Three Questions

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon consists of three questions, and my focus is our Gospel (Mark 1:14-20) Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

If you never read the Bible, my advice is that you start by reading the Gospels. I say that because we read the Bible through Jesus as our interpreter. So, like the first disciples, it behooves us to understand all that is written in the Law and Prophets through Christ. Start with the Gospel of Mark because it is the earliest and the shortest of the four Gospels.

If you like action stories, Mark is a good book to read because Jesus is always on the move. If you like mysteries, think of Mark as a whodunit murder mystery. And if you stop reading at chapter 16:8, you need to ask yourself a question. What would I do if I saw the empty tomb and an angel invited me to see where Jesus was laid and then instructed me to “go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” Like the women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, would I also flee trembling with so much fear that I would say nothing to anyone? … As you read Mark, note these three questions. Who are these people? What are they doing? Why should that matter to me?

First, who are these people? Our passage mentions John the Baptist, Jesus, Simon, Andrew, James, John and Zebedee. I covered John previously, and Mark mentioned Zebedee only as a reference. Hence, I focus on Jesus and his four disciples.

Who was Jesus? We know him by numerous titles – Lord, Son of Man, Son of David, Lamb of God, Rabbi et cetera. Based on the opening verse of the Gospel, Mark preferred Christ, the Son of God. Yet, titles are not enough to portray a person. As quarterback, running back, receiver or lineman tell us only so much about men who play football, Mark needed more to complete his portrait of Jesus.

Mark portrayed Jesus differently than other evangelists. In fact, he complicated Jesus’ identity by offering six portrayals: (1) man of authority, (2) man of power, (3) someone feared, (4) someone divine, (5) someone human and (6) someone odd.^[1]

Unlike other ancient biographers, Mark aroused feelings in readers’ minds and hearts with his style and content. He showed Jesus, through his deeds, words and suffering as a man making his way through an anxious world of humans and demons.^[2] While there was no doubt Jesus was the hero of the story, Mark portrayed him as an unrecognized, rejected, humiliated, disappointed individual, deserted by his closest allies and victimized by a hostile environment.  … So, who was Jesus? The answer can fill libraries. Personally, Jesus is my Lord and Master.

What was Jesus doing? Our Gospel opens, “After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mk 1:14-15)

Clearly, Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of God. He began his ministry in Galilee after John the Baptist, who also attempted to reform Judaism, was arrested. Why did Jesus go to Galilee after Herod, who ruled there, arrested and beheaded John? Was Jesus naïve? Was he challenging Herod by moving into his territory? On the other hand, did Jesus simply realize he would reach more people in Galilee?

Jesus’ first message, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel,” summarized the first chapter. It was also the most basic statement of Christian faith – repent and believe in the gospel.

So, what was Jesus doing? Calling people to repent and believe – to live now as they would in the Kingdom of God. Jesus saw the reign of God in his lifetime, and when others responded to his message and recognized God ruled their lives, he formed a community. Jesus needed and called disciples because he knew his work would have to continue after he ascended to his heavenly throne.

To ask who Jesus was, and what he was doing means I must ask who his disciples were. Mark knew that he not only needed to tell the personal story of a prophet from Nazareth but also needed to inspire others to play their proper part in the movement Jesus founded. So, when we discuss Jesus in Mark, we not only discuss Christology – the study of the Christ, but also discipleship – what it means to accompany him as disciple.

The disciples were a central element in Mark’s story; and discipleship is the proper outcome of a healthy Christology.^[3] In other words, if you are going to talk about Jesus, you need to know and articulate why you are following him, and why others, including immediate family members, should join you.

In verses 16-20, Jesus called the core of his disciples – Simon, Andrew, James and John. Unlike rabbis, Jesus did not wait for disciples to come to him. He went to them. Unlike Greek scholars, Jesus did not entice students with his reputation, but like Elijah, he called people to leave their work and follow him. Interestingly, Jesus not only called these men to repent and believe, but also recruited and trained them to become fishers of men, a skill more difficult than fishing in the sea.

So, who were these disciples and what were they doing? These were fishermen who left their jobs and families and followed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who called people to repent and believe in the Gospel.

