Sermon for the Baptism of our Lord

January 11, 2009

Genesis 1:1–5
Psalm 29
Acts 19:1–7
Mark 1:4–11
Year B
I.N.I. (In the name of Jesus)

We are making a statement today about our core values. I’m talking about the ritual bath that is rich with tactile and verbal symbolism, made known through water and creed, through prayer and the laying on hands, through welcome and anointing with oil.

It is a feast day in the church, more ancient in its origins than Christmas.

If you were from another planet, and landed on earth at the corner of Broad Street and Lutheran Drive on Sunday Morning, January 11, and wandered into the building to get an idea about what is important to these beings who come through white stuff on a day when other people are sleeping in, what you observe, and what conclusions would you draw from your experience?

Let me try a few statements that are derived what I think are among our core values.

We are a baptized people. We ally ourselves with the baptized Christ through the water events we celebrate.

We are a spirited people. We derive our energy from the other-directed ministry of Jesus, who invites fishermen, tax collectors, prostitutes, and the demon-possessed to jump into God’s kingdom.

The question is,
are we passionate?
are we on fire?
are we excited?

Let’s peel it back. Let’s focus on the ancient stories, which reveal where and how and to whom the Spirit, the energy, and power, and breath of God is released.

John in the desert is one cool dude. He’s like a rock star, filling the stadium with fans who flock to him. He ably plays the part of celebrity, wearing a loincloth and touting the health benefits of eating bugs and honey. He could be on the cover of People Magazine or featured on Entertainment Tonight.

He brings the crowd to its feet, or its knees, and dunks them in a river for a new life, where they can start afresh and leave their past behind. He was a success, and the annals of history make him to be right up there, with God and Jesus.

But he was just the set-up man. He says it, this way: “the main event is coming after I’m done with my gig. I’m not even good enough to tune his guitar. I’m dunking you in the river. He will immerse you with the Holy Spirit, the energy, the power, and the breath of God.

The main event, the one we know will be living and breathing good news, Jesus himself comes, not to Jerusalem, not the center of the universe, but himself comes to the desert. And he himself is not from Jerusalem, not from the center of the universe, but from Hudson, or near Ledge Street, okay not really but from no where special, the sticks of Galilee.

Jesus took the plunge, just as most of you have, just as I have, just as Faith Cestrone and Juan Suarez soon will. And as he came up dripping wet, this paisano from nowhere was brushed by the bird that was there at the beginning of creation, and a loudspeaker blares through heaven’s PA system: “You’re my Son. I’m crazy about you and well into everything you do.” (from Word on the Street p 266).

And a pattern emerges. A pattern that becomes our own pattern, the model for baptism that we continue to laud and glorify, one of water and the Spirit.

And the pattern continues, in Jesus’ life and the lives of his followers, that make connections between heaven and earth, that take the Spirit to those on the margins, that lift up those who are children, teenagers, and adults as worthy of God’s grace and love, that immerse followers of the main event into a way of life that leaves behind old and destructive behaviors.

We are ready to receive Faith Ann and Juan through water and the Spirit. We are eager to show them a way of life that is centered on the cross, on forgiveness and justice.

What is it about your life in the Spirit that you would like to share with Faith and Juan?

What is it about your experience of faith at Christ the King that you would like to talk about with Faith and Juan?

Can you imagine telling stories about Jesus, about yourselves, about Faith and Juan, about Christ the King that you could tell others so that they could see and experience the Spirit, the energy, and the power of God?

Part of the challenge of being church today is speaking with those who are like aliens, who have no idea what is valuable about being in a community like ours.

Let me remind you of my meager attempt to state biblical-derived statements about our core values.

We are a baptized people. We ally ourselves with the baptized Christ through the water events we celebrate.

We are a spirited people. We derive our energy from the other-directed ministry of Jesus, who invites fishermen, tax collectors, prostitutes, and the demon-possessed to jump into God’s kingdom.

And as I said before
The question is,
are we passionate?
are we on fire?
are we excited?

Let’s baptize!


I.N.I.

The Rev. Timothy J. Keyl, Pastor
Christ the King Lutheran Church
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