January
11th, 2015 “Beloved, Blessed, Chaos” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Mark
1:4-11 with Psalm 29
The first part of the liturgical year
always seems to fly by. Every year the
church re-enacts the life story of Jesus, and we seem to do most of it in the
Spring. Just a few weeks ago Jesus was born
and in just a few short weeks he will be turning his face to Jerusalem and the
death that awaits him there. Today is
one of those highlights along the road, because today we celebrate the baptism
of Jesus.
Jesus’ baptism is always a bit of a
touchy subject. All of the synoptic
gospels mention the event, so it is something many scholars believe was a true
historical occurrence in the life of our Lord.
The problem with the baptism of Jesus is a theological one. If Jesus is from God, of God, then why would
he submit to a baptism for forgiveness of sins?
Why would the Son of God need forgiveness? And if Jesus is greater than John, then why
does John baptize Jesus and not the other way around? The whole thing is a bit of a chaotic
mess. We have lots of wonderings and
musings about these questions but we don’t really have any clear answers.
Whenever we imagine this scene it is
one of tranquility and peace. If you
google images of Jesus’ baptism, you will find a whole slew of peaceful
pictures. There he is bowing before John
the Baptist, now he is rising up out of the waters in joy, see the dove as it
gently descends, a vision of hope and peace.
Well, isn’t that lovely?!?
Too bad life doesn’t work that
way. Have you ever seen a dove descend,
or any bird for that matter, come down from the sky? Sure in slow motion it can look really cool,
but often it just looks like a bird crashing.
I am thinking of when we lived near San Francisco and the masses of the
dove’s closest cousin, pigeons, we would see fluttering about there. Those birds would come in for a landing and
it was a chaotic mess of feathers and squawks.
And watch out if you are standing too close, it hurts when a bird hits
you on the head!!
Plus, have you ever seen someone be
baptized by dunking? Sure, sometimes it’s
all smooth and beautiful but often the human body reacts negatively to being
shoved under water. A quick search of
You Tube will reveal loads of funny baptism videos as people come flying out of
the water gasping and sputtering for breath.
Even in the best moments, you can see the human body tense as the person
comes up chest heaving.
We like to imagine this perfect
baptism for Jesus, but what if it was more normal, what if it was more like our
experience? If Jesus was fully human,
his body too would be crying out for air as he was dunked in the river. He too, would be taking big open mouth
breaths as he regained his composure.
Then the sky rips open! Tell me
that’s not chaotic and scary. Mark says
the heavens were torn apart. A bird
falls out of the sky and lands on Jesus’ head.
What if it was a 200mph peregrine falcon descent rather than a slow
motion dove? Then a loud voice speaks
from out of the sky. I imagine some
folks would be running and screaming by this point, it’s not like people would
immediately understand what was going on.
What if instead of the picture perfect scene we imagine, things were
more chaotic, more real? I like to
imagine Jesus’ baptism as beloved, blessed, chaos.
I don’t think it’s too much of a
stretch. The whole point of the baptism
of Jesus is that Jesus joins the ranks of sinners like us. Jesus joins the mess and chaos that is human
life. That is why we find him there that
morning, standing in the waters of the Jordan, waiting in line with everyone
else. Jesus is the fullest expression of
God’s desire to join us, and we are nothing if not messy and chaotic.
Our Psalm too, reminds us that while
God is in control, what God is in control of is chaos. The voice of the Lord is over the mighty
waters and the thunders of glory. Mighty
thundering waters? That’s chaos. The voice of the Lord breaks down trees and
makes cities jump like wild animals.
That’s chaos. The voice of the
Lord shakes the wilderness and sets it aflame.
That’s chaos. The voice of the
Lord causes a tornado that strips the forest bare. That’s chaos.
Our Psalm reminds us that things with God are often out of control, in
control. The world is a place of
chaotic, violent natural phenomenon and yet God is in control. God is in control of our beloved, blessed,
chaos.
So too, when Jesus joins with the
chaos that is humanity, when he lines up to be baptized with us, why wouldn’t
it be the wet and wild mess all of our baptisms were? There is a reason babies cry. Whether we are splashed or dunked, as we
arise with water pouring off our heads, we know we have been changed in a
moment of chaos.
Once Jesus is united with humanity,
his ministry begins. His ministry grows
out of chaos and will be marked by chaos throughout. He is sent straight into the wilderness to be
tempted, he will face ridicule throughout his short lifetime, and nothing is
more chaotic then a man physically torn on a cross crying out “My God, why have
you forsaken me?” Ours is a God of
chaos, chaos in the natural order, and chaos in the life of Jesus Christ,
Emmanuel, God with us. Beloved, blessed,
chaos.
Of course, we will remember Jesus’
sacrificial death as we gather around the table today. As we share the elements of bread and juice,
we remember the chaos of those last days.
We remember that Jesus was betrayed by his friends, abandoned by his
disciples, and kneeled in a garden praying “Lord, let this cup pass from
me.” We remember that three days later
his friends found an empty tomb and chaotically ran every which way, some
believing and some full of doubt. At
this table we also look forward to the beloved chaos that is yet to come. For when all
people gather, from all times and
places, to sit together at one table,
what can it be but beloved, blessed, chaos?
We remember too, that from his
baptism, Jesus goes out to serve. Today
we will ordain and install those that have committed to serving our church this
coming year. Our new elders and deacons
receive their call to serve as an outgrowth out of their baptism. And like Jesus, it is a call to serve in a
world of chaos. I’ve spent too much time
in the church to tell you that it is anything else. What we do here each and every Sunday, and
especially in the days of the week leading up to this moment, could certainly
be described as beloved, blessed, chaos.
So, as we celebrate the baptism of our
Lord today, I encourage us to let go of those images of perfect perfection. Instead, let us imagine the event for what it
is. Our world has always been chaos, and
our God has always longed to be united to us and to our chaos. Jesus just wants to be part of our mess. That’s what Emmanuel is all about, the grace
of God with us; in beloved, blessed, chaos.
Amen.
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