Before I answer my third question – why should that matter to me? – I remind you that for centuries the Church set aside specific days to remember persons and events significant in the proclamation of the Gospel.^[4] The Lutheran Service Book lists January 24^th as the Feast of St. Timothy, January 25^th as the Conversion of St. Paul, and January 26^th as the Feast of St. Titus. Ancient saints are not our only models of faith. God called countless saints who left opportunities on the table to serve Christ and His Kingdom. Here is an example of a man from St. Louis.

Thomas Dooley captured the imagination of the world, when, fresh out of medical school and the navy, he went to Southeast Asia to do medical work among the world’s poorest. This was especially surprising because Dooley came from a wealthy family and enjoyed a very good life.

Dooley said, “If people can be born with a desire, I guess mine was to have a good time, and good times came easy in our home. There was plenty of money; I had my own horse, went to school abroad, and studied to be a concert pianist.”^[5]

Dooley’s family was deeply religious. He said, “We were the prayingest family you ever saw. We prayed when we got up in the morning, when we sat down to eat, when we finished eating, when we went to bed, and frequently in between.”

His favorite Scripture passage was “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Mt 5:4) Dooley reflected on this verse after his ship picked up a thousand refugees drifting off the coast of Vietnam. In the midst of his backbreaking job of helping these people, he discovered that the simplest medical treatment brought smiles to pain-filled faces. He also discovered that helping them made him happier than he had ever been.

Dooley wrote that those who mourn are not miserable, but simply more aware of sorrow than pleasure in our world. He wrote, “If you are sensitive to sorrow and try to alleviate it, you cannot help but be happy.” If you are sensitive to sorrow and try to alleviate it, you cannot help but be happy. Tom Dooley, like the apostles Jesus called, was aware of God’s Kingdom and was ruled by it.

To get to my third question – Why should that matter to me? – I ask – Why should it matter to you to know who Jesus was and what he was doing? Why should it matter to you to know who Christ’s disciples and Tom Dooley were and what they were doing?

It should matter to you only if you call yourself Christian. It should matter to you only if Jesus is your Lord and Master. It should matter to you only if you want to be in God’s Kingdom.

If you call yourself Christian, if Jesus is your Lord and Master, and if you want to be in God’s Kingdom, it should matter that you repent and believe in the gospel – for – like the people of Nineveh – time is short. Death offers no 40-day notice. … That is why it matters to us who Jesus was and what he did. He offers us what no one else can. He offers eternal life. How will we respond?

Few people, like Tom Dooley, who have money, respond to Christ’s call as he did. Few people, who have time, respond as Dooley did. By the way, he died one day after his 34^th birthday. When we enjoy the comfort of money and the leisure of time, Satan tempts us. So, a story of three devils.

Three student devils in hell were packing their bags. They were about to be beamed up to earth for some on-the-job experience.

When all was ready, they reported to their teacher for last-minute instructions. The teacher asked them what strategy they decided to use to get people to sin.

The first little devil said, “I will use the tried-and-true approach. I will tell people, ‘There is no God, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.’” The teacher nodded approvingly. Then, he turned to the second devil and asked, “What about you?”

The second little devil said, “I will use the contemporary approach. I will tell people ‘There is no hell, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.” Again, the teacher nodded approvingly. Then, he turned to the third devil and asked, “What about you?”

The third little devil said, “I will use a down-to-earth approach. I will simply tell people, ‘There is no hurry, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.’”^[6]

When you have time, you succumb to the temptation that salvation will be there when you need it … later. When you have time, you succumb to the temptation that the church will be there when you need it … later. When you have time, you succumb to the temptation that you will be there for others … later.

Throughout my life, I have encountered many men and women who have said that the reason they no longer attend worship is “because the Church was not there for me.” I understand that. The Church I once knew is different. After I left ministry, I was for a period of time a man making his way through an anxious world of humans and demons. Most of these humans were well-intentioned men and women who taught me how to raise money by writing appeal letters, grant proposals, and hold special events. I raised a lot of money for social service and educational organizations, and did a lot of good for a lot of people, but still felt like I was making my way through an anxious world.

Later, more well-intentioned people showed me how to conduct background investigations for men and women requiring top-secret security clearances. During this time, I met a lot of good people looking to serve our country as military and civilian personnel. I enjoyed meeting a lot of good people. Still, I felt that I was making my way through an anxious world.

