Baptism of Our Lord
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Object:
Theme of the Day
Baptism and new life!
Collect of the Day
Drawing on images of baptism, we pray to be immersed in grace and transformed by the Spirit as to enable us to follow Christ. Baptism's relation to regeneration and Sanctification are crucial themes.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 29
* Hymn attributed to David praising God's control of all nature, even of storms, yet the Lord blesses His people with peace in the midst of storms (v. 11). Providence serves God's love.
* The Lord's voice in the storm is not just powerful, but hadar (majestic, even beautiful) (v. 4).
Sermon Text and Title
"God Uses Water to Give Life!"
Genesis 1:1-5
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To clarify God's consistent use of water (esp. the waters of baptism, but also the waters of the earth) to give life (as well as the compatibility between this insight and the Theory of Evolution). Attention is also given to what this life we are given looks like, including its ecological implications.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Like all five of the books of the Pentateuch, Genesis is probably the product of several distinct literary traditions. This book is just comprised of three: (1) J, a ninth-/tenth-century BC source, so named for its use of the name Jahweh or Yahweh (translated "Lord"); (2) E, an eighth-century BC source named for its use of the divine name Elohim (translated "God"); and (3) P, or Priestly source, dated from the sixth century BC.
* Main Sections: (1) Primordial history (chs. 1-11); (2) Abrahamic cycle (12:1--25:18); (3) Jacob cycle (25:19--36:43); and (4) The saga of Joseph and his brothers (chs. 37-50). These sections seem structured by means of repeated genealogical formulas (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10-32; 25:1-19; 36:1; 37:2).
* Attributing this and other books of the Pentateuch by the Tradition to Moses was a way of establishing the continuity of the faith of successive generations that gave rise to these books.
* Central Themes: (1) The relation of the creation to the world history that follows; (2) Both are to be understood in light of the divine will for the chosen people; (3) Promises made to the Patriarchs are interpreted as eschatological prophecies of the coming Exodus; (4) Fertility, space, and time are determined by God, overriding all conflict. Human events are viewed pessimistically, but never in such a way as to connote that God would abandon us.
* The first eleven chapters are the story of humanity's increasing alienation from God.
* The pericope is part of the Creation Story (the first three days) of the P strand.
* In creation God is said to master the primordial depth (v. 2). Creation out of nothing is presupposed. The world here is said to originate from watery depths. This link between life and water nicely fits the theme of baptism.
* Reference to the ruach of God active in creation may be translated the "wind" or "Spirit" of God (v. 2). God's Word is the agent of creation (vv. 3-5).
* The earth and its life-giving vegetation as well as creaturely life emerge from the water (vv. 9-11, 20).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The doctrine of Creation and the various interconnections of the created order as well as the role of water in the development of life are sketched.
* John Calvin notes the use of Elohim to depict God in the account, and since Elohim is a plural term claims that the Trinity is given a witness by the text (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. I/1, pp. 70-71).
* John Wesley contended that time began with creation (Commentary on the Bible, p. 11). This insight is most compatible with the Theory of Relativity and its supposition that there is no time apart from the existence of the cosmos.
* The ancient African theologian Tertullian notes the biblical account teaches that waters brought forth life and that the Spirit of God hovering over the waters from the beginning (v. 2) continues today as the Spirit hovers over the waters of baptism to give life (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 670). Just as water, Spirit, and God's word are the source of life in Creation (vv. 2-5), so the three give life today in baptism.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Most Evolutionary Theorists hypothesize that water is the source of life. The first animals with backbones have a common ancestor in fish-like creatures, the ostracoderms. Also the first life may have been one-celled creatures eventually evolving into protists (one-celled organisms with characteristics found in both plants and animals), which subsequently mutated into the first plants while others evolved into simple animals. It seems that in the ancient oceans there were chemicals in the solution that were brought into complex organic molecules as a result of the energy from the sun. To this day, all living cells must contain water, as water accounts for between 65% and 90% of the body weight of all the earth's plants and animals. See verse 20 for a reference consistent with this finding.
* Christians engaged in a spiritual walk experience more pleasurable brain dope (esp. dopamine) that leads them to experience more happiness and fulfillment (Andrew Newberg, Why God Won't Go Away).
* A 2008 poll conducted by the Pew Trust revealed that 2 out of 5 American Christians would oppose stricter environmental regulations.
5. Gimmick
Note that there is nothing like a good drink of water when you're thirsty. Water is one of the best things in life. Pause.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Elaborate the Gimmick. It is not surprising that water tastes good. Water gives life; without enough water we die. Observe that the story of creation in Genesis teaches that, but in so doing it teaches more about what baptism means, about caring for the earth.
* Even the pre-scientific account of life's origins from Genesis gives witness to this point. In telling the Genesis story, about which science has made many of us uneasy, we tend to forget its reference to God's wind (the Holy Spirit?) sweeping over the waters (v. 2) and later separating waters from waters (vv. 6-7) and from this process came life (vv. 9-11, 20).
