Will We Face Life’s Suffering With A Peaceful Anointing Or Drown In Fear And Violence?
Good Morning Friends,
Today’s lectionary selections are rather lengthy but the importance, depth, and extent of effect of the Baptism of Jesus is worth the extra reading given the state of things. We need to spend some time diving into the deep waters and immerse ourselves in the life-giving relationship with the Son and the Father through the Spirit. Jesus, of course, did not need to be baptized for the reasons we get baptized so much as for our sake as a demonstration of what is to come and how we get clean…how we are to thirst for Righteousness. Still, Jesus was very human so there is a connection between our baptism and Jesus’, between our cultural experience and that of Israel 2000 years ago that must not be overlooked. It is relevant for our time of leadership transition in America and is designed, I think, to help us bear the cross of repentance that is part of the experience. And it reminds me of our cultural connections with the Presidencies of Jefferson, Lincoln, and FDR. All Presidents that led in times of great change. The amazing reality is that those very same Presidents thirsted and drank water that might have contained the very same water molecules that sustained Abraham, Moses, and David and might also have been part of the water that baptized Jesus that also touched you and me in our baptisms.
Certainly, spiritually if not literally as well we are connected beyond a thirst for power. Yet the question remains. Will We Face Life’s Suffering With A Peaceful Anointing Or Drown In Fear And Violence?
Scripture: Here is 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 grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. 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 covenant to the people, 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.
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 (NRSV)
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:1-11 (NRSV)
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 10:34-38 (NRSV)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.
1 John 5:1-9 (NRSV)
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.”
Mark 1:7-11 (NRSV)
Message: The reality is that a lot of work went into the baptism of Jesus. You see it was not just any baptism. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into the event. Interestingly, the Holy Spirit showed up at the baptism of Jesus in a way so extraordinary, it was like a dove coming down and loving on Jesus while a voice spoke over him. In fact, the whole episode sounds a lot like the Creation account in Genesis… the Spirit hovers over the waters, God speaks, and a new order is created out of chaos. The beauty is that the Father had brought the Son at the perfect time so as to usher in a new era. And the Baptism was an anointing of love and acknowledgement of this, but it was also the creation of something new. So too we friends, have hopefully been anointed for a purpose to witness and perhaps nudge in a new era joined by the power of the Holy Spirit. And a lot of people are praying that exactly this will happen for our country too in the days, months, and years to come. We can look at it as the end for it is always near, but we can also look at our status as the beginning. You see, eventually the time fully comes for each of us. As followers of Jesus, we too are to be baptized into the Spirit-empowered reality of the Kingdom of God. We are empowered to take a stand and face evil. Reading Mark’s account of the baptism of Jesus, which is the shortest of the three Gospel accounts, I am struck by the language used just before the Father’s voice is heard from heaven. It translates as the ripping apart of the sky like the ripping apart of the curtain of the Holy of Holies at Jesus’ death, which could imply a violent separation and yet the divine gift comes in the form of a dove…the opposite of violence, and instead a freeing, and as we know from the Noah story… the calm after the storm…peace and a rainbow as a covenant. Interestingly, Mark’s Gospel was written in a time of Roman persecution, probably for the community of Christians in Rome. Like the Jews earlier in that century, they wanted the Messiah to come and smite the Roman oppressors and establish again David’s kingdom over the whole world. They surely prayed for justice. That is the natural human reaction when wickedness prevails. We just want God to execute vengeance on the evildoers and vindicate the just. But God tells us that what we need is mercy. Our baptism with fire may make us thirsty but it is not to be violent so much as be an example of a purposeful peace. For sure, there are times that try our souls. The early church experiences it and so do we right now. The problem of the world–then and now–transcends politics and requires a baptism in the Spirit of Jesus’ love.
And So, before he had even started his ministry or proven himself, Jesus was reminded that right then and there at his baptism, as he was, that he was loved and elected to a purpose. The light of God’s love shone on Jesus, and it gave him something to reflect into the darkness of the age in which he lived as a man. And this makes me wonder how our baptismal experience, literal or otherwise, water or fire, affects what we reflect in the hard places of life like the design of our political systems in America. You see, Jesus too lived at a time when those in power could not stay in power if they did what was really in the public interest. That is why Jesus became a special interest for the public interest. We too like Jesus are to participate in changing the unfair rules of the game played in society to reclaim the promise. It is very sad that acting in the public interest reduces the likelihood of being reelected today in America. We all need an epiphany that benefits the problem solvers and the reality that hard work is needed to clean up the mess we are in. Maybe we need a baptismal epiphany, to reorient our priorities to recognize the consecrated truth that we are also loved by God despite the pain, self-serving rules of those in power and outright violence of the world focused on keeping power. The words of affirmation that tore heaven apart at Jesus’ baptism did not mean that Jesus was not going to suffer, but it did mean that things were going to change and maybe even be transformed. The words uttered by the Spirit were meant to sustain Jesus in his walk towards the cross. We too need to sustain those who are going to act in a way that serves the public good. The problem of the world–then and now–is not external but internal, inside every human. It is the hardness of our hearts that produces a culture of selfishness, whether in the Roman empire or the American republic. We have a political system problem that results in poor outcomes because the system reinforces bad decisions and their outcomes. The rational incentives of duty and principle must prevail. Party primaries, and election systems control our choices when more and more consider themselves as Independents. The political industrial complex of Jesus’ age needed transformation and accountability. The system was fixed and controlled then as now and probably cannot cured by new laws (though we should continue the reform) or forced violence (which we really need to avoid). They may give a short truce, but without widespread conversion, the evil in hard hearts will just burst out later more ferociously than ever. We need to repent and be baptized in the Spirit to be made new.
Pray we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and Anointed for the purpose God intended…that we love. Pray we free people. Pray we heal people. Pray we ferret out the truth of God’s grace and mercy and proclaiming that to the people around us. Pray we too make a public declaration of our commitment to God. Pray
we see scripture present in the baptism of Jesus. Pray we see the Trinity in the Baptism of Jesus. Pray we thirst for the right things. Pray we are cleaned by the water of life. Pray we are equipped for every good work. Pray we know our spiritual gifts. Pray we surround ourselves with those who express the gift of faith so that we might in love become greater than the sum of our individual relationships. Pray we have a head and heart for evangelism. Pray we share our journey as well as listen to the journey of others. Pray we share questions and engage seekers. Pray we witness Christ’s love by example. Pray we are anointed for a purpose that honors the Spirit and pleases the Father enough for Jesus to Baptize us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Pray we serve the public interest by promoting a greater interest in the only solution that lasts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 