Rev. Bill's Sermons

Is It Real? Genesis 1:1-5, Mark 1:4-11Baptism of The Lord January 8, 2006

Most of you know that Sally and I have an older model Nissan Pathfinder. It’s not a luxury SUV at all – you have to roll down the windows by hand ( and I don’t mean by putting your finger on a button – I mean rolling down the windows by hand) –- lock each door separately by hand ( you have to unlock the front doors with a key then reach into the back to unlock the back doors) – and stomp on the gas to get it to go because the accelerator doesn’t “respond” very well. Besides these “minor” points, however, we love it. Sally says she can see the road better driving it than my Camry because she is higher up – and it’s great for transporting her pottery stuff – even if sometimes there is so much pottery stuff in it that she has to “make room” in the front to be able to sit in the driver’s seat. We did clean it out, though, to make room for all our gifts, luggage, food (we have to have snacks, you know) – and all 3 dogs that rode in it to South Carolina for Christmas. And yes – we somehow fit the 2 of us in amongst the gifts, luggage, food, and dogs! Yea – we love our old SUV ! Our Pathfinder ever made it into a story our niece wrote about Sally for school entitled “My Aunt”. On one page it read: Some aunts drive economical cars – but my aunt drive a 4 wheel drive SUV! Yea – we love our old SUV ! But – if you happen to turn on the TV – especially during sporting events like the College Bowl games the past few weeks or now the NFL Playoffs – you’ll see commercials touting the “next generation” of SUV’s. Each commercial looks about the same — attractive people load up their oversized 4x4 to head out over some terrain negotiable only by Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, throwing up dirt and gravel all the way. The automotive action is usually followed by an image of the same folks setting up camp or jumping into a kayak or dangling off a rock. Looks like fun — “looks” being the operative word here. Actually analysts say that only about 5 percent of SUVs are ever taken off-road, which means that you’re more likely to see a Range Rover at Starbucks, for example, than anywhere near a mountain lake. For most SUV owners, the look and the possibility of one day actually locking in the four-wheel drive are worth the extra bucks in the purchase price. I think we have used 4 wheel drive once (maybe) on the Pathfinder to get out of the drive one winter when the snow was piled up behind it where the road had been scraped. But as for rugged camping – well – that same story our niece wrote included a page that read: Some aunts like to go camping in the woods. My aunt camps at the Holiday Inn. A lot of SUV owner prefer the Holiday Inn over the woods. Of course, with the current debate about rising gas prices, oil shortages, environmental impacts and alternative energy, many SUV owners feel they have to explain themselves to their those who may object to their driving such a “gas guzzler” when they won’t even take it off the road. Why have four-wheel drive if the only dirt those four wheels will ever touch is the fringe of the kids’ soccer field? Well, I have discovered the perfect product for those who want to look like they take their SUV “off road” – even if they don’t! I was walking through Target before Christmas – and found “Sprayonmud” -- a spray on concoction that creates the illusion that their SUV has, on more than one occasion, been baptized in mountain mud. What will they think of next? For a mere $14.50 per quart-sized bottle you can buy actual mud to spray on your vehicle in order to make it look as though you’ve just bumped back from a wild ride in the wilderness when, in fact, you’ve been merely hiking through the aisles at Target. The promotional material says: “If you’ve got a 4X4 or off-roader, Sprayonmud will send a message to anyone who disapproves or is just plain envious — you use your off-roader, off the road as well as on it.” Inside each quart-sized plastic container is real dirt from the Britain (where the product originates), mixed with water and a “secret ingredient” which helps the mud stick to the vehicle’s body. A few strategic squirts on the fenders and you’ve got an Escalade that’s dirtier than a mudslide. Real off-roaders, though, know that the best mud is free and generally available. Their vehicles wear that mud as a badge of honor, marking them as adventurers. Fake-mudders mark themselves as, well, fakers. To be real you have to go where the dirt is. When Jesus burst on the scene in first- century Israel, one of his first actions was to mark his life and ministry with some real mud. He traveled way off-road, all the way out into the Judean wilderness, to see his cousin John, the quintessential rugged individualist. In the manner of other ancient Israelite prophets, John lived a solitary life amid sand and snakes but preached a message so compelling that people were willing to get their feet dirty to go find him. Standing there in the notoriously muddy water of the Jordan River, John