I did these things because for me church leadership was not there when I thought it should be, even when I returned to ministry as a Lutheran Pastor. I was not rostered because a congregation did not call me and the Synod did not place me. I was told, “Find your own place because we don’t do that.” I was not recognized because I had no call from a congregation, and then I was asked to serve here. That said, I realized a long time ago that my call was not from church leadership or from a congregation. My call is from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, and what the Father saw was that I needed to be in this place at this time because these people need me. My call is from God to be here for you.

True, other men have come and gone as pastors. All of us, including myself, have mixed memories and emotions about pastors and congregations. That is history. Someday, I will be past history. What matters for me is that Christ has called me to be here for you now, and He calls you to be here for Him by serving one another.

Returning to my story about the three devils, I ask: If you are not there now for others; if you are not there now for the church; if you are not there now to respond to Jesus’ call to repent and believe in the gospel, will you have time later?

The good news is that Christ offers salvation here and now through Word and Sacrament. The good news is that our merciful Father invites you into his kingdom now. The good news is that all you have to do is accept God’s invitation – and live each moment guided by the Holy Spirit. Friends, accept God’s invitation, accept Christ’s call, and may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

---

[1] James Voelz, Mark 1:1 – 8:26 St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2013), 41f.

[2] R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2002), 4ff.

[3] France, 28.

[4] http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=435

[5] Mark Link, Decision. Valencia, CA: Tabor Publishing (1988), p. 83.

[6] Mark Link, Challenge. Valencia, CA: Tabor Publishing (1988), p. 119.

Jesus is Calling

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Who’s Calling? and my focus is our Gospel (John 1:43-51). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

After last summer’s Vacation Bible School ended, Linda Rodenbeck gave me a spreadsheet with the names of the children who attended and their parents’ information. I called a few of the parents, and as I began to inquire on the correct pronunciation of one family name, the man on the other end of the call kept asking, “Who’s Calling?!” I responded, “This is Pastor Cwynar from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church.” He then said, “You can never be too sure these days when you answer the phone.”

I get that …  a lot because when I call, your cell phone shows that the caller (me) has an out of state number. Often with first time callees, I send a text immediately afterwards. I learned to do this when I was conducting background investigations for security clearances. Most of the people I called always had good reason to be suspicious.

I thought of these experiences as I reflected upon this Gospel because Jeus is calling His first disciples. These men may have asked themselves, “Who’s this guy calling me to follow him?” And so, let us look at “Who’s Calling.” Then, “Who’s Called.” Finally, “What’s the Call About.”

Who’s Calling? We already know that it is Jesus calling. He calls Philip, who subsequently calls his brother, Nathanael. Our passage opens with Jesus deciding to go to Galilee. Keep in mind that Jesus was in the area where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing – in Bethany across the Jordan (1:28). Now, don’t try to figure out how Jesus got from there to Galilee in time for the wedding at Cana (2:1). John the Evangelist was neither a cartographer nor a travel guide. He was a mystic theologian. He was not concerned about making geographical sense, but was concerned about a spiritual journey with Jesus Christ.

The other thing we should keep in mind is how this passage fits into the rest of chapter one. After the Prologue (1-18) and the Testimony of John the Baptist (19-28), Jesus is spotted by John who identifies Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” After recalling the Baptism of Jesus, John further identifies Him as the Son of God.

Two of the Baptist’s disciples follow Jesus (35-42) and address Him as Rabbi, and after spending a day with Him, Andrew tells his brother, Peter, that He is the Messiah. In today’s passage (43-51), Jesus calls Philip, who then believes that He is the one prophesied by Moses and the prophets, and he calls Nathanael, who also addresses Jesus as Rabbi, and then “King of Israel.” Our passage closes with Jesus identifying Himself as the “Son of Man.”

Now, there are many titles applied to Jesus throughout the New Testament. In the first chapter of John alone, Jesus is called the Word, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, Rabbi, the Messiah, and King of Israel. Today, I focus only on the one Jesus uses to speak of Himself – Son of Man.

