us. In the seven years I have been privileged to pastor this congregation, it has been my prayer that our faith in Jesus Christ will be renewed in such a way that we will bear witness to the good news that is in us. We start with the gospel of Mark. Mark’s is the shortest of the four gospels. It is thought to be the first gospel written, and it is the one that tells us unashamedly that the best way to come to believe in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord of our lives is to know the story of his ministry. Mark’s opening line is, “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1.1). If he were the producer of a documentary on the A&E network, he would not sell it to their “Biography” program. Mark does not tell us where Jesus was born, who his parents are, or what his childhood was like. Instead of Biography, Mark’s story of Jesus would be on a program devoted to people who have changed the world. Here is how Mark tells us Jesus changed the world and our lives. “The early verses of the gospel of Mark describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which is the beginning of salvation. As Jesus offered himself for baptism, he identified fully with the sinfulness of humanity. As Jesus opened himself to the Tempter, he identified with trials all people face. As Jesus proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom, he opened the door for all to enter new life. Jesus became one with us so that we might become one with him. In his baptism, temptation, and proclamation of the gospel, Jesus, in an extraordinarily new way, connected God and ordinary people” (Philip Bence, Lent 2003, the Risen Savior. Abingdon Press. Nashville, 2002, p.11). Baptism is the means by which we can present ourselves publicly to say we stand with Jesus and offer ourselves so that our sins are symbolically washed away. Jesus identifies with humanity, and renews us through the ritual of baptism. Jesus comes from his hometown of Nazareth and approaches the Jordan River in Jerusalem where John the Baptist is baptizing people, symbolically washing away their sins. Jesus gets in line with the others and offers himself for baptism. Jesus who had no sin to wash away, who had no separation from God to overcome, whose relationship with God did not have to be put right is baptized. He does it in order to show us that one way renewal comes to us is through an act of faith and a ritual in the water. Do you remember your baptism? Did you believe then, and do you believe now that being baptized makes any difference in the way you live your life? I hope we can relate to the attitude of Martin Luther, the German reformer. It is said that each day Luther would go to church, place his hand in the baptistry, touch his hand to his head and proclaim, “always remember Martin, you are baptized”. Can we say the same? Can we say, remember, you have claimed him as Savior of your soul, mentor for your life, role model for how to care for the poor, respect all people, and meet the needs of those you are called to serve. Remember that baptism reminds us that we have a particular relationship with Jesus. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the Holy Spirit comes down from heaven and descends on him. As he does the heavens are torn apart. “The verb is the same used of the Temple curtain which was ‘torn in two from top to bottom’ when Jesus was crucified (15.38). In both cases, what had long been sealed is suddenly flung open. Jesus’ ministry answers to the long-deferred hope, ‘O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down’ (Isaiah 64.1)” (Lamar Williamson, Jr. Interpretation series. Mark. Atlanta:John Knox Press, 1983, p. 34). For Mark, the baptism of Jesus is the means by which the identity of Jesus is established. He is indeed the Son of God sent to the world to redeem the world. When we are baptized we are by ancient ritual affirming our belief that Jesus is the Son of God and we are acknowledging that our life with him as begun. Our renewed lives may begin with baptism, but it continues as we go with Jesus into the desert where we begin to learn that baptism brings us into a new relationship with Jesus Christ, but it does not mean that our days of testing and temptation are over. Our experience tells us that the opposite is true. No sooner does Jesus emerge from the Jordan than he is driven into the wilderness by the same spirit that came down around him when he was baptized. There, he is tested by Satan for forty days. His experience echoes the forty years the Hebrews spent in the wilderness (Numbers 32.13), the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34.28), and the forty day round trip Elijah took to Mt. Horeb (I Kings 19.8). In the wilderness, Jesus opened himself to the tempter, and we are renewed as we face our own tests and temptations. We notice almost immediately that Mark’s temptation story is too sparse. This is not the version that tells us again what we believe we know. Mark has no instance of fasting or hunger. There is no high point of the Temple. There is no theological debate with a scripture quoting Satan about bread or power, or the ability to defy gravity. Nevertheless, Mark lets us know that if Jesus has a time of testing so will we. When things are bright and exciting, when we are caught up in the glow of renewed faith, we are vulnerable, and we will be tested. The spirit that guides and support us will send us away from what is comfortable to test and stretch our faith. Why? To remind us that we can, when in times of trouble trust God completely. It is too easy to have faith when all is well. The question is what have we got when all we have is our faith in God. We will have enough to get to a place where our reality is as it was with Horatio Spafford. When he faced a horrible personal tragedy, he put pen to paper and wrote: “When peace like a
