Genesis 1:1-5, Mark 1:4-11
January 7, 2018
First Presbyterian Church
Christina Berry
On this day when we recall and celebrate the baptism of Jesus, we begin with the beginning, the first five verses of Genesis. In the ancient world, the conception of the way the world began was that God brought forth order from the watery chaos; as science teaches us today, that is pretty much how it all started - in the watery chaos, life began. Let’s listen for the beginning of it all in Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Today’s gospel reading is the beginning of Mark - the baptism of Jesus. Jesus begins his ministry by coming to his cousin, John the Baptizer, and in the moment Jesus comes up out of the water, we experience the presence of God, marking Jesus as God’s own. Let’s listen for God’s gracious word to us in Mark 1:4-11:
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 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. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
The word of the Lord.
January 7, 2018
First Presbyterian Church
Christina Berry
On this day when we recall and celebrate the baptism of Jesus, we begin with the beginning, the first five verses of Genesis. In the ancient world, the conception of the way the world began was that God brought forth order from the watery chaos; as science teaches us today, that is pretty much how it all started - in the watery chaos, life began. Let’s listen for the beginning of it all in Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Today’s gospel reading is the beginning of Mark - the baptism of Jesus. Jesus begins his ministry by coming to his cousin, John the Baptizer, and in the moment Jesus comes up out of the water, we experience the presence of God, marking Jesus as God’s own. Let’s listen for God’s gracious word to us in Mark 1:4-11:
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 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. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
What an exciting morning this is!
We observe the baptism of Jesus, and we are baptizing three beloved people. The Baptism of Jesus began as a “Feast Day” in the church and became a special Sunday only in the 1950s. When the Catholic and Protestant churches started working together to create a three year cycle of Scripture readings, which only happened a few decades ago, this Sunday’s readings were decided.
Every year, churches around the world celebrate baptism this Sunday, and we are no exception. In fact we celebrate both sacraments this week - baptism and communion. In my confirmation classes, we define a sacrament as “an outward sign of an inward seal.”
I liked what Frederick Buechner said about sacraments:
“A sacrament is when something holy happens.
It is transparent time, time you can see through to something deep inside time.
Generally speaking, Protestants have two official sacraments (the Lord's Supper, Baptism) and Roman Catholics have these two plus five others (Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Ordination, and Matrimony). In other words, at such milestone moments as seeing a baby baptized or being baptized yourself, confessing your sins, getting married, dying, you are apt to catch a glimpse of the almost unbearable preciousness and mystery of life.”
The unbearable preciousness and mystery of life.
These sacramental moments of our lives,
which may also happen at times outside of church or worship,
are times when time collapses,
and past, present and future come together.
Ends become beginnings, and beginnings become ends.
We know it instinctively, how, when something new begins, something old comes to an end. Baptism and communion are opportunities to experience that kind of new beginning. In the beginning, God moved across the face of the waters, bringing new life and light out of the chaotic swirling darkness. In baptism, we experience, through words and song and senses, this same new beginning.
At the table, when Jesus sat with his friends and broke bread, he began something new - a new covenant, a new life. That new life would come as a result of his death; an end which led to a new beginning. In a mysterious way, we are made new at the font, and we begin again every time we come to the table.
As humans, we crave those moments, those times when we see the unbearable preciousness and mystery of life. From time to time, someone who was baptized as an infant expresses to me the desire to be baptized again. That’s not because we think the first time didn’t work! It’s because we crave that ineffable, mysterious joy, that wondrous feeling of hearing God say to us, in our hearts,
“With you, I am well pleased.”
Today, as we baptize these beloved people, Ashtyn, Julianna, and David,
and as we joyfully welcome four new members into our community,
we who are baptized have the opportunity to re-experience that feeling.
You are invited, as we celebrate the sacraments,
to renew your own baptismal promises.
And you are invited as you come forward to receive communion
to come to the font, dip your fingers into the water,
and remember your baptism.
You are a child of the covenant; in you God is well pleased.
So remember your baptism, and give thanks,
and come to this table with thanksgiving,
with a heart filled with the unbearable preciousness and mystery of life,
and experience what God in Christ gives us every. Single. Day:
A new beginning.
Amen.
What an exciting morning this is!
We observe the baptism of Jesus, and we are baptizing three beloved people. The Baptism of Jesus began as a “Feast Day” in the church and became a special Sunday only in the 1950s. When the Catholic and Protestant churches started working together to create a three year cycle of Scripture readings, which only happened a few decades ago, this Sunday’s readings were decided.
Every year, churches around the world celebrate baptism this Sunday, and we are no exception. In fact we celebrate both sacraments this week - baptism and communion. In my confirmation classes, we define a sacrament as “an outward sign of an inward seal.”
I liked what Frederick Buechner said about sacraments:
“A sacrament is when something holy happens.
It is transparent time, time you can see through to something deep inside time.
Generally speaking, Protestants have two official sacraments (the Lord's Supper, Baptism) and Roman Catholics have these two plus five others (Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Ordination, and Matrimony). In other words, at such milestone moments as seeing a baby baptized or being baptized yourself, confessing your sins, getting married, dying, you are apt to catch a glimpse of the almost unbearable preciousness and mystery of life.”
The unbearable preciousness and mystery of life.
These sacramental moments of our lives,
which may also happen at times outside of church or worship,
are times when time collapses,
and past, present and future come together.
Ends become beginnings, and beginnings become ends.
We know it instinctively, how, when something new begins, something old comes to an end. Baptism and communion are opportunities to experience that kind of new beginning. In the beginning, God moved across the face of the waters, bringing new life and light out of the chaotic swirling darkness. In baptism, we experience, through words and song and senses, this same new beginning.
At the table, when Jesus sat with his friends and broke bread, he began something new - a new covenant, a new life. That new life would come as a result of his death; an end which led to a new beginning. In a mysterious way, we are made new at the font, and we begin again every time we come to the table.
As humans, we crave those moments, those times when we see the unbearable preciousness and mystery of life. From time to time, someone who was baptized as an infant expresses to me the desire to be baptized again. That’s not because we think the first time didn’t work! It’s because we crave that ineffable, mysterious joy, that wondrous feeling of hearing God say to us, in our hearts,
“With you, I am well pleased.”
Today, as we baptize these beloved people, Ashtyn, Julianna, and David,
and as we joyfully welcome four new members into our community,
we who are baptized have the opportunity to re-experience that feeling.
You are invited, as we celebrate the sacraments,
to renew your own baptismal promises.
And you are invited as you come forward to receive communion
to come to the font, dip your fingers into the water,
and remember your baptism.
You are a child of the covenant; in you God is well pleased.
So remember your baptism, and give thanks,
and come to this table with thanksgiving,
with a heart filled with the unbearable preciousness and mystery of life,
and experience what God in Christ gives us every. Single. Day:
A new beginning.
Amen.
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