Son of Man. When Jesus spoke of himself and His mission, He often referred to himself as “Son of Man.” Many of Jesus’ listeners knew the term from the Books of Ezekiel and Daniel. “Son of Man” highlighted Jesus’ human nature, just as “Son of God” emphasized his divinity. Drawing from the Jewish tradition’s use of the term, “Son of Man” brings together his identity as Messiah and as one who was to suffer for others. It helps highlight Jesus’ identity as one who came to give up His own life and in doing so gave life to others. We read in the Gospel of Mark: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (10:45). And so, the phrase helps us see Jesus’ self-understanding of His relationship to humanity: as suffering servant as found in Isaiah and in the Gospels, when he predicts: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly” (Mark 8:31; Luke 9: 22).[1]

John has his own view of the cross, not as a moment of humiliation, but as Jesus’ consummation of his life’s journey and purpose, the place where he returns to the glory that was his and where he glorifies his Father by bringing to perfection the task given him. John uses a Greek word that has a double meaning. As a play on words, hypsothenai means “to lift up physically” and “to exalt.” The lifting up of Jesus on the cross simultaneously means exalting Jesus.

Because everything is viewed through the prism of the Cross. The use of the term in John’s passion predictions differ from those in the Synoptics[2] stressing not so much the suffering, but the necessity that one believe in Jesus as the one who has been exalted or glorified in order to attain salvation.[3] After Jesus multiplied bread to feed his audience, many of his disciples abandoned Him because they found his teaching too difficult to swallow. He warned his disciples, “what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” (6:62) In other words, John the Evangelist developed his own “Son of Man” saying apart from the other three Gospels.

The pattern of descent, rejection, and ascent to a prior place in heaven is introduced in John’s Prologue (1:1-18). In light of the Word’s preexistence that we find in the Prologue, rejection and suffering were recast into descent/ascent patterns. In our closing verse today (1:51), the vision Jesus promises is fulfilled in the believing community, the Church. That will be important as I move to my second point.

The other difference between how the Synoptic Evangelists understood Son of Man and John was his unique authority to judge. For Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Son of Man would return in the future as a universal judge. For John, because the presence of Jesus is the revelation of God among men and women, this presence also brings judgment. We read this in chapters 3, 5 and 12.

In Jesus’ words, “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (3:18-19) In chapter 5, we hear, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (v. 24) And in chapter 12, Jesus says, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” (v. 48)

John brings together the two judgments. As we heard in that last verse, future judgment is not totally excluded, but present judgment is real. Those who reject or change Jesus’ teaching bring judgment on themselves.

The place where Jesus is lifted up, where he is exalted, the cross, is the focal point of revelation to humanity. Christ on the Cross points to the imminent revelation of the glory of God as John saw it. During the Passover meal when Judas left the upper room, it was night, and Jesus spoke of himself on the cross, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.” (13:31-32) That brings me to my second question.

Who is Called? The text tells us that Jesus called Philip and Nathanael. We learn from Philip’s words something that the disciples would come to know after the Resurrection in Luke’s Gospel. Recall the Road to Emmaus. Beginning with Moses and the Prophets, Jesus interpreted for them all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Lk 24:27) Here, Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the one described in the Mosaic Law and the prophets.

Nathanael initially reacts to Philip’s news with disparaging doubt, a reaction that Jesus often encountered among Jews who believed in the Law and the prophets.[4] Yet, at Philip’s insistence, Nathanael’s willingness to come and see the Christ shows that he is not like those who claimed to accept Moses but rejected Jesus and remained in the dark (9:29, 41). We are reminded of this in Paul’s Letter to the Romans when he wrote, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.” (9:6-7) Jesus hails Nathanael and proclaimed him to be a true Israelite, a true representative of Israel because was willing to come to the light.

Some think that this is a reference of Jacob, but he was a man of guile. He deceived his brother, Esau, out of his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew and a piece of bread. (Gen 25:29ff.) Jacob also tricked his elderly father into blessing him, the second-born, instead of the firstborn Esau. (Gen 27) Yet, when he wrestled with God, his name was changed to Israel because he struggled or wrestled with God and man and prevailed.

