Proactive Children of God: Mark 1:1-11
But, what of all those mothers and fathers
who mourned that day. Matthew records
the story this way: When Herod realized
that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to
kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two-year-old and under
in accordance with the time hade had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet was
fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah weeping and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they were no
more.” This comes from Jeremiah 31:15.
The narrative goes from that statement to Herod’s death and nothing is mentioned
about how followers of God responded to the grief and mourning of all those
innocent children who died during Herod’s genocide. But if we go back to the prophesy in Jeremiah,
we hear words of hope for the people Israel who had been scattered from their
home town. We hear words of God
comforting them and turning their sorrow to joy.
Today we need to hear those kinds of
words. Our epiphany this year was marked
by darkness. WE need to see the light of
epiphany. We need to hear words of
hope. Wednesday afternoon I was sitting
in a classroom where I was substitute teaching reading through a string of text
messages on my family group text as we discussed my aunt’s care when my other
aunt abruptly changed the subject waying we needed to turn on the news. I couldn’t because I was at school and asked
her what was going on. “Rioters inside
the Capitol.” Was the first message. The
second message was Gas mask given to members of the house. Gas has been deployed in the Capital by
unknown people. The next message was “armed
standoff on the house floor.” My initial
response to all of this was the same as my response 20 years ago when my
co-worker came and said a plane just flew into the world trade center.” In that moment I couldn’t comprehend what
that meant. I was numb, perhaps in
denial. Eventually though, it sank in,
and I began perusing Facebook and my news apps to get more information and when
I got home, I began watching the news clips I had missed in disbelief. I don’t think I really knew what to think
except “this is bad.” There was a feeling
of anxiety and dread. I didn’t understand. I felt
sick to my stomach as I watched the glass being broken out of the capital and
the mob began pouring in through the window.
I watched in disbelief as our national capital was overtaken by this
mob. I saw pictures of people carrying
the Christian flag. I saw people
carrying signs that Jesus saves. I also
saw people waving the confederate flag and saw others with nooses. I saw weapons. I saw a picture of men with guns drawn on
each other and honestly for a moment I felt like I was watching a bad
movie. All I could think of in that
moment was Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayers. I went to my Facebook feed and typed just
that followed by the words That is all I have right now.
How
about you? Where were you? What were you feeling? This was one of those moments in time that
will be etched in our memories and our hearts forever. I remember where I was the day that president
Regan was shot, I remember where I was when the space shuttle challenger
exploded in the air, I remember where I was when the ground war broke out in Desert
Storm. I remember where I was on
9/11. Many of you can probably tell me
where you were on these days and some of you can tell me where you were and
what you were doing the day President Kennedy got shot. Others can tell me where you were when Pearl Harbor
was attacked. These are moments of
national crisis. For others these are
moments of Global Crisis. Those like my Uncle Stan, who just returned from
living in Cuba for six years, Marvin and Denise who have family members in Denmark,
or Samantha Allen whose daughter lives in China see things with a different
perspective. Having loved ones living in
other countries puts a whole other set of lenses, brings a different perspective,
adds layers to our concerns and fears.
Yes,
these are moments when not just the nation but the world seems to stand still
for a moment. When there is quiet. When there is a mix of emotions that we can’t
put words too. That is where I was
January 6th of 2021. On this epiphany day I was experiencing a mix
of emotions that I couldn’t put words to and I was not seeing the light of
epiphany yet I knew that I needed to find that light of epiphany, that I needed
to be able to bring you some words of hope and encouragement this morning. So, I began pouring myself into prayer, into
the scripture texts for the week, into good news sources, and into the words of
some of my colleagues and mentors like Bishop Leland and Bishop Ken Carter. The question I brought to my reading was how
O God are we as your followers to respond in a time such as this?
We have begun a new Christian Year
which brings to our lectionary a new gospel to focus on for the year. I have decided this year that I will focus on
the gospel text in the lectionary for this year. The lectionary is broken into 3 years and
each year shines a light onto one of the synoptic gospels with John and Acts interrupting
the synoptics at different points in the year.
