First Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2008
 
 
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December 21, 2008
 

First Sunday After Christmas
December 28, 2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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January 11, 2009—Baptism of the Lord

Lectionary Texts: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

Sermon Text: Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:4-11

Jesus Has Come, So What?

I remember my 5th grade year like it happened yesterday. By the way, it didn’t. My father was a minister, and we moved from a small town in southern Michigan to the big city. The transition for me was far from welcoming.

For whatever reason, I became the kid on the block who became the butt of every joke, on the receiving end of any physical encounters, and was basically ostracized for two years. Looking back on those two years, there was nothing I could have done to have changed that experience. I couldn’t do anything to make them like me more. They couldn’t have disliked me more, regardless of what I did or didn’t go. When you’re 11 years old, life is traumatic enough, let alone having the cruelties of adolescence being aimed straight at your chest.

Needless to say, I had an identity crisis. During that time not only did I not feel loved, it was beginning to play on my own ability to see any worth in myself. What good was I to anyone? Sure my parents loved me, but they had to, right? Being chosen last on the athletic fields was growing very old, and my days were becoming very dark, even as an 11-year-old.

Ever been there? Struggling with feelings of loneliness, despair, and fear almost every time you walked to school? Always wondering what was waiting for you around the next corner? It had an incredible effect on how I felt about myself and my life. After all, isn’t our worth found in the things that we do, the acclaim we have received, the recognition our actions get us, and the number of friends we acquire?

The story we are engaging today is one full of hope. It’s the story of a God who loved His Son without condition, and us as well. There is a new way of thinking that is being introduced to the world here. There is a new revelation being shown about how God relates to His people. The best news is, it’s not about us.

The message of Christmas, and the continued story being told, is that God makes the first move. It’s a story full of gracious moments, just like the one we find in Mark 1. Let’s see what’s happening in this narrative.

[Read Mark 1:4-11]

If the Christmas narrative breaks 400 years of silence, it only spun itself into another 30 years of silence while Jesus apparently fulfilled His duties at home. This is His first public appearance that we have recorded for us in all four Gospels. Following the birth narrative and its celebrations, this is the continuation of the party.

The people are still scattered, hurting, feeling abandoned, looking for the one said to be their Savior. How will they know when He comes? How do they the one before them is really the one? That’s a legitimate question considering their recent history. It’s also a question our people struggle with. Where will we find security and hope? How can this message speak into our lives, and let us know that we are valued and loved?

There is the need for the people to know that the one who is coming, recognized by John and baptized in the river, is the One, and then can be trusted. If this is true, it should radically shape our lives in response to what is going on. But that’s not all.

There is also the need for Jesus himself to hear the validation of His heavenly Father. Even though not much if anything is written about His life as a child and maturing adult, we can assume that He was being the dutiful son. He was taking care of and providing for the family. We’re not sure this is what He had signed up for. We don’t know what identity struggles He may have had in His formative years. The insight from his visit in the Temple, however, does give us a brief glimpse into His understanding of who He is, and to whom He belongs. In the midst of that knowledge though, before His ministry begins, hearing from His Father is key for Jesus. He needs to hear the comforting words that were spoken to Him. This is the divine announcement of who He already is, confirmed in His relationship with His Father.

This is a good word for our people today as well, proclaiming to them who they are, and to whom they belong. They are the chosen sons and daughters of God, belonging to Him. He loves and is pleased with them. Our world needs to desperately hear this message of hope today.

The one they have been waiting for has arrived. The Kingdom is here. You don’t have to wait any longer. Let the party begin! The references to the Old Testament texts found in this section would ring in the ears of the crowd that what has been promised has now been realized. Your prayer is being answered. Your dreams are coming true. The Messiah is here. In the world we live in with its doctrinal mushiness, it is good for us to be reminded of what we can be certain. Jesus is the Son of God. There is both judgment and hope found in this one called Jesus.

The message to Jesus found in this passage is also ours. In the affirmation given in those words, “you are my Son, listen to Him,” we too can be affirmed. If Jesus needed to hear the love and acceptance of His heavenly Father, how much more do we? There are times we all doubt ourselves and our ability. It does us good to hear that what we do pleases our Heavenly Father. He loves us for who we are. We need to remember that He has made the first move. He has initiated the relationship. He has made the provision for our relationship to be fully restored. He has provided--grace.
There can never be enough talk in the Church about God’s grace for us. But for us, it must be balanced with a proper response, that being that we live repentant lives. What does that look like?

Martin Luther says, “The whole of Christian life is one of repentance.” Repentance involves all of who we are, in our confession, transformation, faith, and obedience. Too often we don’t respond properly to this “move” that God has made toward us. Repentance doesn’t put us in line to abuse this gracious move of God, but puts us in a place to respond properly.

This involves confession, or us just being honest with who we are. We’ll talk about that more next week.

Repentance also involves change--a turning around. We become new and different. The work God does in us leads us to a life that is different than the one we lived before. Acts 26:20 says, “. . . I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” There is a change not just in our direction, but also in our behavior.

It also means that we believe this by faith, we just believe that God is willing to forgive. John 21:31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Is there any better news than that?

It also means that we now live in obedience; we are now willing to follow. That is what shapes our lives. It means that our lives aren’t lived the same anymore, but are controlled by a different mindset--we are loved, first.

Our will has been turned over. It’s not about us anymore, but about what God is doing in our lives as we open ourselves up to Him by how we respond to His graceful move our way. We are drawn to this life realizing we are loved, first. We believe that the life of sin no longer has rule or reign over us. We are living by a new code, determined by a new set of desires, that spill out of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. A relationship defined by love. Period.

Too often we think our relationship with God is contingent on cleaning ourselves up, or doing something great for the Kingdom, or performing some miracle. In reality, all God desires is for us to respond to Him in repentance, confession, faith, and obedience. There is nothing we can do that can make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do that can make Him love us less. He loves us. Period.