Others see this as a reference to Isaiah 44, where we read, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” (3-5) But in the verses that follow, we are reminded that the Lord, the King of Israel, is God, and in the days when people are waiting for the Messiah, the true believer will be the one who is faithful to Yahweh alone. A man of guile would be unfaithful. In Nathanael, the purpose of John the Baptist’s ministry is fulfilled, for he spoke “the reason I came baptizing with water was that he [Jesus] might be revealed to Israel.” (1:31)

Jesus revealed himself as the Son of Man exalted on the Cross. Nathanael shows himself to be a true believer and represents true believers. Jesus is the caller. Nathanael is called. Now, what is the call about?

Do you believe that Jesus is calling you? I do. I believe Jesus is calling everyone of you. I believe Jesus is calling all of you to be His brothers and sisters, His Father’s sons and daughters. Jesus Christ is calling us to be a faithful family to our loving and merciful Triune God. He is calling you simply to be faithful to his teaching.

Like Nathanael, one minute you are resting under a fig tree, and the next, you are confessing Christ as King. One day, you are simply living your life, and the next day, you realize that Jesus Christ has called you. You do not understand or comprehend who Jesus Christ is as fully as you will when God calls you home, but one day you will. For now, keep focusing on Christ exalted on the Cross.

Keep in mind that just as Jesus took an interest in the smallest detail of Nathanael’s life, he also notices the smallest details of your life. Through Jesus, God stirs your heart. Our Father wants to speak to us and show us his love and his glory through His Son on his throne, the Cross.

Let me close by telling you a brief meeting with Pastor Robert Newton, the former District President of the California-Neveda-Hawaii District. It took place in his office in Livermore, California, when I was inquiring about becoming a pastor in the Synod. He explained that as Lutherans we understand that God’s grace comes to us from the Father through Christ on the Cross, and all we have to do – and he leaned back in his chair and widened his arms as if to prepare to embrace something – is receive it.

Friends, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is calling you to receive His Father’s loving-kindness. Whatever it is you do in life, open yourself to God’s grace, and you too will recognize God’s Son as your King. When you do that, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Dave Andres, “A Question of Faith,” The Catholic Telegraph, February 1, 2019. https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com

[2] John 3:14; 8:28; 12:34; Mark 8:31.

[3] Pheme Perkins, “The Gospel According to John,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall (1990), p. 953.

[4] Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John (I-XII). Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. (1966), p. 86.

YOUR CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

 

Do you know what happened on April 14, 1957? That was the day I was baptized! Do you remember your baptism? I don’t remember mine either. I know the date because it’s on the paper stating when and where I was baptized.

You may not know when or where you were baptized, but there are people who were there, and some of them remember. Your parents, godparents and pastor were there. Maybe your grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and some friends.

Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. We don’t know exactly when or where Jesus was baptized. We do know that he was baptized in the Jordan River in Israel by John the Baptist.

There were other people present, but we don’t know their names. We do know that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were also there when Jesus was baptized.

Did you know that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were present at your baptism? God the Son – Jesus – was also there. That’s why when a pastor baptizes people, he baptizes them “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

We say that phrase a lot in our worship service. We say it at the beginning of our Divine Service. And after we confess our sins, the pastor says, “… As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

It’s good to remember our baptism because it reminds us that Jesus died and rose for us for the forgiveness of sins and to make us His brothers and sisters, children of God our Father. And so, let us pray to God our Father.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Baptism of the Lord

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Baptisms and Biographies. My focus is our Gospel (Mark 1:9-11). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Baptisms and biographies may seem to be incongruent, but when we read about Jesus’ Baptism within Mark, we understand that the Evangelist was writing a biography for his time. Hence, baptisms and biographies are analogous because for many of us, the former marks a significant milestone in one’s life as it did in our Lord’s. This morning, I address Our Lord’s Baptism, Christian Baptism and Your Biography.

First, Our Lord’s Baptism.[1] In three verses, Mark does not explain why Jesus walked 28 miles over nine hours from his hometown of Nazareth of Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Given that He will baptize with the Holy Spirit, it seems surprising that he assumed the role of a lowly penitent and went into the water. We can surmise that he did so because he recognized John’s ministry as the prelude to his own.

