This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday January 10, 2010, Baptism of the Lord Sunday, the 1st Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Isaiah 43:1-7
Psalm 29
Acts 8:14-17
Luke 3:15-17, 22-23
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Swiss Theologian Karl Barth is credited with telling young pastors “to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”[1] I am sure he meant this about the news and editorial pages, but could he have also meant it about the funnies?
I have always found the way the gospel connects to popular culture enlightening. Especially with youth, it is a way of making connections between the Word of God and the world we live in. Last year, I did a Bible Study with Zach using Greg Garrett’s book “Holy Superheroes, Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film.”[2]
One of the recent trends in comics and graphic novels is to write origination stories, the beginnings of characters. This was done by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale in “Superman For All Seasons” and by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, in “Batman, Year One.” The 2002 Tobey Maguire movie “Spiderman,” the 2005 Christian Bale movie “Batman Begins,” and last year’s Hugh Jackman movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” takes this trend on its cinematic course. Of course the WB and CW television series “Smallville” takes Superman as a teenager to the small screen.
One of the things these stories do is take a character that we are already familiar with and give us a glimpse into what made them who they are. What of the life of a teenage Clark Kent prepares him to become the Man of Steel? What horror causes Bruce Wayne to dress up like a bat, something he fears, and prowl the streets looking for trouble? What tragedy makes Peter Parker realize that with great power comes great responsibility; pushing him into his Spiderman personae?
In a way, Luke’s gospel gives us a look into the life of the Messiah we know oh so well, Jesus of Nazareth, and presents us with some of the Earthly events that shape him. This gospel gives us the most glorious story of his birth that the church will ever hear. This gospel gives us Jesus as a teenager at the temple in Jerusalem, as if there is any other place to seek him than in his Father’s house. Today, we join him in the water of his baptism.
Let’s return to the beginning of this chapter, the time and place where John begins his Baptismal ministry on the banks of the Jordan. John preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus obviously hears of his cousin, the man raising a ruckus on the riverbank crying out that he baptizes with water; but another will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So Jesus comes to the banks of the Jordan. He comes as one of a crowd.
He comes as one of a crowd. We know the glorious story of Jesus of Nazareth. We know how this story begins, we know of the miracles and the controversies. We know of how the world thinks death defeats him, and we know how death will never hold him. We know of how he will rise to the right hand of God the Father Almighty where he will come to judge the quick and the dead.
But today, he comes as one of the crowd, just a man in the multitude.
If there is anyone in the crowd who knew Jesus of Nazareth, they knew he was the son of Mary. They knew he worked in wood. Maybe someone in the crowd used Jesus to put up drywall, or maybe he built a dining room set for them.[3] He was seemingly just a guy in the crowd, neither more nor less special than anyone else in the mass of humanity.
He was one of us.
Joan Osborne had a hit with Eric Bazilian’s song “One of Us.” She sings, “What if God was one of us/ Just a slob like one of us.” We testify that Jesus is God and Man. We say that he is Emmanuel, God with us. We say that he is fully human and fully divine. We also say that being fully human, he is more human than we can ever hope to be. And this is true, but on this day, Baptism of the Lord Sunday, it is neither Jesus’ divinity nor humanity that is emphasized, it is God’s community.
If John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, then why does Jesus come for this baptism? He certainly doesn’t need to receive the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He doesn’t need it at all, so why?
For Presbyterians, we see our baptism not as a soul-saving event. We are neither saved nor condemned through our baptism. If we were, salvation would be something we could accomplish on our own, not something God does. Instead, we consider baptism a welcoming to the community of faith. The baptismal liturgy in “The Book of Common Worship” says:
By water and the Holy Spirit,
we are made members of the church, the body of Christ,
and joined to Christ's ministry of love, peace, and justice.[4]
We don’t celebrate that our baptism saves us; we celebrate that by the water and the Holy Spirit we are made members of the church, joined to Christ, and to his work. The liturgy ends with this prayer of the people:
With joy and thanksgiving
we welcome you into Christ’s church
to share with us in his ministry,
for we are all one in Christ.[5]
Elaine Ramshaw writes, “a rite of passage into a community is a rite of passage for the whole community.”[6] It is not Jesus who needed to be transformed by this baptismal passage. Taking Ramshaw’s cue, I believe that Jesus was baptized because we need to be transformed by this rite of passage. It is by the Baptism of the Lord and followed by every Christian baptism since that we are transformed, in the water and in the Holy Spirit and fire.