* Some Bible scholars contend that "water" here refers to chaos, the nothingness out of which the world was made. But why call that water? This is a theme that nicely links with the theme of today -- baptism. We Christians say that in Baptism new life is given (Titus 3:5). How appropriate that here in Genesis, a word is given that life itself comes out of water!
* Evolutionary scientists suggest life on earth and water are intimately mixed. Elaborate on the first point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. A quote by Albert Szent-Gyorgia, a Hungarian biochemist who won a Nobel Prize, says it well: "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
* What does all this have to do with everyday life? Note that especially when the Genesis accounts of creation's reference to six days are interpreted as ages (God does not tell time like we do [Psalms 90:4]) the Bible need not be regarded as in conflict with science. But this insight and our lesson also have a word for us regarding the ecological crisis and the importance of baptism. Each are related to God giving life through water!
* Note that the biblical story and science both testify to the common origin of life out of water. Get that? We, the animals, and even plants come from a common home -- the water, just as we live in a common home today (the earth). Plants and animals are kin! How can we not care for them?
Refer to the dismal statistics reported in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights, regarding American Christian unwillingness to do something about pollution. The next time we are so tempted, direct the flock to remember the Bible's testimony to our common roots with all life.
* Raise the question about considering the subject of today -- baptism. Point out that the Creation Story in Genesis suggests baptism. Just as God gives life through water in Creation, just as water gives physical life today, so God keeps giving spiritual life to Christians through water. Baptismal water. The word of our lesson is that baptism gives life.
* Refer to the lesson, how God created out of the water, but His Spirit (the divine wind) and His word did the work (vv. 2-5). The analogy to baptism is significant. It is only with God's Word that the baptismal water does any good (see the reference to Tertullian in Theological Insights). Point out how this analogy between Creation and Baptism suggests that the baptismal waters give life, just like water is the source of life in the physical realm.
* The baptisms we received give life. Catholics have a point in using water from a baptismal fountain to sprinkle themselves in order to remember how baptism first gave them life. But too often we don't think of baptism that way, most Americans just see it as a ritual. But suppose we saw it as a new life, a birth! The water of rebirth, the Bible says (Titus 3:5). We wouldn't take it so much for granted then, just like you don't take birth of children and animals for granted.
* Have the congregation reflect on the sense of aimlessness about life that comes sometime. We have all known the feeling that there is nothing too special about believing in God or about daily activities. That is the time we need to be reminded how exciting life is, how just as a glass of water tastes so good when we're thirsty, so the baptism we've had makes life better and more pleasurable. And just as you find pleasure and happiness in thinking about your youth, in being in the presence of infants, sharing in or remembering their birth, so if you think about your baptism that way life gets a little more interesting.
* Baptism understood as new birth launches you on a life of commitment to Jesus (Romans 6:1-14). And the latest studies on the human brain indicate that religious people committed to God secrete more pleasurable brain dope (esp. dopamine) that leads them to experience more happiness and fulfillment. A focus on the baptismal waters creates meaningful, joyful lives.
7. Wrap-Up
Remind the congregation that no one needs to tell them to drink some water the next time they're thirsty, to remind them how good water is. Next time they feel spiritually drained, the next time they are thirsty for some peace of mind, remember the water -- the water of baptism. It has changed them, made them self-sacrificing people who know the meaning of life, who appreciate all of life's interconnections! Life will then feel a lot happier and fuller, and we will likely be less destructive of our environment when we live with those insights. Our wonderful God continues to use water to give life today, in every way!
Sermon Text and Title
"You've Been Baptized With the Spirit!"
Acts 19:1-7
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To make clear to the faithful that in Baptism the Holy Spirit is active and given. All those baptized are filled with the Spirit.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* An account from the early stages of Paul's third missionary journey. The lesson describes part of Paul's ministry in Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, located on the west coast of modern Turkey.
* Paul is said to be following the ministry of the Jew Apollos (v. 1) who was a follower of the Way (Christianity), though Apollos had only known of John the Baptist's baptism (18:24-28).
* Those baptized in Ephesus with John's baptism by Apollos had not the received or heard of the Holy Spirit (vv. 2-3).
* Paul notes John only offered a baptism of repentance to prepare for Jesus. The Ephesians then receive a baptism in Christ's name (vv. 4-5).
* At their baptisms, Paul lays hands on these Ephesian followers of the way, and they receive the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues (vv. 6-7).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An exploration of the meaning of baptism and the Holy Spirit's engagement in it.
* John Wesley points out that the baptism of John was not the baptism Christ commanded (Commentary on the Bible, p. 488).
* Martin Luther explains the role of the Holy Spirit in creation and how the Spirit uses water to create and give life:
As a hen broods her eggs, keeping them warm in order to hatch her chicks, and, as it were, to bring them to life through her, so scripture says that the Holy Spirit brooded, as it were, on the waters to bring to life those substances which were to be quickened and adorned. For it is the office of the Holy Spirit to make alive.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 1, p. 9)
* He also clearly affirms that the Spirit is given in baptism: "The water is baptism and in baptism is the Holy Spirit. So you might also say: 'Why is it necessary to baptize with water?' But the Spirit says so, do you hear?" (Luther's Works, Vol. 36, p. 345). Elsewhere he calls it a "bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit" (The Book of Concord, p. 359).
