Repent!

 Mark 1:4-11 NRSV

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

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I imagine that some of you showed up today hoping to hear the Gospel story from Matthew about the arrival of the Wise Men and the gifts they brought, or maybe Luke’s story about Anna and Simeon in the Temple, and the very first time when Jesus was recognized as the Messiah that the people of Israel had been awaiting for so long.  If you are of a theological turn of mind, you may even have wondered whether I was going to talk about how when the Wise Men came it was a sign that Jesus was for the whole world, not just for Israel.  Or maybe about the prophetic nature of the gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Instead, the Gospel reading for today came from Mark, who didn’t speak at all about Jesus’ birth or childhood.  Rather, he started telling the Good News from the first day of Jesus’ ministry in the world - the day he was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptizer.  In fact, Mark begins with these words:  

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,    

who will prepare your way;

3 

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’ 

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

On this particular Sunday we celebrate, not the Epiphany of the Lord, but the Baptism of Jesus.  When I told someone that earlier in the week, she was disappointed.  For most of us, the arrival of the Three Kings is an important part of the Christmas story.  But I have a secret to share with you.

Epiphany is not a day.  It is a season.  Just like Christmas.  Christmas doesn’t end on the day Jesus is born.  Christmas continues for 12 days, ending on the day that the Wise Men appear.  Epiphany begins on that day and continues until Ash Wednesday.   (Which this year falls on Valentine’s Day . . . so if you usually give up chocolate for Lent you might want to reconsider . . . .  just sayin’.)   This year, during the season of Epiphany here at First Christian Church, we will be focusing on Discipleship - on baptism and church membership and reaching out into the community.   

Baptism.   Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin John, just as many others were coming, even from Jerusalem.  They came in droves, to repent their sins and have them washed away in the water.  And John said to the people, “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”   When Jesus had been baptized and came up from the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Holy Spirit descending, while God’s voice filled his head saying, “You are my son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”   It is not written that anyone else saw this, but at this point, really, no one else needed to see.  This was a moment between Jesus and God.   

The history of baptism is filled with controversy and change.  In the early days of the church, whole households were baptized together and we assume that infants were included, although the Bible doesn’t tell us specifically whether or not that was the case.  Baptism took place pretty much as soon as someone said “I believe that Jesus is the Messiah.”  Like the three thousand new believers on the Day of Pentecost, and the household of Cornelius, and the eunuch Philip baptized on the road out of Jerusalem.  But as time passed it was determined that new seekers should be better informed before they were allowed to become full members of the church.  So they would spend a year learning Scripture and learning the history of the Church, and even have to leave worship when it came time for communion, until they were baptized - often on Easter with many others.   The new member would stand on one side of the baptistry, which was a pool with stairs on both ends, and remove their clothing.  Entering into the water, they were immersed and baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  They were then anointed with oil, and came up out of the pool, where they received new clothing and a new name - their Christian name.   More time passed and the belief arose that baptism was necessary for entrance into heaven, and since so many died in infancy or childhood, by the year 250 ce, it had become the custom to baptize infants with water, then confirming them in their belief in the Christ by anointing them with oil when they reached the age of decision.  That practice continues down to today in many Christian traditions.   In about 1523 ce some of the leaders of the Reformation rejected the concept of infant baptism, declaring that only believers baptism was Biblical.  These Anabaptists (re-baptizers) were considered heretical by both Protestant and Catholics, and were executed as heretics (usually by drowning) well up into the mid 1600s.   In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we practice believers baptism by immersion, but in most of our congregations we do accept as valid baptism by any other denomination, including infant baptism.  So if you were baptized as an infant, that counts here.

This is a bigger deal than one might think.  I read a story recently, about a couple who were getting married in Kentucky.  They both loved their congregations and neither wanted to leave their church. So, they came to the agreement early in their marriage that they would attend which ever church was closest to their home. Joyce’s church was closest to their first home together so the plan was that Louis would join her church and that is where they would raise their children. However, when Louis went to visit with the minister about moving his membership, the minister informed him that he would have to be baptized. Louis said, “I have been baptized.” The minister replied but for membership here, you will be required to be baptized in this church, in this denomination.   Some of their family and friends thought that Louis should just be re-baptized. Joyce taught Sunday school and sang in the choir.  She was an integral part of the congregation and it was closer to their home. For Louis, the point was that this church did not recognize the holy event that had already taken place. They took something away from Louis and from God by suggesting that his baptism was not valid. So, Joyce joined Louis’ church which did accept her baptism. Baptism can bring us together and it can keep us apart.    Here at First Christian Church, we are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.  We will not let differences in practice keep us from being one with Christ.

Baptism is about repentance.  When we enter the waters of baptism, we are washed clean of our old ways, but not in some sort of miraculous event.  I had a person come to me once complaining that her life hadn’t changed after her baptism. She thought when she was baptized that she would suddenly no longer crave alcohol, that her marriage would get better, that she would be happy.  I tried to explain to her that these changes happen because we are willing to make changes.  We are washed clean because we have made a decision to change our lives, to turn them over to God, to be a follower of Jesus because we believe that he is the Messiah, the anointed one, Son of the Living God.   We come into the waters of baptism willing to become the best persons we can be, willing to look closely at ourselves and to reject the ways of the world that keep us from doing what we know God wants us to do.  We become willing to be made new, and open ourselves to direction from the Holy Spirit.   This isn’t easy.  We can’t just say, “I repent.”  We must reach into ourselves, find those sins which keep us from happiness and peace in Christ, repent and remove them, making space for the Holy Spirit to work in us and with us, to make us new in Christ.  

Baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us to go out and do God’s work in the world.  It gives us strength to face difficulties with serenity, knowing that God is in us and with us.  It is more than a rite of passage.  It is an opening of ourselves, our own spirits, so that we may receive the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  

 I have no idea how Jesus may have felt when he heard God’s voice speaking to him, saying “You are my beloved.  In you I am well pleased.”  I don’t know whether this was an epiphany to him.  I do know that he immediately went out into the wilderness, to pray, to meditate, to consider the path ahead of him. I do know that from that moment forward his life was different.  No longer a carpenter, no longer a resident of Nazareth.  From here forward he would be a preacher, a teacher, a healer.  From here forward, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit.   Jesus’ baptism changed his life and sent him out to do God’s will in the world.  May we, today, remember our own baptism, and let the Spirit fill us with gifts we need to do God’s work in our world.  May we look into our hearts, finding those things that keep us from being the people God wants us to be, and say to God and ourselves, These I lay down.