The reason that we remember sacred
events,
such as the Baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan by His cousin John; .
. . the reason that we remember sacred
events . . . is so
that we might give precedence to the reality of sacred
facts.
And the reason for giving priority to sacred facts . . . is so that the
way we live might reflect what we believe; . . . so that our lives
might be a
light
to the nations . . . or at least a light to our families and in our
workplace. . . . So, let’s examine this sacred
event of Christ’s Baptism . . . and see what the sacred facts
might be.
Three verses prior to the portion of
Saint Mark’s Gospel which has just been read to you . . .
Saint Mark tells us that “John the baptizer appeared in the
wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” . . . Saint Mark records what all the other
evangelists agree on: that John the Baptizer’s
baptism was with water for repentance of sin. . . . So, why
did Jesus come all the way down from Nazareth to the Jordan River to be
baptized by John? Because, you see, our tradition says that
Jesus was truly man, but without
sin(!).
Saint Paul tells the Corinthians that God “made [Jesus] to be
sin who knew no sin”, and we read in the First Epistle of
Peter that Jesus “committed no sin; no guile was found on his
lips”; and so, when we pray the Proper Preface for Lent, we
paraphrase the Epistle to the Hebrews and say that Jesus “was
tempted in every way as we are, yet did not sin.”
That is what the Church believes. . . . So, why did Jesus
come to John to be baptized? . . . Could it be that
we’re wrong . . . and Jesus may have been tempted in every
way as we are . . . and, on occasion,
succumbed to
temptation . . . and sinned? . . . Or perhaps, as some
suggest, . . . perhaps Jesus was simply feeling empathy toward the
rest of us; He was
feeling generally burdened by the presence of sin within the human
family and so, received John’s baptism on our
behalf. . . . Saint Mark doesn’t say. He
simply says that Jesus was baptized by the prophet John, who was
baptizing for the repentance of sin. . . .
But, Saint Mark
does say that upon
coming up out of the water Jesus was immediately under the authority of
the Holy Spirit of God; . . . Jesus was immediately under the authority
of the Holy Spirit of God . . . Who not only declared Jesus to be the
beloved
Son
of God . . . but Who
immediately drove [Jesus] out into the
wilderness. And
[Jesus] was in the wilderness [Saint Mark says], . . . [Jesus] was in
the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan
At His baptism by John, Jesus was immediately under the authority of
the Holy Spirit of God . . . Who compelled Him to go out into the
wilderness.
Now, why do you suppose the Holy Spirit
did that? Why do you suppose the Holy Spirit didn’t
even allow Jesus time to visit with His cousin and have a cup of wild
honey with him, but, instead,
compelled
Jesus to go from the Jordan out
into the wilderness? . . . Well, do you remember what the
Lord God Almighty said to you only a mere month ago? . . . Do
you remember that the Prophet Isaiah has told us that God’s
counsel is that “in the wilderness [we must] prepare the way
of the Lord?” . . . And do you remember what I said
about God’s counsel; . . . do you remember that I said that
we need to tame the wild places in our soul; . . . that we need to get
a grip on our fears and master our souls so that our lives might be
something across which the righteousness of God shines without
obstruction?
Well, this is the sacred fact whose
reality Saint Mark wants you to live. By remembering the
sacred event of Christ’s Baptism . . . Saint Mark wants you
to recognize the reality that
our
Baptism places us under the authority
of God. Because, you see, you were not baptized
chiefly for
the forgiveness of sin. You were
baptized with the Holy
Spirit! You were not baptized with the baptism
of the prophet
John. You were baptized with the Baptism of Jesus.
And because you are baptized with the Baptism of Jesus . . . the sacred
fact about yourself is that, like Jesus,
you are under the authority of
the Holy Spirit! You do not belong to
yourself. You
belong to God. You do not belong to yourself, you do not
belong to the world; you do not belong to the devil. You
belong to the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit of God has
authority over you.
And do you know God’s purpose
in giving His Holy Spirit authority over you? It is so that
you might be brought by the Spirit to Jesus. For, in Christ
Jesus(and in Christ Jesus
alone)
you are imbued with sufficient
strength and restraint to be indifferent to Satan’s
temptations. . . . And you
will be tempted by
Satan. Your Baptism doesn’t make you immune to
temptation; . . . temptation is a condition of Creation. But
mastery of the wild places of your soul, by the grace and aid of the
Holy Spirit; . . . by submission to Her counsel and by submission to
Christ; . . . mastery of the wild places of your soul is to achieve
mastery over your humanity; . . . it is to become the very Image of
God; . . . it is to become yourself as you were created to be, . . . a
beloved son of God; . . . it is to become God’s daughter in
whom He is well pleased.
But there is more. For, what
does the Prophet Isaiah tell us today? . . . He tells us that
the Lord God Almighty says of Jesus,
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the
nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it
heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly
burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth
justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he has
established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
And then Isaiah tells us that the Lord God Almighty says of
you,
“I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have
taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a . . . light
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.
. . . It is a very good thing for our common life as a sacred and
worshiping community; . . . it is a very good thing that some of you
who are not clergy . . . who are not priests or deacons; . . . it is a
very good thing that some of you who are the laity of the Church . . .
prepare the Altar for our worship . . . and that others fix breakfast
for special occasions . . . and still others serve on the Vestry to
look after our sacred community interests, . . . but none of that is
lay ministry. . . . Lay ministry is to be a light to the
nations; . . . lay ministry is to make your household and workplace
more humane than the profane world cares for it to be. Your
lay ministry is a call by God -- a vocation -- to communicate the
health of Jesus to the sick and afflicted if you are a nurse or a
doctor; . . . to be the image of Jesus in compassion and wise counsel
if you are a teacher; . . . to be the image of Jesus in honesty if you
are a merchant; . . . to be the image of Jesus in righteousness toward
your employer; . . . to be the image of Jesus in simplicity,
detachment, and profound honor for God toward your spouse, toward your
children; toward your grandchildren. . . . For, how are they
or anyone else to know Jesus . . . unless they encounter Him in
you? . . . And so, for this purpose you have been baptized
with the Baptism of Jesus: with water and the Holy Spirit of
God . . . so that you might be under the authority of the Holy Spirit .
. . to be ministers of Jesus: to open eyes that are blind to
Him; . . . to bring prisoners to sin out of their captivity; . . . to
bring them out of darkness into the light of God’s grace and
forgiveness.
As a reminder of the reality of these
two sacred facts: that our Baptism places us under the
authority of the Holy Spirit to, first, help us achieve mastery over
our humanity and make us perfectly God’s children . . . and
to, second, make us ministers of Jesus. . . . As a reminder
of what the Lord God Almighty has shown us in the Baptism of His Son, .
. . it is the custom of the Church on this Day to renew Her baptismal
vows, . . . using the form found on page 292 in
The Book of Common
Prayer.