river attendeth my way, or sorrows like sea billows roll; But it isn’t just the test in the wilderness; it is that the wilderness can be a place of real danger. Jesus we are told, was with wild beasts in the desert wilderness. “The wild beasts of course, call to mind various biblical passages that promise God’s protection from wild beasts such as Isaiah 11. 6-9: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them”. That Jesus is with the wild beasts and emerges unscathed indicated the divine protection given to him” (Texts for Preaching – Year B. Louisville. Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993, p. 199). But God has, even in the chaos sent angels to wait on Jesus, and there are angels, protective spirit, watching us. There are people, family and friends, church members, and neighbors who will act in ways that tell us we are looked after and that someone cares for us. God sends us angels. Baptism does not protect us from life’s difficulties. Whether we are baptized or not, we know heartache and disappointment, and plain old exhaustion. We know what it means to be human. But here is what is different. When we hold on, when we go through our time of testing and emerge with the knowledge that we are not alone, and we can be renewed. After he is baptized, after he is tested, after he gets word that John the Baptist has been arrested and is in prison, Jesus goes back to Galilee. He does not go back to hide or rest. He goes back so that he can be renewed and then emerge with a message that tells the world not only who he is but what he will be about in his ministry. He emerges in Galilee and begins to proclaim the good news of God. He says, now is the time for action. God’s time is now. “The time is fulfilled includes at least three dimensions of meaning. First, the coming of Jesus fulfills God’s plan for the grand sweep of history. At that time, and in that place God stepped into human history in a unique and decisive way. The time is fulfilled, and ours is a planet invaded by the presence of God. Second, Mark links the time of John’s arrest with the time when Jesus starts preaching the gospel. The time of John the prophet is over; the time of Jesus and fulfillment has come…it is gospel time. Third, when the good news of God is preached, it is decision time. The time is fulfilled” (Williamson, p. 41). Baptism and testing prepare us for the ministry and work of proclamation. Our faith is renewed when we feel in our souls that we share in proclaiming the good news of God. There are two steps in the proclamation process. The first step is to repent. Repentance is one of those churchy words that has little meaning outside religious circles. The Greek word means “to change one’s mind.” Behind it lies the Hebrew verb, “to turn around”, that is to change one’s heart, will and conduct” (Williamson, p.31). In other words, we are invited to take responsibility for preparing ourselves to refresh our faith. I said Wednesday night that we are instructed to turn from all that gets between ourselves and God and the good news of Jesus Christ. Turn away from bad news that drives a wedge between you and God, turn your renewed heart and mind toward Jesus Christ in these days and believe his good news. The second step is to believe. Believe when you are still damp from baptism and still catching your breath after surviving the tests that are sure to come your way. We know how to begin. Believe that there is a proclamation for us to make. Thank God we can proclaim that we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We proclaim that our congregation will welcome and receive all who see a place in this community of Christ. We proclaim the good news by teaching all we know and by learning all we can. We proclaim the good news by our commitment to each other in here and our concern for our neighbors around the corner and around the world. We are here to live and to be the good news of Jesus Christ. He is indeed the beloved Son of God, the one in whom God is well pleased, the one who is pleased to call us his friends and followers. It is Jesus who has offered himself to us and for us. As we receive him, we are renewed for ministry in his name day by day, moment by moment. Thanks be to God for the gift of faith, and for the opportunity of renewal that God gives to us. To God be the glory. Amen.
Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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