Through his baptism, Jesus, even in his deity, identifies with all humanity.
I once read that most superheroes put on a costume to take on the personae of the hero. They put on a disguise before going on crime fighting adventures.
Bruce Wayne puts on the tights and cape that have all of the gadgets he uses as the Batman. It was the same for every incarnation of his sidekick Robin. Even enhanced humans are still humans. Their regular identity is the skin they were born with. Peter Parker has his spidey-sense and can throw a web without a costume, but he puts on the suit to really become Spiderman. Even Wolverine puts on the spandex before the claws come out. But Superman, Superman is different.
Kal-El, the Kryptonian name of the infant adopted by the Kent’s of Smallville, Kansas is not the ordinary superhero. While more like us on his native planet, under the yellow sun of our solar system and in our much lighter gravity, Kal-El becomes strengthened with super-human abilities. In our world, he becomes Superman.
This is who he is, he is Superman. He is a Kryptonian masquerading as a human being, not a human being playing super hero. He is the hero; he is the one who is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He is the alien who is able to do more than we could ever hope or imagine.
It was not a coincidence at all that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two Jewish men that created Superman, named him Kal-El, the Hebrew phrase meaning “Voice of God.”
As a super hero, Superman is completely different. While nearly every other super hero in comics is a person becoming something more to hide their regular identity; Superman is always a super man and to hide his identity, he becomes less than who he is. In his own way, the geeky Clark Kent is Kal-El’s commentary on what the average human being looks and acts like. This mumbling, milquetoast, klutzy man uses this disguise to blend in with us. He has never been one of us; he only dresses like one of us. Superman will never be anything but a Kryptonian disguised as one of us.
This is where the Son of God is different from the Son of Krypton. Superman hides in a Clark Kent’s business suit. Jesus of Nazareth is not God dressed up in human skin, in a robe and tunic to fool us into thinking he is one of us. No, he is one of us, and as fully human he is more human than we will ever be. And through his baptism, he takes the step to make all baptism a rite of passage for the whole community. In this work, he hears the words of the Father proclaiming, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Join in the waters of the Baptism of the Lord and let us become a community transformed.
[1] “Where Did Karl Barth Say…?” http://libweb.ptsem.edu/collections/barth/faq/quotes.aspx?menu=296&subText=468, retrieved October 19, 2008.
[2] Garrett, Greg, “Holy Superheroes: Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film, Revised and Expanded Edition.” Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2008.
[3] The “dining room” quip is inspired from a scene in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”
[4] The Theology and Worship Ministry Unit for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, “The Book of Common Worship.” Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995, page 363.
[5] Ibid, page 372
[6] Ramshaw, Elaine, “How does the church baptize infants and small children?” in Open Questions for Worship Volume 4: What is Changing in Baptismal Practice? Gordon Lathrop, Editor. Minneapolis, Minnesota, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1995, page 7.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Words
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday January 3, 2010, the Second Sunday after Christmas.
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:10-18
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
In the mid-80’s the R&B group Cameo brought suburban kids everywhere the expression “word up.” The band teaches us that “it’s the code word, no matter where you say it, you know it will be heard.” The video for the song, typical of 80’s R&B, starred LeVar Burton as “The Detective” and would have us believe the word is “cheesy.”
Those of you who enjoy movie musicals will remember that in the late 70’s, Frankie Valli taught us that “Grease is the word.” He sings “it’s got groove, it’s got meaning.” I say movie musicals because Frankie’s movie theme song was never in the stage version. Grease must not have been the word on Broadway.
We can go back deeper in the 70’s and listen to Billy Joel lament, “If I only had the words to tell you, if you only had the time to understand.” This was also about the time that Elton John taught the world that “‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word.”
Words, particularly words in music can teach us the power of words. Things like “sorry.” There are even words we use to explain that we don’t have the words to explain.