* The Reformer also nicely explains the significance of the gift of the Spirit in baptism matters in everyday life:
In the first place you give yourself up to the Sacrament of Baptism and to what it signifies. That is, you desire to die, together with your sins, and to be made new at the last day… From that hour He [God] begins to make you a new person. He pours into you His grace and Holy Spirit, who begins to slay nature and sin, and to prepare you for death and the resurrection at the last day.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 35, p. 33)
* Luther likewise helpfully outlined the sense in which we are persons like God. It has to do with forgiving sins: Nor should it give us any offense that the same term [person] is later applied to creatures. Why shouldn't God assign us His name, when He assigns us His power and His office? For to forgive sins, to retain sins, to make alive, etc., are works of the divine majesty alone; nevertheless, the same works are given to human beings and are done through the word that human beings teach (Luther's Works, Vol. 1, p. 12).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* A 2009 Barna poll revealed that only half of American Christians believe in the reality of the Holy Spirit.
5. Gimmick
In an excited, urgent preacher's voice, ask the congregation if they have the Holy Spirit, if they are filled with the Spirit. Then pause.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Elaborate on the Gimmick. Most American Christians, with the exception of our Pentecostal and Charismatic friends, have problems with the Holy Spirit. Note the results of the 2009 Barna poll demonstrating a sense of estrangement from the Holy Spirit cited above.
* The answer to our problems lies in what we consider today in church -- baptism!
* Experiencing the Holy Spirit in your life seems not to be just our problem. It was not happening for the early Christians in Ephesus. They had been baptized, but did not have the Holy Spirit. Sort of like the way we modern Christians usually feel.
* Explain what had transpired. It seems the baptism the Ephesians had received was not the baptism we have. Ours is a Christian baptism, but they seem to have received the kind that John the Baptist offered (vv. 2-4). And the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not involved in John's baptism of repentance (an important point to remember today as we commemorate Jesus' baptism by John).
* Paul laid hands on the Ephesians and the text says that they received the Holy Spirit (v. 6). But we must remember that first he baptized them with a Christian baptism (v. 5). The Holy Spirit was given in baptism!
* So what? Why does it matter to believe that the Spirit is received in baptism, that we have the Holy Spirit? Martin Luther sheds penetrating light on why it matters. (Use and elaborate on the first and third quotes attributed to Luther in Theological Insights.)
* John Calvin has a neat way of describing the Holy Spirit and what the Spirit's presence can mean to us. The Spirit, he says, is the Power of God (Institutes [Westminster ed.], pp. 142-143). To have the Spirit is to be empowered with the things of God! Keep that in mind, baptized Christians.
* Martin Luther offered another reflection on why having the Holy Spirit in your life matters: "Without the Holy Spirit hearts are either hardened in sins or they despair… By the Holy Spirit the godly navigate between this satanic Scylla and Charybdis and cast themselves on the super-abundant and infinite mercy of God" (What Luther Says, p. 662).
* To have the Holy Spirit is to be cast on the abundant and infinite mercy of God.
7. Wrap-Up
Tell the flock that the next time they feel uncertain, far away from God or from the meaning of life, to recall that they have the Holy Spirit, the One who broods over them like a hen, who is the power of God, casts them on God's overwhelming love. Even if they do not feel that the Spirit is with them, have them remember their baptisms. That is the assurance that the Spirit is among us. Seems America needs that message.
Sermon Text and Title
"Baptism's Fresh Start!"
Mark 1:4-11
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim that baptism is associated with the end times or Eschatology (the new being), which entails that those baptized have radically broken with the past and have a fresh start.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A report of the ministry of John the Baptist (vv. 4-8) and of Jesus' baptism by him (vv. 9-11).
* John's attire and diet remind the people of the nomadic existence during the Exile or of Elijah's appearance (v. 6; 2 Kings 1:8; Leviticus 11:22). John's location in the wilderness (v. 4) is a fulfillment of the prophecy of the messenger noted in Isaiah 40:3 cited in verse 3.
* John proclaims a baptism of repentance (v. 4) and the coming Messiah (v. 7). (This was a set of themes linked in first-century Jewish literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls [The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, pp. 230-231].) He claims to have performed a baptism of water, while the powerful One to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit (v. 8). Jesus Himself seems to recognize that the baptisms He would offer are not identical with John's (2:18).
* Much less detail is given in Mark's account of John's preaching than is the case in the other Synoptics (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 3:7-14). This is in character with Mark's gospel that is more action-focused, recording fewer words of Jesus than the other gospels.
* No reference is made to the people confusing John with Christ or Elijah, like in Luke (3:15) or John (1:19-22).
