Year B

Mark 1: 4-11

The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn

A Good Place to Start

Four engineers get into a car. The car won’t start. The Mechanical Engineer says, “It is a broken starter.” The Electrical Engineer says, “The battery is dead.” The Chemical Engineer says, “The gasoline is impure.” The IT Engineer says, “Hey, guys, I’ve got an idea; how about we all get out of the car, lock all the doors, unlock them, and then get back in again.” We all know that when a car won’t start, there could be a variety of possible causes. And yes, it is funny how many IT problems are solved just by turning the computer off and then turning it back on again. Whatever the problem, you have to start somewhere and turning something off and then back on is a good place to start. Wish we could have done that to this past year and now into this new year.

Today, Mark treats our Lord’s baptism as a good starting place, a kind of inauguration ceremony, as he remembers the baptism of Jesus. Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his ministry and the beginning of his journey to the cross. Everything he did from this time on was in line with his saving purpose: his healing of the sick, his casting out evil spirits, his raising the dead, and his preaching of the good news. He was committed to do these things, he had come into the world precisely to save, to liberate, to bring people into God’s kingdom. This was his task, and he undertook it on the day of his baptism.

Most people have heard the word “baptism.” Some refer to the event as “christening.” Some people remember their baptism and others of us were babies baptized soon after we were born. Regardless, it is a special ceremony with important words said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “We receive you into the household of God.” There are also significant actions that are part of a baptism: the splashing of water; the sign of the cross; the lighting of a candle. No matter how many baptisms we are a part of, each one is a special occasion. So you would think that as important as baptism is, the scriptures would have given us more details of Jesus baptism.

None of the rituals or words we are accustomed to are mentioned. Only a vision and a voice! “Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open up and God’s Spirit descended like a dove on him.” For 2000, years the dove has been the symbol of God’s Holy Spirit used by the church. Yet, the only time the Spirit is identified with a dove is at the baptism of Jesus. This tells us how important the Spirit’s presence was at Jesus’ baptism. The dove was a vision of God’s very own presence and tells us in no uncertain terms that God’s spirit was there in the middle of that event. We don’t use doves in our baptism liturgy today but what is important is that God’s Spirit, the breath of God, is equally present at the baptismal font empowering us for life, mission and ministry.

The Spirit of God who descended upon Jesus at his baptism is the same Creator Spirit that moved over the face of the waters at the beginning. The Spirit was at work at the beginning, bringing order out of chaos and light out of darkness. We catch a glimpse of the triune God who creates by the Word—God said… and breathes the Spirit upon creation. The Spirit or Breath of God continues to create and to be present to the whole world which is seen again and again in scripture and in our lives. Psalm 29 also attests that God is engaged not only with human beings but with the whole earthly creation. God’s Spirit, then is not confined to Israel or to Christians, but is dwelling universally within all people made in the image of God and lives in all creation.

It is this Spirit that rested on the anointed one, Jesus who was to bring God’s kingdom into the world. The prophet Isaiah says that the Chosen One, who will have God’s Spirit on him, will bring forth justice to the nations, “to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” Anointed by the Spirit, Jesus embarks upon his ministry of healing, proclaiming the kingdom of the God and good news to the poor. With this in mind, the tie between Christ’s baptism and our own baptism begins to come clear. Not only are we too committed by our baptism to the same work of Christ but the purpose of the Spirit’s mission is to draw us into this communion with God, in the Son, Jesus, through the Spirit.

According to Mark, it is Jesus who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, not just with water as John the Baptist did. Water is good. It washes, relieves thirst and falls as rain. Water is good, but how much better it is when we are baptized with water plus the Holy Spirit, as Jesus baptizes. This is something else. Then we are not only baptized with the water made at the beginning of creation; we are baptized by the One who made the waters. When we are baptized with water and the Holy Spirit we rise with Jesus from death into his new life in the Spirit and are empowered to carry forth his ministry of love and reconciliation.

Acts tells us that, after the resurrection, through the ministry of the apostles, the Spirit was given to many Christians in dramatic ways. A relationship with God through Jesus is sometimes manifested by signs such as speaking in tongues and prophecy. Paul teaches us that, while not all Christians will speak in tongues, all who confess that Jesus is Lord have received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers all Christians with gifts of ministry and mission, communicates to us God’s forgiving grace and enables the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.   

We are not left to our own devices to do justice for God. We are given the power of God to bring about healing, reconciliation and change and it takes a special power to face those kinds of issues. Are we good enough for the task? Are we capable enough for the task? Has God given us a mission that is beyond us? Listen to the voice again: “You are my son…you are my daughter. With you I am well pleased!” God tells us that once the waters of baptism have flowed over our head, whether young or old, we have the power of God’s Spirit to help us for life.

The vision and the voice that was present at Jesus’ baptism is the same one that is present in the words and actions of our baptism. How awesome to think that the Spirit of God that created in the beginning and the Spirit of God that was at the Baptism of Jesus, is the same Spirit of God that marked us at our baptism as the sign of the cross, the vision, was made upon our forehead with these words: “Child of God, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.  And with the words of this prayer said over every newly baptized person from the BCP: Sustain us, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give us an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.