Jesus submitted to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins not because he was a sinner, but because of his solidarity with sinful humanity, a solidarity that would eventually lead to the cross. Like Moses, Jesus acted as the ideal intercessor, not standing apart from sinners but in solidarity with them (Ex 32:31-32). His baptism anticipated his passion. His immersion into water symbolized his death. He spoke of his death as a baptism (Mk 10:38); and while he acknowledged God’s just judgment on sin, he offered to God the response of perfect repentance on behalf of all people.

Jesus’ emergence from the water was met with the descent of the Holy Spirit from above. The heavens were abruptly and violently torn asunder overcoming humanity’s sin, which created an insurmountable barrier distancing man from God. We read in Isaiah, “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (59:1-2). God would only come down only after his people had been cleansed of impurity. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people’” (Ex 19:10-11). So, the Spirit’s descent upon Jesus foreshadowed its descent upon the Church at Pentecost, after sin had been removed by the grace and blood of the Cross.

Note that the Spirit did not simply descend upon Jesus, and perch on his shoulder, but descended into him. According to one scholar, the descent “is an actual going into Jesus, … a possession of him.”[2] This possession of Jesus by the Holy Spirit is so obvious to Mark. Given that both Jews and Greeks believed that the descent of gods into human affairs appeared in the form of doves, Mark encompassed both cultures which populated the Church.[3] In verse 12, Mark wrote that the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. Mark also wrote that Jesus’ family, who did not quite understand him, thought that Jesus was out of his mind (3:21). To a greater degree the scribes falsely accused Jesus as possessed not by the Holy Spirit but by Beelzebul (3:22). There are several other episodes in which Jesus’ behavior seems odd to those around Him (1:41-43; 6:48; 11:13-14).

With the anointing of the Spirit, Jesus’ baptism became a turning point in his life for here he formally inaugurated his mission as Messiah. By sharing in Israel’s baptism of repentance by John, he committed himself fully to the Father’s call: to be the obedient servant who would be innocent yet “counted among the wicked” because he bore the sins of many (Isa 41:1; 53:11-12).

There is no doubt that the voice Jesus heard was his Father’s, and here we see the Trinity at work. His Father’s words of affirmation – “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” – are full of scriptural echoes. The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you’” (2:7). Isaiah spoke of such a servant when he prophesied, “Behold 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” (42:1).

As readers of Mark, we are privileged to know about this secret exchange among the Three Divine Persons of the Trinity. And with that, I now turn from Our Lord’s Baptism to Christian Baptism.

How does the Baptism of Our Lord differ from Christian Baptism? Nowhere in the New Testament does any writer invoke Jesus’ Baptism as a precedent for or as an explanation for Christian Baptism.[4]

The Baptism of Jesus and his first coming to us brought the rule and reign of God, but only as a foretaste of the feast to come. We await the full end-time feast in a way that Simeon and Anna waited – as believers of the old covenant. All things that the Old Testament believers experienced took place as examples for us. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10:11).

As we await the fullness of the heavenly feast, we still live in this old age, and so, we prepare for it by confessing our sins and repenting of them. Baptism with water is necessary for this preparation. This is why Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

The Church refused to separate this baptism from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Even after the Holy Spirit was poured out onto Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, Peter asked, “‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (10:47-48). In short, baptism with water and the Holy Spirit are marks of the final age.

Christian Baptism is a means of identification for us as it was for Jesus. As he identified with his people in their sinfulness, in our Baptism, we identify with Jesus in all that he has brought for the benefit of humanity. He is the personification of Israel, humanity and God himself. May I remind you that you who “were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:27).

Just as Christ received the Spirit in his Baptism, we too receive that same Spirit in ours. As Christ was declared to be the Son of God, we too are united to him through Christian Baptism as sons and daughters of God. Paul is quite explicit about this in Romans 8. Perhaps for your devotional reading today, you can choose those first 15 verses of that chapter.

Those of us who are in Christ are heirs according to St. Paul. To the Romans, he wrote “If children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (8:17). To the Galatians, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (3:29) And as we read in Ephesians, we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:13-14).

And so, heirs of God, let’s move from Baptism to Biography. We understand that a biography is the written history of someone’s life. If you are asked to submit a biography for the company or community newsletter, you will be asked to keep it short. If you are writing a biography on Abraham Lincoln, your research will take you to Kentucky, Illinois, Washington and Gettysburg, and will be substantially longer with a perspective others have not yet taken.