* John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan (v. 9). Nothing significant about Jesus' person is noted, save God's word about Him.
* As usual in Mark, things happen "immediately" (a sign of the end times). As Jesus emerges from the water, the heavens open, the Spirit is received, and a voice from heaven proclaims Him the beloved Son (vv. 10-11). The account here and the words of the voice from heaven parallel Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 43:1.The Spirit descending on Jesus is a fulfillment of messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61:1.
* Except for the immediacy (eschatological emphasis) of the heavenly events, the account is closely paralleled in the other gospels. Differences are that in Matthew (3:14-15), John tries to avoid performing the baptism, claiming that he should be baptized by Jesus -- while in John's gospel alone (1:29-36), John testifies to who Jesus is.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The narrative testifies to the relationship between the baptisms inspired by Jesus and those of John the Baptist and very specifically to the eschatological character of the way of life associated with the Sacrament.
* Martin Luther makes a distinction between Jesus' baptism and our own:
When Christ was baptized and when we are baptized, there is, so far as the act itself is concerned, no difference at all… But there is a great difference in the persons. Christ is baptized, not in order to be made righteous -- for He is the Son of God and endowed with eternal righteousness so that we may be made righteous through Him -- but as an example, so to speak, for us, in order that He may precede us and we may follow His example and also be baptized.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 3, p. 87)
* Rudolf Bultmann notes the eschatological character of baptism. Stressing the continuity between Jesus' Baptism and the baptisms of John, he writes: "That is, baptism in conjunction with repentance was a bath of purification (closely connected with repentance) for the coming reign of God -- in other words an initiation rite of the eschatological Congregation…" (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 39). We might interpret John's style and attire as testimony to the urgency of the pending eschaton.
* Elsewhere Bultmann elaborates on what this eschatological mode of existence is like. It is "to be open to God's future which is really imminent for everyone of us; to be prepared for this future which can come as a thief in the night when we do not expect it…" (Jesus Christ and Mythology, p. 31): "… free openness to the future… is freedom from anxiety in the face of Nothing… Faith as openness to the future is freedom from the past" (Ibid., pp. 77-78).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* A 2009 poll indicated that only 46% of the American work force was happy with their jobs. Given economic realities it is likely that little has changed regarding American discontent.
* Another 2009 Gallup poll revealed that less than half of the American public considered itself to be happy and enjoying life.
* Neurobiology has shown that an openness to new ideas and activities can stimulate the brain to release neurochemicals that lead us to experience happiness and impede the aging process by stimulating the brain to make new neural connections (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging).
5. Gimmick
Assume the role of a first-century Jew and announce how weird John the Baptist is. Point out how he traveled all over the countryside with this ritual of his that nobody but those crazy sectarians that live around the Dead Sea use. Note how the way he dresses is outrageous!
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Note how we take baptism for granted today. But in John's and Jesus' day it was strange, an oddity, and a sign of something startlingly new. If only we could return to that way of looking at things. God and our lesson are going to try to make that happen for you.
* Point out things not going so well in America today. In addition to statistics cited in above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights, ask the congregation about their stress levels.
* Tell the story of John and Ruth (a couple resembling the demographics of the congregation) and all the stress they feel as a result of job threats, stagnant wages, balancing work and play (perhaps child-care responsibilities), and feeling their relationship could be better. They are unhappy but trapped by old habits. They have not realized or even sought their dreams.
* Dreams, openness to the future, make life meaningful. Patrick Henry put it well: "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."
* Well-known nineteenth-century American Episcopalian bishop Phillips Brooks made a similar point: "Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present."
* The problem with life (call it Original Sin) is that we get so caught up in the present challenges of just maintaining ourselves, trapped by our past ways of operating, that we close the door to the future. And there seems to be no escape.
* Back to first-century Israel. Remember how outrageous, how radical, John the Baptist was? He did things (dressed) like a prophet who challenged the status quo. And remember how new this idea of getting baptized was. That is the point for today. To be baptized is to be involved in something new. If only we could recover such a vision of the Sacrament.
* Eminent New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann put it well when he noted that baptism in the first century was a liturgical action pointing to the end of time, to the kingdom of God (see third bullet point in Theological Insights). To be baptized is to be living in the reality of the coming kingdom, to live in a future-oriented way, no longer trapped by the past or the rat-race of the present.
* Rudolf Bultmann also did a nice job describing what this future-oriented way of life would look like. (Use last quotation in Theological Insights.) No more crushing anxiety when the past no longer traps you, when every day feels like a new opportunity.
* I like the way Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller described this sort of future-oriented, new-opportunity style of life: "Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or leave its failure behind and start over. That's the way life is, with a new game every day…."
* This sort of forward looking way of life will do wonders for the brain and happiness. Relate the neurochemical data in the last point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The baptismal life makes you happy, when you live it.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation again if they feel trapped or burned out. Remind them that they are not, that their baptisms have made them new, forward-looking, daring people. Tell them that the next time they feel trapped or burned-out, tell them to remember that they have been baptized!