This year is Year B and the focus is on the Gospel of Mark. The people who first heard Mark’s Gospel knew
what it was to be in a time of national and spiritual crisis. The Jews had organized a rebellion against
the Roman empire. That rebellion had not
ended well for them. Their cities ended
in destruction, their people had been scattered into exile and their temple had
been destroyed. The temple was the center
for them both as a nation and as God’s people and we only got a small taste of
what its destruction must have felt like as we watched our national center come
under attack this week.
They come to hear a good work from
Mark, they come looking for hope. They
come looking for answers. Mark, In the
way that mark does, gets straight to the point as he opens his Gospel with the
words “this is the beginning of the gospel, or good news, about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. He says to the people
who come to him looking for hope, here is the good news the good news is about
Jesus and Jesus is the son of God. He
then goes straightway into quoting the Isaiah passage that is fulfilled in the
moment of John the Baptists preaching: “I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way” a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the
way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
John the Baptist, the man who wears the clothing of a prophet, camels’
hair and a leather belt and has the diet of one who adheres to simplicity and strict
abstinence is seen as the fulfillment of the prophet from long ago. He has come.
His message is one of repentance calling the people who come flocking to
him to examine themselves, confess where they have missed the mark in adhering
to the covenant God made with them long ago, to enter the waters of Baptism
marking them as those who have confessed and turned back toward God. While John is preaching the Baptism of repentance,
for the forgiveness of sins, the prophet has another message for the
people. He points the people to Jesus, one
who is more powerful than he. He points
them to a different kind of baptism telling them that while he baptizes with
water Jesus will baptize with the holy spirit.
The Greek word Baptize means to immerse.
He tells them the good news that Jesus will immerse them with the holy
spirit. As he points them to Jesus,
Jesus appears on the scene and enters the waters of Baptism himself.
As he comes out of the water, the
heavens open up, the sprit descends upon Jesus, and he and the others there
witness the word of the Lord declaring that this is the son of God, whom I love
and with whom I am well pleased. The Greek
word interpreted well pleased means to think well of or to approve. God marks Jesus with God’s seal of
approval. This lets the people know this
is one you can put your trust in. Follow
him, learn about him and listen to him.
Right in that moment there was a convergence of the Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You heard the opening verses of the
Bible from the book of Genesis this morning.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis places the Holy Spirit in the
beginning as the Spirit “hovers over the water.” John tells us that Jesus was also in that
beginning when he says in the beginning was the word and later identifies the
word as Jesus. The first thing God
creates is light, a light that would cut into the darkness that was over the
surface of the deep. John tells us Jesus
is light. So, here Mark points us to a
new beginning, the beginning of the good news about Jesus where again we see
the trinity converging with water.
Our
own baptisms are an initiation into the faith, an initiation into the body of
Christ. For some of us that came about
when we were babies as our parents or guardians took the vows of baptism for
us. For others of us that moment came
following our own profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We follow Christ into the waters of baptism
to be immersed with the holy spirit who becomes our guide in life. Others who are watching may not have
experienced baptism yet. You may be here
looking for a word of hope in the midst of your own doubts and struggles. What I am going to tell you about today is
the one who came and entered these waters of baptism and then began preaching
his good news. What he said was the good
news was God’s kingdom. There is a
kingdom that he says we should be searching for, that we should be advocating
for, that we should be working toward that crosses all national
boundaries. That is the Kingdom of
God. Paul explains that good news
further when he reveals to the people of the first century the good news of the
resurrection, of Jesus conquering death.
So,
if Jesus is the good news, if God has placed his stamp of approval on the work
of Jesus, then when we seek to answer the question of how we are to respond in
these times of national crisis we are to look to Jesus for the answers. There are two stories from the life of Jesus that
came to mind as I prayed about this question this week. The two are stories from the 9th
chapter of Luke’s gospel: It occurred after
the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus, Peter, James and John were coming back
down the mountain and a series of events happened on the way down. A large crowd met Jesus. Each having their own need they were bringing
to Jesus. Jesus took this opportunity both
to serve the people and to teach the disciples.