Now, allow me to ask and answer a fundamental question: Was Mark a biography? Yes and no. Mark told the story of Jesus, but in a different style from other biographies of his time. His style and content of the story aroused a feeling, and so, Mark’s is not a biography like other biographies, but a development of the actions, sayings, and suffering of a human being on his way through this anxious world of human beings and demons.^[5]

Mark has the capacity to shock and subvert comfortable literary expectations. While there is no doubt that Jesus is the hero of this story, Mark portrays him as an unrecognized, rejected, humiliated, disappointed individual, who was deserted by his closest allies and eventually victimized by a hostile environment. This is not the stuff of an ancient biography.

We must view Mark as a biography based on other ancient biographies, and must examine its Jewish content, though written in Greek, which reflected the rhetorical and biographical conventions of his time.^[6] In other words, ancient biographies, like modern ones, center on a particular person and seek to present an adequate and accurate characterization of that person, including information about other persons and groups of people. In the case of Lincoln, it may include his wife and children, cabinet members, mentors and political allies or opponents. Biographies also reveal the subject’s character and personality. The message of ancient biographies was not simply to provide the reader with information, but offered a message: “go and do likewise” or “go and do otherwise.”

In evaluating Mark as a biography, we must have a firm handle on its chronological and social setting. Whatever its date, Mark was written after the beginning of the Roman Empire and during the rise of Roman biographical tradition, following in the footsteps of the Greek biographical tradition. Unlike Greek biographers, Roman ones added a greater concern for the family traditions, the need for the demonstration of public honor, and, sometimes in the latter two-thirds of the first century, a focus on the hero’s patient suffering and death under a tyrant.^[7]

Although Mark was a biographer, he was more of an editor than a writer, bringing together what was already known about Jesus. He had a working relationship with Peter and Paul.^[8] In Acts, we read, “When he (Peter) realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.” And later, “Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.^[9] In chapter 15, Mark is mentioned once again as a companion of Barnabas on his journey to Cyprus.^[10]

This shows that Mark’s account was not a distant evaluation by a scholarly admirer of Jesus, but the personal experience of one who shared closely in the stirring and profoundly disturbing events of Jesus’ public ministry and his confrontation with the Jerusalem establishment. It reflected those experiences as they were passed on in the day-to-day teaching ministry of a living community of His followers.^[11]

Why all this talk about the biography of Jesus? How does it relate to his Baptism? How does it relate to us? Well, a dozen years ago, when I began to prepare for pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church, I was required to write an extensive autobiography detailing my life experiences in the secular and sacred worlds, as a professional fundraiser and a priest. This first-person biography included relationships with family members and faith communities. I mentioned not only my highlights, but also my setbacks. And throughout, I could see the Holy Spirit weaving together all the moments of my life into an artistic tapestry.

By now, you know that I am always encouraging people to pray more deeply and extensively. One method of prayer that some find helpful is to journal or write an account of what has occurred when praying over a particular Scripture passage. This can result in a biography.

Perhaps this year, you can take time to journal and write your own biography. How is your life interwoven not only with family and friends, but also with Christ and his adopted brothers and sisters? What are the obvious and obscure moments when the Holy Spirit has been active in your life?

As we began this year, maybe you made a resolution to pray daily? Maybe you struggle with that resolution. Maybe prayerfully writing your biography in the form of a daily spiritual journal is a way to see how God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is active in your life. Start from a point in your life – today or your childhood – and reflect on the activity of the Holy Spirit entering you as it did Jesus on the day of His Baptism and the day of yours. What are the highlights of your spiritual journey? Where have you experienced setbacks? My friends, today, prayerfully consider the path God sets before you, and when you do may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic (2008), 34-37.

[2] James W. Voelz, Mark 1:1-8:26. St, Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House (2013), 126.

[3] Voelz, 126-131.

[4] Voelz, 138ff.

[5] R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2002), 6. See fn 14.

[6] Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Social-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2001), 4.

[7] Witherington, 5

[8] Witherington, 25.

[9] Acts 12:12, 25. See also 13:5, 13

[10] Acts 15:36-41

[11] France, 9.