Baptism and new life!
Collect of the Day
Drawing on images of baptism, we pray to be immersed in grace and transformed by the Spirit as to enable us to follow Christ. Baptism's relation to regeneration and Sanctification are crucial themes.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 29
* Hymn attributed to David praising God's control of all nature, even of storms, yet the Lord blesses His people with peace in the midst of storms (v. 11). Providence serves God's love.
* The Lord's voice in the storm is not just powerful, but hadar (majestic, even beautiful) (v. 4).
Sermon Text and Title
"God Uses Water to Give Life!"
Genesis 1:1-5
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To clarify God's consistent use of water (esp. the waters of baptism, but also the waters of the earth) to give life (as well as the compatibility between this insight and the Theory of Evolution). Attention is also given to what this life we are given looks like, including its ecological implications.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Like all five of the books of the Pentateuch, Genesis is probably the product of several distinct literary traditions. This book is just comprised of three: (1) J, a ninth-/tenth-century BC source, so named for its use of the name Jahweh or Yahweh (translated "Lord"); (2) E, an eighth-century BC source named for its use of the divine name Elohim (translated "God"); and (3) P, or Priestly source, dated from the sixth century BC.
* Main Sections: (1) Primordial history (chs. 1-11); (2) Abrahamic cycle (12:1--25:18); (3) Jacob cycle (25:19--36:43); and (4) The saga of Joseph and his brothers (chs. 37-50). These sections seem structured by means of repeated genealogical formulas (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10-32; 25:1-19; 36:1; 37:2).
* Attributing this and other books of the Pentateuch by the Tradition to Moses was a way of establishing the continuity of the faith of successive generations that gave rise to these books.
* Central Themes: (1) The relation of the creation to the world history that follows; (2) Both are to be understood in light of the divine will for the chosen people; (3) Promises made to the Patriarchs are interpreted as eschatological prophecies of the coming Exodus; (4) Fertility, space, and time are determined by God, overriding all conflict. Human events are viewed pessimistically, but never in such a way as to connote that God would abandon us.
* The first eleven chapters are the story of humanity's increasing alienation from God.
* The pericope is part of the Creation Story (the first three days) of the P strand.
* In creation God is said to master the primordial depth (v. 2). Creation out of nothing is presupposed. The world here is said to originate from watery depths. This link between life and water nicely fits the theme of baptism.
* Reference to the ruach of God active in creation may be translated the "wind" or "Spirit" of God (v. 2). God's Word is the agent of creation (vv. 3-5).
* The earth and its life-giving vegetation as well as creaturely life emerge from the water (vv. 9-11, 20).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The doctrine of Creation and the various interconnections of the created order as well as the role of water in the development of life are sketched.
* John Calvin notes the use of Elohim to depict God in the account, and since Elohim is a plural term claims that the Trinity is given a witness by the text (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. I/1, pp. 70-71).
* John Wesley contended that time began with creation (Commentary on the Bible, p. 11). This insight is most compatible with the Theory of Relativity and its supposition that there is no time apart from the existence of the cosmos.
* The ancient African theologian Tertullian notes the biblical account teaches that waters brought forth life and that the Spirit of God hovering over the waters from the beginning (v. 2) continues today as the Spirit hovers over the waters of baptism to give life (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 670). Just as water, Spirit, and God's word are the source of life in Creation (vv. 2-5), so the three give life today in baptism.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Most Evolutionary Theorists hypothesize that water is the source of life. The first animals with backbones have a common ancestor in fish-like creatures, the ostracoderms. Also the first life may have been one-celled creatures eventually evolving into protists (one-celled organisms with characteristics found in both plants and animals), which subsequently mutated into the first plants while others evolved into simple animals. It seems that in the ancient oceans there were chemicals in the solution that were brought into complex organic molecules as a result of the energy from the sun. To this day, all living cells must contain water, as water accounts for between 65% and 90% of the body weight of all the earth's plants and animals. See verse 20 for a reference consistent with this finding.
* Christians engaged in a spiritual walk experience more pleasurable brain dope (esp. dopamine) that leads them to experience more happiness and fulfillment (Andrew Newberg, Why God Won't Go Away).
* A 2008 poll conducted by the Pew Trust revealed that 2 out of 5 American Christians would oppose stricter environmental regulations.
5. Gimmick
Note that there is nothing like a good drink of water when you're thirsty. Water is one of the best things in life. Pause.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Elaborate the Gimmick. It is not surprising that water tastes good. Water gives life; without enough water we die. Observe that the story of creation in Genesis teaches that, but in so doing it teaches more about what baptism means, about caring for the earth.
* Even the pre-scientific account of life's origins from Genesis gives witness to this point. In telling the Genesis story, about which science has made many of us uneasy, we tend to forget its reference to God's wind (the Holy Spirit?) sweeping over the waters (v. 2) and later separating waters from waters (vv. 6-7) and from this process came life (vv. 9-11, 20).
