First Sunday after the Epiphany (1/11/09) Baptism of Jesus Mark 1: 4-11 All of the readings today dovetail; they share many common themes. They speak of beginnings, of water, of life-changing watershed events, of the manifestation and activity of God's Spirit. The readings also include a number of words that could be seen as "theological hot topics": baptism, repentance, forgiveness, confessing, speaking in tongues, and so forth. I was tempted to go in many of these directions this morning, but I would like to look at the scriptures highlighting the ways in which God appears in places and forms we least expect. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind (or Spirit) of God swept over the face of the waters.” Whoever composed this story about the beginning has God's Spirit or wind as the protagonist. Rather than grandly commissioning legions of angels to make the world, the Creator moves over the waters…hovering…as Spirit. Then, Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. . . . The story of Jesus' baptism follows. The beginning of Mark's gospel again features the Spirit of God – a Holy Spirit -- coming down to Jesus. Mark gets right to his main point. He doesn't tell the story with Jesus' birth as the beginning. He doesn't even include the nativity story. Instead, the beginning of the good news is an experience of God. Mark doesn't talk theory about God or Jesus, he tells the story of Jesus' baptism – an event where Jesus experiences and hears God. I found this story of the baptism of Jesus fascinating: it tells of the heavens being opened, or torn, just like what the prophet Ezekiel had experienced some 600 years before. A bird, perhaps a dove, comes through the parted heaven and hovers, reminding me of the hovering Spirit in the creation story. And then the Spirit of God, the Creator of the Universe speaks!--speaks these words, “You are my beloved.” This is a dramatic scene. An amazing one. It is of such prime significance that each gospel writer includes a version in their gospel. Today we have our ideas and theologies about what baptism, repentance, and forgiveness of sins mean. To better understand this story, though, let's briefly look at its context. Both John the Baptist and Jesus grew up in first century Judaism. The two main pillars of Judaism at that time were the Torah and the Temple. That's over- simplified but it helps to give us a broad picture of the background. What was the meaning of observing Torah? Torah was more than just the law. At that time Torah included the books of Moses and the prophets - stories about God and God's relationship with the Jews as a people. Weekly they would gather at the synagogue to pray and hear the stories of God's activity in their history. Most likely as a faithful Jew, Jesus had memorized the Shema and recited it twice a day: “Hear O Israel, The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” Remember that Jesus later cites this as the most important commandment. The passage continues: [(v7. “Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”)] So, observing Torah assumed that God was to be experienced and related to in everyday life. The second pillar of first century Judaism, The Temple, was still standing and in use in Jesus' day. Jerusalem and the temple were the sacred center. Marcus Borg writes that “the temple in Jerusalem was the „navel of the earth.” This was God's dwelling place on earth. Yes, God was everywhere, but especially in the temple. It was the focal point of devotion, hope and promise. . . .but over the years and especially under the Roman empire, the temple became the target of imperial domination. The high priests compromised and became part of the aristocracy. When Roman imperial theology and control invaded the beloved Temple, Judaism seemed to have lost its soul, its spirit. Into this context of Torah and Temple and Roman occupation came John the Baptist proclaiming a baptism of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He advocated a rite for repentance that bypassed the Temple--a truly radical notion. In ancient Judaism, the Hebrew word for repentance meant to change direction or “return” – as in return from the exile. . .come back to the promised land. There is the idea of walking in the way of the Lord –and a sense journey or pilgrimage. Repentance for the prophets meant to turn or return from your own way to God's path of justice and mercy. In the gospels, the greek word for repentance (metanoia) is made up of two words: meta, translated “larger” or “go beyond” and noia, which means “mind.” The idea is to “go beyond the mind that you have” -- to transcend the conventional understanding of what life with God is about. This is what Jesus “bought into” when he chose to go into the wilderness to be baptized by John. Baptism for Jesus, for Heather, and for all of us indicates a new beginning, like an initiation rite into a new way of experiencing God's way. Jesus had to loosen his grip on some traditions and expectations of God - - in order to receive something new and surprising. He had to not "box in" God in order to have a revitalizing encounter with an un-caged bird - - - the same one that hovered over creation. And Jesus had to be attentive to be able to hear the voice of God saying: “You are my beloved.” May we find grace to do likewise! The Rev Mary Wetzel