offered a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” Now –0- first-century Jews were used to ceremonial washings, but the only one that involved immersion was for those converting to Judaism. But John called everyone, even ethnic Jews, to be baptized -- or “marked” -- as being in need of forgiveness and salvation. What John called for was that the mud and muck of human sin needed to be washed away and replaced with a real mark of repentance and confession. John’s baptism was, in a real sense, a great equalizer, declaring that rich and poor, Jew and non-Jew, righteous or roustabout all must turn toward God. Now – I have learned through the years that you don’t wash dishes in dirty water. Yet John calls for people to be “washed,” marked, or cleansed in the dirty waters of the Jordan. Baptized in dirty water. When Jesus came to the edge of the water, John recognized that He was “the one” who “is more powerful than I ... I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals” If anyone needed to skip this particular mud bath it was Jesus. Yet Jesus willingly steps down into the brown water to take on the same muddy mark as others John is baptizing. When we’re baptized we take on that same mark as Jesus did. Jesus’ baptism is the prototype for those of us who would follow him. But -- what does our baptism say about us? We understand baptism as a mark of God’s favor. Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. For him it was a form of anointing — not just with water but with the Spirit. Here we see the Trinity in action: the Son receiving the blessing, the Father expressing his love for the Son, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Baptism marks Jesus as “the Beloved” in whom God’s own nature is revealed and with whom God is “well pleased.” It’s a powerful expression of the intimacy of God’s own relational nature. For us, baptism is a sign of God’s favor as well, but it is favor that is unmerited. We can’t fake out God and look like we are something that we’re not -- so we “come clean” through repentance and confession and simply receive the love of God who created us and sees us as being “very good.” But -- there’s more. The baptism of Jesus was a form of anointing by which the Messiah, the promised One, would save Israel and the whole world. Israelite kings were marked as a symbol of their office and their responsibility. For Jesus, and for us, baptism is preparation for ministry. Baptism is a sign that we pledge allegiance to a different kingdom — the kingdom of God. And that allegiance is worked out in our service to others. Baptism marks us, sets us apart as different from the world’s idea of power. It’s not fake – like the “Sprayonmud” some people might spray on an SUV to make it look used. It’s the real thing. When the great reformer Martin Luther was tempted, he would often put his hand on his head to remind himself that he was baptized — that he was different, that he could resist temptation because of his connection with Christ. Our baptism into Christ calls us to be a different, peculiar and passionate people who are sent out to follow Jesus in changing the world. In other words, we’re called to “go” into the world and get dirty serving others. There’s no room for pretending or keeping to our own side of town. Our baptism is a commission and a call to go into the wilds of a hurting world. Jesus, God in the flesh, lived and moved in the world but was not “of” the world. He was tempted like us, human like us, but recognized that His kingdom was beyond the human realm. Jesus didn’t merely call people to get straightened up so that they could fly off to heaven when they died. The real good news that He preached is that God’s kingdom, in the person of Jesus, had broken in — a new reality was coming to the forefront. Jesus saw heaven not as being far away but rather quite close at hand, active, working, engaging, breaking into human history. What we do now matters — to be agents of the in-breaking kingdom where we are today, be it on an urban street or a rural back road. We can experience the promises and purposes of God in our present lives. Our baptism, then, invites us to live in that new reality — a heavenly, God-ordained reality, seeing eternity not “out there” somewhere but seeing God at work here and now. Living as baptized followers of Christ is something we can’t fake. No amount of spray on mud or religiosity can hide who we really are. As Jesus waded into the muddy water, he set the example for us. The bottom line is this: If the Son of God is willing to get dirty changing the world, we who follow need to do the same. So – how about it? Is your commitment to Christ – who was willing to get Himself dirty – willing to go into the world and bring the Good News of Salvation to all people – real? Are you willing to follow Jesus into the world – showing His love to all people – even if it means going “off the beaten path” at times – and even if it means really “getting dirty” for His work? Is it real? A “spray on commitment” won’t work. It has to be the real thing. Amen.