* Some Bible scholars contend that "water" here refers to chaos, the nothingness out of which the world was made. But why call that water? This is a theme that nicely links with the theme of today -- baptism. We Christians say that in Baptism new life is given (Titus 3:5). How appropriate that here in Genesis, a word is given that life itself comes out of water!
* Evolutionary scientists suggest life on earth and water are intimately mixed. Elaborate on the first point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. A quote by Albert Szent-Gyorgia, a Hungarian biochemist who won a Nobel Prize, says it well: "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
* What does all this have to do with everyday life? Note that especially when the Genesis accounts of creation's reference to six days are interpreted as ages (God does not tell time like we do [Psalms 90:4]) the Bible need not be regarded as in conflict with science. But this insight and our lesson also have a word for us regarding the ecological crisis and the importance of baptism. Each are related to God giving life through water!
* Note that the biblical story and science both testify to the common origin of life out of water. Get that? We, the animals, and even plants come from a common home -- the water, just as we live in a common home today (the earth). Plants and animals are kin! How can we not care for them?
Refer to the dismal statistics reported in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights, regarding American Christian unwillingness to do something about pollution. The next time we are so tempted, direct the flock to remember the Bible's testimony to our common roots with all life.
* Raise the question about considering the subject of today -- baptism. Point out that the Creation Story in Genesis suggests baptism. Just as God gives life through water in Creation, just as water gives physical life today, so God keeps giving spiritual life to Christians through water. Baptismal water. The word of our lesson is that baptism gives life.
* Refer to the lesson, how God created out of the water, but His Spirit (the divine wind) and His word did the work (vv. 2-5). The analogy to baptism is significant. It is only with God's Word that the baptismal water does any good (see the reference to Tertullian in Theological Insights). Point out how this analogy between Creation and Baptism suggests that the baptismal waters give life, just like water is the source of life in the physical realm.
* The baptisms we received give life. Catholics have a point in using water from a baptismal fountain to sprinkle themselves in order to remember how baptism first gave them life. But too often we don't think of baptism that way, most Americans just see it as a ritual. But suppose we saw it as a new life, a birth! The water of rebirth, the Bible says (Titus 3:5). We wouldn't take it so much for granted then, just like you don't take birth of children and animals for granted.
* Have the congregation reflect on the sense of aimlessness about life that comes sometime. We have all known the feeling that there is nothing too special about believing in God or about daily activities. That is the time we need to be reminded how exciting life is, how just as a glass of water tastes so good when we're thirsty, so the baptism we've had makes life better and more pleasurable. And just as you find pleasure and happiness in thinking about your youth, in being in the presence of infants, sharing in or remembering their birth, so if you think about your baptism that way life gets a little more interesting.
* Baptism understood as new birth launches you on a life of commitment to Jesus (Romans 6:1-14). And the latest studies on the human brain indicate that religious people committed to God secrete more pleasurable brain dope (esp. dopamine) that leads them to experience more happiness and fulfillment. A focus on the baptismal waters creates meaningful, joyful lives.
7. Wrap-Up
Remind the congregation that no one needs to tell them to drink some water the next time they're thirsty, to remind them how good water is. Next time they feel spiritually drained, the next time they are thirsty for some peace of mind, remember the water -- the water of baptism. It has changed them, made them self-sacrificing people who know the meaning of life, who appreciate all of life's interconnections! Life will then feel a lot happier and fuller, and we will likely be less destructive of our environment when we live with those insights. Our wonderful God continues to use water to give life today, in every way!
Sermon Text and Title
"You've Been Baptized With the Spirit!"
Acts 19:1-7
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To make clear to the faithful that in Baptism the Holy Spirit is active and given. All those baptized are filled with the Spirit.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* An account from the early stages of Paul's third missionary journey. The lesson describes part of Paul's ministry in Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, located on the west coast of modern Turkey.
* Paul is said to be following the ministry of the Jew Apollos (v. 1) who was a follower of the Way (Christianity), though Apollos had only known of John the Baptist's baptism (18:24-28).
* Those baptized in Ephesus with John's baptism by Apollos had not the received or heard of the Holy Spirit (vv. 2-3).
* Paul notes John only offered a baptism of repentance to prepare for Jesus. The Ephesians then receive a baptism in Christ's name (vv. 4-5).
* At their baptisms, Paul lays hands on these Ephesian followers of the way, and they receive the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues (vv. 6-7).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An exploration of the meaning of baptism and the Holy Spirit's engagement in it.
* John Wesley points out that the baptism of John was not the baptism Christ commanded (Commentary on the Bible, p. 488).
* Martin Luther explains the role of the Holy Spirit in creation and how the Spirit uses water to create and give life:
As a hen broods her eggs, keeping them warm in order to hatch her chicks, and, as it were, to bring them to life through her, so scripture says that the Holy Spirit brooded, as it were, on the waters to bring to life those substances which were to be quickened and adorned. For it is the office of the Holy Spirit to make alive.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 1, p. 9)
* He also clearly affirms that the Spirit is given in baptism: "The water is baptism and in baptism is the Holy Spirit. So you might also say: 'Why is it necessary to baptize with water?' But the Spirit says so, do you hear?" (Luther's Works, Vol. 36, p. 345). Elsewhere he calls it a "bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit" (The Book of Concord, p. 359).
