Mark 1:1-13
Do you remember your baptism? If you’re like me, you probably don’t. Those of us baptized as infants may have heard stories about our baptisms, but have no memories for ourselves. I remember my brother’s baptism, vaguely. It was the Sunday before Christmas. All the family had gathered, being fresh from my uncle’s wedding. And the minister forgot to baptize him, skipping over that part of the service. So there was a rush after the benediction to remind the minister and gather in the small side chapel to repair the damage. My brother had to have his chance at a good start and the family had to have pictures to remember by!
That’s the image of baptism many of us hold, but it’s not what John was about. Before Jesus’ ministry, John’s baptism wasn’t an initiation into Christianity. John’s baptism came from the Jewish tradition of washing away the past and beginning something new. Jewish law is full of rules about washing – washing food, washing bodies after menstruation or illness. First century Jews built large ceremonial bathtubs for bathing and purifying. It was woven into the fabric of their culture. When they wanted to show they were ready for something different, they bathed.
John was an agitator. Not long after this story, he was arrested by Herod and lost his life! He was denouncing what living under Empire had made of religion and the people. He was having nothing to do with it. He went to the edge of society, by the river, the wilderness. He made his own clothes from camel hair. He foraged for food – locusts and honey. And he called out the ways people were ignoring God’s love and adopting the values of Rome. People were intrigued by that counter-cultural message and they came to hear him. He put on a good show! For some his message struck a chord, they remembered the scriptures about God’s way of living, and they committed to following God by being baptized, by bathing in the river. It was a first century reform movement and it challenged the Empire’s ways.
Jesus and John have an argument about Jesus’ baptism. Who will baptize whom? We take that to mean Jesus is more godly than John, because we understand baptism as a spiritual thing. Later theologians have suggested that Jesus was sinless and baptism was about washing away sin. No sin: no baptism needed. But we can also understand that baptism for the forgiveness of sin was a statement about people’s intention. They were bathing to leave old ways behind and begin anew – a turning from what wasn’t godly and claiming a new lifestyle. If this baptism is a commitment to a way of life, then Jesus is declaring publicly that he’s in the movement. He too is going to advocate for a new way of living. He’s going to expand what John is doing and take it beyond the river to all the villages. Right after he’s baptized, he goes on retreat in the desert to clarify and plan. He’s expanding on John’s message, hoping to reach more people. Calling everyone to a new way of life.
Mark tells us that there was a miracle at Jesus’ baptism: the heavens opened and the voice of God called out. “You are my son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” We know Jesus as the son of God. Remember that in the first century this title was also given to the Emperor. The birth stories we’ve been reading from other Gospels tell us that Jesus is like the Emperor, is God’s son. In Mark that happens not at his birth, but at his baptism. All the Gospel writers want us to know that we should see Jesus as equal to the Emperor. He’s bringing us a kingdom, only measured by other standards. He’s challenging Rome like John did and those who want to sign on can be baptized and begin life in a new way.
Every year when we read this story we’re encouraged to remember our baptism, or if not the actual event, remember that we are baptized. To be baptized means that we too have signed on with God to live God’s way. We’ve joined Jesus’ movement; we’re living in God’s reign right now. We too are called children of God, and our lives are meant to show it. If Jesus is the light of love the world is meant to live by, then we’re the light that shows what that looks like each day. John pointed out that a new way of living was needed; Jesus explained what that way looked like; when we follow Jesus, we put his teaching into action. We’re a modern-day lesson in kingdom living: love, compassion, mercy, kindness, honesty, generosity. (Those are the values we’re going to explore on Sundays through this winter.) How do we put Jesus’ teaching into practice?
For most of our lives, we’ve done that by being nice people. We’ve worked hard, stood up for what’s right, taken care of friends and family. The world we lived in mostly followed the values of Jesus. Right now that’s not so true. I was reading the teacher Katherine Golub this week, who was acknowledging that our world is falling apart in ways we never expected. The social systems have never been perfect, but they have been for the most part civil. Now not so much. When things seem very broken, it’s hard to know how to model Jesus’ teachings. It’s hard to know when we’ve done enough. Welcome to the first century! Jesus also lived in a time when the world was broken and life was cruel. His followers declared that living by his standards made a hard life better. So that is what we can do. Live by Jesus’ values.
Unlike the first century, we can have some impact on the systems around us. We have a public voice and a vote. Although protests are becoming more dangerous, we can still safely hold a sign and stand in the town square, if that’s our thing. We can tell our representatives how we feel about bombing fisherfolk and kidnapping presidents and murdering protestors. And on a local level we can love our neighbor, including our immigrant neighbors. We can feed our friends, especially those whose benefits are reduced. We can give shelter and warm clothing in winter weather. We can speak up when those around us applaud cruelty, even if it’s just a quiet question.
Signing on with Jesus isn’t just agreeing to endorse values and behaviors. It’s seeing the world through new eyes – God’s eyes. There are some pretty loud voices right now who don’t see that way. The President says he can do anything he wants, just because he wants it. That anyone who disagrees is evil. That smart men get rich and fools advocate for income equity and justice. The White House crowd wants us to believe that immigrants are criminals. That fraud and graft are good business. That rich folk deserve more and poor folk aren’t working hard enough. That’s not the way Jesus taught us to see the world. Jesus says God is love and every person is beloved. Jesus says share your food and your extra cloak. We’d add and your health care and your education and your affordable housing. Jesus says resources are meant to be shared so everyone has enough. Those who accumulate excess are missing the point. Jesus says we can live in peace and respect and honor differences and build each other up. When we object to government behaviors, we aren’t just challenging what they do, we’re challenging why they do it. We believe that when you see people through God’s eyes, you form a community that reflects God’s love. You act differently because you see the purpose of living differently. You are building God’s kingdom for the benefit of everyone, not elbowing your way to the top and stepping on those who get in the way. When you see the world from God’s perspective, you build a government that accomplishes God’s goals. Not a narrow set of rules for behavior, putting down those who don’t conform, but a wide-open invitation for everyone to contribute and everyone to thrive. We don’t start with the question, “What’s best for me?” but with the question, “What’s best for us?” And “us” means all creatures, the whole earth. We are in a struggle to claim a good vision for all of life, and we’re not always winning.
But sometimes we are. It's important for us to do what we can, and to identify that what we are doing is because we follow Jesus’ way. Remember, not even Jesus fixed his world. We can’t do it all. What we do keeps his way and his hope alive for another day. We look around us a see what’s not right. But we also look around and see that God’s reign is breaking through in small ways around us every day. We can be a part of those bits of light shining in the darkness. We can name the light, and when we name it, we give it life.