THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen. Listen again to how St. Mark begins his divine book: “The beginning of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” These Words may be rightly
applied, not only to our Lord Jesus, but also to you and to me and to the
infant Hunter Bredeman, who was baptized into Christ today. In the same way
that Mark has written, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God,” today is also “The beginning of the Gospel of Hunter Bredeman, the son of
God.” So, too, on the day of your Baptism: “The beginning of the Gospel of
[your name here], the son of God.”
Dear Christian friends,
You might want to turn in your bulletin to page 5, where the Gospel of the Day
is printed, so you can see how Mark’s important Words fall into place. As you
look at that page, ask yourself the
· QUESTION—According to Mark’s book, what exactly is “the beginning of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”?
· Here is Mark’s ANSWER: “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Note it carefully and mark it well! Jesus’ Gospel—that is, the Gospel
concerning Jesus; the Gospel about to Jesus; the Gospel belonging to Jesus—this
Gospel News begins with a guy baptizing people and then preaching about
Baptism. “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. … John
appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.” Baptism is the beginning of the Gospel.
Yes, Mark stuck a quotation from Isaiah between the words “the beginning of the
Gospel” and the words “John appeared.” But that quotation is not the beginning
of the Gospel. That quotation from Isaiah is simply telling you that you should
not feel surprised at what Mark is telling you. The Isaiah quotation is showing
you that God had earlier promised that Baptism would be “the beginning of the
Gospel.” After all, John is “the [promised] voice of one crying in the
wilderness.” And “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
This connection Mark makes between “the beginning of the Gospel” and Holy
Baptism is nothing less than meat-and-potatoes for everyday life. This
connection allows you to look at your own personal life in same way that you
look at the life of your Lord Jesus, about whom Mark writes in the rest of his
book. Think about the Words, “the beginning of the Gospel.” If something has a
beginning, it also has a middle and an end. By drawing his connection between
“the beginning of the Gospel” and Baptism, Mark is positioning you to compare
the beginning of Jesus’ life to the beginning of your life; the middle of
Jesus’ life to the end of your life; the end of Jesus’ life to the end of your
life.
AS FAR AS MARK IS CONCERNED, LIFE BEGINS IN BAPTISM
One of the most beautiful things about Mark’s writing is that he does NOT do
what Matthew and Luke did. Matthew and Luke take tell about the conception,
birth, and infancy of Jesus. Mark does not bother with all that. It is not that
Mark rejects the Virgin Birth of Christ. Jesus’ birth and infancy are simply
immaterial to Mark’s point. Mark wants to focus on Baptism as “the beginning of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
If Baptism is the beginning for the story about Jesus, why shouldn’t we think
of Baptism as the place of where each of our stories—each of our personal
Gospels—begins, as well? Hunter Bredeman was born a couple weeks ago in some
hospital somewhere north of here. Those details do not matter, as far as Mark
can see. What matters is:
· “the beginning of the Gospel of Hunter Bredeman Ramey, the son of God,”
formally and eternally adopted into the family of God by Holy Baptism on
December 4, 2011, at Grace Lutheran Church in Versailles, MO.
· what St. John elsewhere calls “birth from above” (John 3:3); birth of
“water and the Spirit” (John 3:5); birth “not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
Mr. and Mrs. Ramey, today’s Gospel allows us to think that you have done a
really good thing by bringing your infant son to the baptismal font. Today’s
Gospel seems to think that baptizing should come before preaching or teaching
about Baptism. Mark does not say that John came, preaching about baptism and
baptizing. What does Mark say? “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” In other
Words, get the child into the water! After that, spend the rest of your life
explaining and proclaiming to the child what just happened to him!
BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
In a few weeks, when we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, Mark
will tell us more about Jesus’ Baptism in particular. For today, we have more
than enough on our plate with Mark’s Words, “John [preached] a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of [your] sins.”
· Hunter Bredeman was baptized today “for the forgiveness of [his] sins.”
· You and I also were baptized “for the forgiveness of [our] sins.”
· Before you, before me, before Hunter, Jesus was first baptized “for the
forgiveness of [YOUR] sins.” We should think of Baptism, not as a bowl of
water. We should think of Baptism as a ever-flowing river of repentance and
forgiveness, continually moving from Jesus to us in a never-ending stream. At
“the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” Jesus brings His
power, His purity, His grace, and His forgiveness to Baptism. At “the beginning
of the Gospel of [your name here],” Jesus brings all these gifts to you.
WHAT HAS A BEGINNING ALSO HAS A MIDDLE…
What Mark reports in today’s Gospel is merely “the beginning of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The story goes on, and Mark has some astounding
things to tell us in the upcoming Church Year. Baptism was indeed the beginning
of Jesus’ Gospel, but it is also the middle of Jesus’ Gospel:
· In Lent, we will hear how Jesus faces His temptations and weaknesses by
clinging to the power of His Baptism. Stated another way, Jesus fights
temptation in the same way that you also may face and fight your everyday
temptations and struggles.
· During Pentecost, we will hear time and again how Jesus spent His life
doing pretty much the same thing John did in today’s Gospel. John preached
about Baptism. So to, Jesus—in the miracles He performed, in the sermons He
preached, in the way He treated His neighbor—Jesus lived a life of Baptismal
power and taught others to do the same. This is good news, because it means we
are in good company when we tirelessly point to Baptism and teach Baptism to
our children, our friends, and our neighbors.
… AND AN END
We also have Easter on the way. Think about the Words, “the beginning of the
Gospel.” If something has a beginning, it also has a middle and an end. By
drawing his connection between “the beginning of the Gospel” and Baptism, Mark
is positioning you to compare the beginning of Jesus’ life to the beginning of
your life; the middle of Jesus’ life to the end of your life; the end of Jesus’
life to the end of your life.
How did Jesus’ life of humiliation, temptation and struggle end? The same way
yours will; the same way mine will; the same way Hunter Bredeman Ramey’s will:
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed
in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be
alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not
here (Mark 16:5-6a).
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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