* The Reformer also nicely explains the significance of the gift of the Spirit in baptism matters in everyday life:
In the first place you give yourself up to the Sacrament of Baptism and to what it signifies. That is, you desire to die, together with your sins, and to be made new at the last day… From that hour He [God] begins to make you a new person. He pours into you His grace and Holy Spirit, who begins to slay nature and sin, and to prepare you for death and the resurrection at the last day.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 35, p. 33)
* Luther likewise helpfully outlined the sense in which we are persons like God. It has to do with forgiving sins: Nor should it give us any offense that the same term [person] is later applied to creatures. Why shouldn't God assign us His name, when He assigns us His power and His office? For to forgive sins, to retain sins, to make alive, etc., are works of the divine majesty alone; nevertheless, the same works are given to human beings and are done through the word that human beings teach (Luther's Works, Vol. 1, p. 12).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* A 2009 Barna poll revealed that only half of American Christians believe in the reality of the Holy Spirit.
5. Gimmick
In an excited, urgent preacher's voice, ask the congregation if they have the Holy Spirit, if they are filled with the Spirit. Then pause.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Elaborate on the Gimmick. Most American Christians, with the exception of our Pentecostal and Charismatic friends, have problems with the Holy Spirit. Note the results of the 2009 Barna poll demonstrating a sense of estrangement from the Holy Spirit cited above.
* The answer to our problems lies in what we consider today in church -- baptism!
* Experiencing the Holy Spirit in your life seems not to be just our problem. It was not happening for the early Christians in Ephesus. They had been baptized, but did not have the Holy Spirit. Sort of like the way we modern Christians usually feel.
* Explain what had transpired. It seems the baptism the Ephesians had received was not the baptism we have. Ours is a Christian baptism, but they seem to have received the kind that John the Baptist offered (vv. 2-4). And the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not involved in John's baptism of repentance (an important point to remember today as we commemorate Jesus' baptism by John).
* Paul laid hands on the Ephesians and the text says that they received the Holy Spirit (v. 6). But we must remember that first he baptized them with a Christian baptism (v. 5). The Holy Spirit was given in baptism!
* So what? Why does it matter to believe that the Spirit is received in baptism, that we have the Holy Spirit? Martin Luther sheds penetrating light on why it matters. (Use and elaborate on the first and third quotes attributed to Luther in Theological Insights.)
* John Calvin has a neat way of describing the Holy Spirit and what the Spirit's presence can mean to us. The Spirit, he says, is the Power of God (Institutes [Westminster ed.], pp. 142-143). To have the Spirit is to be empowered with the things of God! Keep that in mind, baptized Christians.
* Martin Luther offered another reflection on why having the Holy Spirit in your life matters: "Without the Holy Spirit hearts are either hardened in sins or they despair… By the Holy Spirit the godly navigate between this satanic Scylla and Charybdis and cast themselves on the super-abundant and infinite mercy of God" (What Luther Says, p. 662).
* To have the Holy Spirit is to be cast on the abundant and infinite mercy of God.
7. Wrap-Up
Tell the flock that the next time they feel uncertain, far away from God or from the meaning of life, to recall that they have the Holy Spirit, the One who broods over them like a hen, who is the power of God, casts them on God's overwhelming love. Even if they do not feel that the Spirit is with them, have them remember their baptisms. That is the assurance that the Spirit is among us. Seems America needs that message.
Sermon Text and Title
"Baptism's Fresh Start!"
Mark 1:4-11
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim that baptism is associated with the end times or Eschatology (the new being), which entails that those baptized have radically broken with the past and have a fresh start.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A report of the ministry of John the Baptist (vv. 4-8) and of Jesus' baptism by him (vv. 9-11).
* John's attire and diet remind the people of the nomadic existence during the Exile or of Elijah's appearance (v. 6; 2 Kings 1:8; Leviticus 11:22). John's location in the wilderness (v. 4) is a fulfillment of the prophecy of the messenger noted in Isaiah 40:3 cited in verse 3.
* John proclaims a baptism of repentance (v. 4) and the coming Messiah (v. 7). (This was a set of themes linked in first-century Jewish literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls [The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, pp. 230-231].) He claims to have performed a baptism of water, while the powerful One to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit (v. 8). Jesus Himself seems to recognize that the baptisms He would offer are not identical with John's (2:18).
* Much less detail is given in Mark's account of John's preaching than is the case in the other Synoptics (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 3:7-14). This is in character with Mark's gospel that is more action-focused, recording fewer words of Jesus than the other gospels.
* No reference is made to the people confusing John with Christ or Elijah, like in Luke (3:15) or John (1:19-22).
