Reading, Sermon and Prayers – The baptism of Jesus

READING: Mark 1.4-11

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

SERMON: New Beginnings Mark 1:4-11

A belated Happy New year! I pray that we all have a very blessed 2021. New year is often a time is it not when we appear to take stock and reflect on how we’d like our lives to be and potentially decide to make some changes. You know the kind of things I mean; lose weight, watch less TV, eat less chocolate, be a nicer person, need I go on? It’s an opportunity for a new start, a new beginning in a small part of our lives.

The start to this year is certainly being a tough one what with Covid, but how many New Year resolutions have you made? Often sadly, despite our good intention the bad news is that most of us will fail.

However I’m happy to report that I made a new year’s resolution many years ago that I have kept ever since the day I made it. I decided that year that I would not make any more new year’s resolutions ever! … and I never have.

But before I go on, don’t the lectionary readings jump about? We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, the arrival of the Kings and now we have jumped ahead to the baptism of Jesus when he would be in his early 30’s!

Then…. at the end of this month (Fourth Sunday of Epiphany) we find ourselves at Candlemas when Jesus is presented in the temple which is 40 days after his birth.

But anyway back to our readings this morning which are both about beginnings. Genesis is about the very beginning of the universe, and Mark is about the beginning of the second phase of the universe. This morning I am going to look at the Mark reading and see what it has to say about new beginnings.

Sometimes new beginnings are signalled in other words we know that something is coming in advance. John the Baptist was the man who had the news about Jesus starting his ministry. So before we get on to the new beginning let’s remind ourselves and take a closer look at the start of it.

John’s ministry is prophesied in Malachi 3:1, ‘“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.’

To go to see John was not a simple journey, it was likely that he was based in the wilderness in the valley outside Jerusalem. If he was always based near the Jordan river, as he must have been if he was always baptising people for it is the only water in the area.

The road out of the city takes a steep descent, and if you have to go off the road through the wilderness the climb is even more difficult. That is to say nothing about the climb back up to Jerusalem. A visit to John is at least a day trip and quite a long day trip at that.

Despite this, John was getting a lot of visitors and what he was doing was similar to the prophets by calling for repentance and a new turning to God and offering forgiveness of sins. But John included baptism in water something that had previously been a requirement only for Gentile converts to Judaism.

John, we are told would not baptize anyone without a clear statement of repentance.

His message is clear “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And one day, Jesus is there waiting to be baptised. If we look at Matthew’s account we will see that John had a problem with the idea that Jesus should seek his baptism. After all, why be baptised for the forgiveness of sins when you are not a sinner. Jesus tells him “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15). John consents and Jesus is baptised.

The baptism will have taken place in front of the crowd that was already there listening to John, and others who were there to receive baptism, or who had just been baptised themselves. It therefore becomes Jesus’ public declaration of His ministry. He has gone from being someone who is preparing to someone who is ready. It is a new beginning, a change of lifestyle, time to get started. He has accepted the plan that he has come to die for the sins of those who trust in Him.

By going through with His unnecessary baptism He has aligned himself with all of us, those who DO need to be baptised. He now has that experience that His followers will later share and something in common with our humanity.

As Jesus comes up out of the water he sees heaven being torn open. I doubt that this means something like a strip of wallpaper being torn of a wall, it is more like the whole wall being removed so that Jesus can now see things clearly from His father’s point of view.

Jesus’ vision after His baptism has shown him the truth, the spiritual truth of how things are. He can now see clearly and understand His father’s viewpoint.

After the vision, a voice is heard from heaven “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Matthew reports it slightly differently, and leaves us in no doubt that the voice was heard by all those present. Matthew reports the voice saying “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Hearing this must have been very encouraging for Jesus.

And encouragement was exactly what he needed. If we read the next verse (12), we see that immediately the Holy Spirit sends him out into the desert to be tempted for forty days. That story is for another day.

For today we must remember that Jesus a long time ago made a decision to follow His father, and now he has made a public declaration by His baptism that he is going to follow through. The next phase of His life has started, it is a new beginning for Him.

In his commentary “Mark for Everyone”, the theologian Tom Wright says: “Any early Christian reading this passage would also, of course, believe that their own baptism into Jesus the Messiah was the moment when, for them, the curtain had been drawn back and these words had been spoken to them.” [Reread the quote]

Why any early Christian? Surely he means any Christian?

Well perhaps not any Christian. For me, baptism occurred at a very early age and I was far too young to remember it. The Church of England provide confirmation – a special service where someone who has been baptised as an infant can claim the faith they have been bought up in as their own. For me that was a service where I sensed a lot and it served me well as a public declaration of my faith – and that is one of its roles.

Our very own baptism provides us with a link into Jesus. It gives us the Holy Spirit, a sign and seal of His love for us. The Holy Spirit also provides us with power, and helps us to see things as they really are, to lift the veil that evil puts over the world, so we can see things with the heavens opened. Our faith, which we declare in our baptism, or confirmation, means that God looks on us in the same way that He looks on Jesus. So God, the father, can say to us “You are my Son or Daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

We can only adore Jesus, if we first know that He love us. That is what these final words of the reading allow us to do, to know that God loves us, so that we can respond with adoration.

There doesn’t always have to be a resolution (new year’s or otherwise) to have a new beginning. Sometimes a new appreciation of what we already know can change our approach and herald its own new beginning.

So as I finish let’s take a minute to repeat these words slowly, but let’s put our name at the start, so that we can be sure we know who God is talking to.

This is what God says to me: “Kevin, you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

So now let’s echo those words of God for each of us,

(YOUR name)…. You are my son / daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”

Don’t just say it in your head, say it under your breath, whisper it, say it out loud, but as you say it remember whose voice said it first. Amen

PRAYERS

Heavenly Father, fill your land with the Holy Spirit, that all who respond to your call may be witnesses to your to your name. Bless all those who have been baptised and those who are preparing for confirmation.