He heals a boy suffering from seizures, in the midst of this he tells his
disciples of his pending betrayal. The disciples
then get into a tryst about who the greatest is among them. Jesus tells them the greatest is the one who
welcomes the least. In the midst of this
teaching John interrupts Jesus with news that there was a man that was driving
out demons in Jesus names. He was proud
that they had tried to stop the man because “he is not one of us.” But Jesus does not pat them on the back and
give them an atta boy. No, what he says
is do no stop him for whoever is not against you is for you. We tend to keep ourselves marked off as us
and them. We tend to draw boundaries
around us and keep to our own kind. But Jesus’s advice was they are not hurting
you, they are not actively opposing you so leave them alone.
Jesus and the disciples then make
their way toward Jerusalem and Jesus sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan
Village to get things ready for him. But
the Samaritans would not welcome him there because he was on his way to Jerusalem. He was not on their side of the divide if he
was going to Jerusalem because the Samaritans and the people of Jerusalem did
not like one another. The disciple’s
reaction to this opposition was to call down fire form heaven and destroy
them. But what did Jesus say? Jesus rebuked his disciples and turned around
and went another way. Jesus example was not
to fight, not to destroy, not to incite and mob, not to use his powers to call
down fire from heaven. It was to find
another way to his destination.
And then there was another mob that
came after Jesus. It was the mob that
arrested him. Jesus had just prayed in
the garden of gethsemane and then when he finished praying, he went into an
olive grove in the Kidron Valley. It was
a place he had been many times with his disciples. Judas knew that he would likely find him
there and he led a “detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief Priests
and some Pharisees. The mob that day was
as diverse as the mob that we saw on our TV screens on Wednesday. Each coming to that place for their own
reasons. The one thing they had in
common was that they were opposed to Jesus.
They came carrying torches and lanterns and weapons. Other gospel writers state that they came
with swords and clubs. They seized Jesus
and arrested him. You can imagine the
disciples’ reaction. They wanted to
retaliate. They wanted revenge. They wanted Justice. Peter reacted like many of us might have
reacted in that moment. He drew his
sword and cut off the ear of servant of the high priest. Does Jesus thank him for having his
back? No. Jesus tells him to put up his sword. He picks the ear up and puts it in place and
heals his opponent. He tells Peter and
the crowd that is gathered all who draw the sword will do by the sword. He reminds them that he has within his power
the ability to call down a whole army of angels who this insurrection would be
no match for, but he doesn’t.
What do we learn about our responses
to National and world crisis from these stories. First, our number one action
is to pray. Jesus knew what he would
face in that olive grove that day and the way he prepared himself for that day
is that he prayed. Jesus models retreats
to pray over and over again in the narrative of his life. We need to be committed to a life of prayer
for our world, our nation, our leaders, and our communities. This sermon will conclude today with a prayer
for a nation in crisis from the book of common prayer. You have this prayer in your bulletin, I will
post it here after the service and a copy of it will be provided in the
Newsletter you will receive tomorrow. I
will also be providing you with a prayer for our leaders from the Book of
Common Prayer. These written prayers are
starting points for you. It is a model
prayer for you to make your own. We need
to be praying. Not for things to go our
way. WE need to pray for things to go
God’s way. God is our King. God sits on the throne of the Kingdom of
which we belong. Pray.
Next, peaceful discourse is a
must. We must not resort to, promote, or
incite violence in anyway. This includes
our language, the way we talk to and interact with people. Just like the disciples our natural reaction
is to opposition is to retaliate, to lash out, to seek revenge to defend our
ground. But Jesus told the disciples don’t
call for fire to come down. Jesus said
to the disciples leave them alone. Jesus
said to the disciples put away your swords.