* John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan (v. 9). Nothing significant about Jesus' person is noted, save God's word about Him.
* As usual in Mark, things happen "immediately" (a sign of the end times). As Jesus emerges from the water, the heavens open, the Spirit is received, and a voice from heaven proclaims Him the beloved Son (vv. 10-11). The account here and the words of the voice from heaven parallel Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 43:1.The Spirit descending on Jesus is a fulfillment of messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61:1.
* Except for the immediacy (eschatological emphasis) of the heavenly events, the account is closely paralleled in the other gospels. Differences are that in Matthew (3:14-15), John tries to avoid performing the baptism, claiming that he should be baptized by Jesus -- while in John's gospel alone (1:29-36), John testifies to who Jesus is.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The narrative testifies to the relationship between the baptisms inspired by Jesus and those of John the Baptist and very specifically to the eschatological character of the way of life associated with the Sacrament.
* Martin Luther makes a distinction between Jesus' baptism and our own:
When Christ was baptized and when we are baptized, there is, so far as the act itself is concerned, no difference at all… But there is a great difference in the persons. Christ is baptized, not in order to be made righteous -- for He is the Son of God and endowed with eternal righteousness so that we may be made righteous through Him -- but as an example, so to speak, for us, in order that He may precede us and we may follow His example and also be baptized.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 3, p. 87)
* Rudolf Bultmann notes the eschatological character of baptism. Stressing the continuity between Jesus' Baptism and the baptisms of John, he writes: "That is, baptism in conjunction with repentance was a bath of purification (closely connected with repentance) for the coming reign of God -- in other words an initiation rite of the eschatological Congregation…" (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 39). We might interpret John's style and attire as testimony to the urgency of the pending eschaton.
* Elsewhere Bultmann elaborates on what this eschatological mode of existence is like. It is "to be open to God's future which is really imminent for everyone of us; to be prepared for this future which can come as a thief in the night when we do not expect it…" (Jesus Christ and Mythology, p. 31): "… free openness to the future… is freedom from anxiety in the face of Nothing… Faith as openness to the future is freedom from the past" (Ibid., pp. 77-78).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* A 2009 poll indicated that only 46% of the American work force was happy with their jobs. Given economic realities it is likely that little has changed regarding American discontent.
* Another 2009 Gallup poll revealed that less than half of the American public considered itself to be happy and enjoying life.
* Neurobiology has shown that an openness to new ideas and activities can stimulate the brain to release neurochemicals that lead us to experience happiness and impede the aging process by stimulating the brain to make new neural connections (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging).
5. Gimmick
Assume the role of a first-century Jew and announce how weird John the Baptist is. Point out how he traveled all over the countryside with this ritual of his that nobody but those crazy sectarians that live around the Dead Sea use. Note how the way he dresses is outrageous!
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Note how we take baptism for granted today. But in John's and Jesus' day it was strange, an oddity, and a sign of something startlingly new. If only we could return to that way of looking at things. God and our lesson are going to try to make that happen for you.
* Point out things not going so well in America today. In addition to statistics cited in above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights, ask the congregation about their stress levels.
* Tell the story of John and Ruth (a couple resembling the demographics of the congregation) and all the stress they feel as a result of job threats, stagnant wages, balancing work and play (perhaps child-care responsibilities), and feeling their relationship could be better. They are unhappy but trapped by old habits. They have not realized or even sought their dreams.
* Dreams, openness to the future, make life meaningful. Patrick Henry put it well: "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."
* Well-known nineteenth-century American Episcopalian bishop Phillips Brooks made a similar point: "Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present."
* The problem with life (call it Original Sin) is that we get so caught up in the present challenges of just maintaining ourselves, trapped by our past ways of operating, that we close the door to the future. And there seems to be no escape.
* Back to first-century Israel. Remember how outrageous, how radical, John the Baptist was? He did things (dressed) like a prophet who challenged the status quo. And remember how new this idea of getting baptized was. That is the point for today. To be baptized is to be involved in something new. If only we could recover such a vision of the Sacrament.
* Eminent New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann put it well when he noted that baptism in the first century was a liturgical action pointing to the end of time, to the kingdom of God (see third bullet point in Theological Insights). To be baptized is to be living in the reality of the coming kingdom, to live in a future-oriented way, no longer trapped by the past or the rat-race of the present.
* Rudolf Bultmann also did a nice job describing what this future-oriented way of life would look like. (Use last quotation in Theological Insights.) No more crushing anxiety when the past no longer traps you, when every day feels like a new opportunity.
* I like the way Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller described this sort of future-oriented, new-opportunity style of life: "Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or leave its failure behind and start over. That's the way life is, with a new game every day…."
* This sort of forward looking way of life will do wonders for the brain and happiness. Relate the neurochemical data in the last point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The baptismal life makes you happy, when you live it.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation again if they feel trapped or burned out. Remind them that they are not, that their baptisms have made them new, forward-looking, daring people. Tell them that the next time they feel trapped or burned-out, tell them to remember that they have been baptized!