We must fight our natural reactions within and seek the peaceful path. I am reminded of a book a read many years ago
that I turn back to time and time again.
It is Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The first habit in that book is to be
proactive rather than reactive. The
Disciples were reactive in the stories I have mentioned. Jesus was proactive. Within his discussion on the habit of being
proactive Steven Covey talks about two circles in our lives. They are our circle of concern and our circle
of influence. Our circle of concern is
everything that we are concerned about. Everything
goes in that circle from our health to national and world crisis. He says that as we look at our circle of
concern it becomes apparent that there are some things over which we have no
real control and others that we can do something about. The things that we can do something about
belong in the other circle, our circle of influence. Proactive people he says focus their efforts
in the circles of influence. They work
on things they can do something about.
The nature of their energy is positive.
This is where we should spend our time.
“Reactive people focus their efforts in the circle of concern. They focus on the weakness of other people,
the problems in the environment, and circumstances over which they have no
control. Their focus results in blamings
and accusing attitudes, reactive language and increased feelings of victimization. The negative energy generated by that focus,
combined with neglect in areas they could do something about causes their
Circle of influence to shrink.” (Covey) We are witnessing a lot of reactive
people these days. As followers of Jesus
Christ we need to be proactive people.
This takes me back to our text for
this morning. The Baptism of Jesus. We follow Jesus into the waters of baptism
where we receive the holy spirit to be our guide in this life. In our baptism we take vows and those vows
focus on ourselves and our circle of influence.
This morning we remember our baptisms.
The liturgy is written in your bulletin and is taken from Our United Methodist Book of Worship.
Brothers
and sisters in Christ:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism
we are initiated into Christ's holy Church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God's gift, offered to us without price.
Through the reaffirmation of our faith
we renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledge what God is doing for us,
and affirm our commitment to Christ's holy Church.
RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH
On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
According to the grace given to you,
will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy Church
and serve as Christ's representatives in the world?
I will.
Let us join together in professing the Christian faith
as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father
Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord,
[who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was
buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of
the Father,
and will come again to judge
the living and the dead.]
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
[the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.]
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Eternal Father:
When nothing existed but chaos,
you swept across the dark waters
and brought forth light.
In the days of Noah
you saved those on the ark through water.
After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow.
When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt,
you led them to freedom through the sea.
Their children you brought through the Jordan
to the land which you promised.
**Sing to the Lord, all the
earth.
Tell of God's mercy each day.
In the fullness of time, you sent Jesus,
nurtured in the water of a womb.
He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit.
He called his disciples
to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection
and to make disciples of all nations.
**Declare Christ’s works to the
nations,
his glory among all the people.
Pour out your Holy Spirit,
and by this gift of water call to our remembrance
the grace declared to us in our baptism.
For you have washed away our sins,
and you clothe us with righteousness throughout our lives,
that dying and rising with Christ
we may share in his final victory.
**All praise to you, Eternal
Father,
through your Son Jesus Christ,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns forever. Amen.
REAFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Remember your baptism and be thankful. Amen.
Friends as you remember who you are
as followers of Jesus Christ, I encourage you today to find hope in the good
news that Jesus Christ is our King, that Jesus Christ is who we pay our allegiance
to, that the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom to which we belong. As followers of Jesus Christ I encourage you
to Love as Jesus loved, to be proactive rather than reactive. As followers of Jesus Christ, I encourage you
to pray. Join me in this Prayer from the United Methodist Book of Worship.
God of all the ages, in your sight
nations rise and fall and pass-through times of peril. Now when our land is troubled, be near to
judge and save. May leaders be led by
your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly. If we have turned from your way, reverse our
ways and help us to repent. Give us your
light and your truth, let them guide us; through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of
this world, and our Savior, Amen. (United Methodist Book of Worship 517)
Friend’s We have a story to tell to the nations. A story of peace and
light. Darkness will turn into
dawning. That is the good news of this
day. Join me in singing this song, join
me in telling this story. In the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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