There is power in the word. There is power in the word. The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood. As for me, I absolutely love that the PC (USA) Book of Order’s Directory for Worship tells the church “Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer. Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever they gather for worship whether in church, home, or other special place.”[1]
When we were little we were taught to say “sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Honestly, don’t we all know that’s just a load? John Bradshaw turns this on its ear. He writes “Words are extremely powerful. Kind words can create a whole day of happiness. Critical words can put us in a funk for a week.” He finishes this thought turning that old expression on its ear, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will hurt you more.”[2]
John’s gospel begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood; Bradshaw reminds us that there is power in the word. Our reading from John also reminds us that there is power in the word. It is the distinctive teaching of the Fourth Gospel that this divine ‘Word’ took on human form in a historical person, that is, in Jesus.[3]
When Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet is asked a question about what he’s reading, he responds, “Words, words, words” — implying that the words in front of him are meaningless. And we’ve all been told at one time or another that what’s important are deeds, not words.[4]
Genesis shares the truth that “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” God didn’t build a light-generating apparatus but instead spoke light into being. Then God did the same for the sky, the land, the seas, the plants, the animals and even humankind itself. On each day of creation, God spoke a truly creative word.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God insists that “my word… shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” For God, “deeds, not words” really doesn’t make sense. The Lord doesn’t have to make a distinction between deeds and words. For God, words are deeds. God uses words to do God’s work.
The significance of God’s word reaches its peak in the New Testament, in which we learn that God’s “Word became flesh and lived among us” as Jesus. No longer simply to speech, God’s Word actually takes human form, becomes incarnate and begins to walk among us as a living and breathing expression of God’s grace and truth. Word, deed, flesh and spirit all come together in Jesus, to show us most clearly what God desires for us. “No one has ever seen God,” claims John in his gospel. “It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
The word shall not return to God empty but shall accomplish God’s goals.
The word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
In 1985, Allen Carr wrote The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and 25 million people kicked the habit. Two years later, Randy Shilts wrote “And the Band Played On,” forcing the world to pay attention to AIDS.
In the early ’90s, Peter Kramer’s best seller “Listening to Prozac” got America popping pills in a whole new way. According to “mental_floss” magazine, Kramer noted that drugs such as Prozac seem to make many people—including those who aren’t depressed—more confident, less sensitive to rejection and more willing to try new things. The jury is still out, of course, on whether people who are not depressed should be popping Prozac.
In 2001, Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover as an unskilled laborer and attempted to survive on $5.15 per hour. Her book “Nickel and Dimed” was one of the forces that led to changes in minimum wage. And last summer, we watched in amazement as social-networking technologies spread news about the Iranian elections like wildfire. Nationwide protests erupted, fueled by Twitter, YouTube and cell-phone communication.
Matthew’s gospel begins with a history lesson. Mark’s begins with John the Baptist. Luke splits the difference by giving us a history lesson about John the Baptist. Oh but John, John gives us this wonderful poetically theological introduction that connects the beginning of the gospel with the beginning of all that has ever begun. “In the beginning” he writes; “in the beginning.”
There is no Messianic secret in this gospel. There is no time for us to spend wondering just when Jesus will reveal himself to the world. The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
Words have creative power and can actually change the world.
The Gospel teaches us that there are people in the world who do not know God, but it is through God’s words, the words that God gives us that we are able to take the Gospel into the world.
To recapture power of the Word, we must again learn to speak so that those who will hear us will understand we have something to say. And what a thing we have to say. We believe that faith makes a difference in our lives.
As the apostles shared with the world on the day of Pentecost, we too are called to share. Our stories tell others about who we are and whose we are. We all have stories, but we only share in the Pentecost when we share these stories. We are called to know our stories, the stories of our faith that shows others the difference a relationship with the triune God makes in our lives. And we must be able to communicate this story so that those with ears may hear. We, we who carry the cross of Christ into the world must learn to speak the Word so that the world may hear.
We can gain wisdom on this matter from ancient Celtic Christianity.[5] In 563 AD, about a century after the death of St. Patrick, Columba sought off to an island off of the western Scottish coast. This isle would be his base to reach the Picts of Scotland. Columba took a sizeable corps with him and they learned the culture of the Picts. They chose to pay the price to understand the Picts. Columba’s way of doing mission was the opposite of the model James Michener presented in his novel “Hawaii.” They learned about the people, their language, and their culture. They sent out teams from their island settlement—a little place called Iona—and in 100 years the Picts were significantly Christian.
The lessons we take from this is that there are people close to us who do not know the Word of God. We need to learn about how they speak and show them the Gospel in words they understand. Peter and the Apostles did this miraculously; Columba and the Iona community did this diligently. We need to learn how to share the story of faith so that those with ears may be able to hear the word of God.
So today, let us all regain the elemental presence of the Word. We come to the font of many blessings overflowing with living water and remember our baptism. We come to the table with the cup and the plate to partake in the food that feeds our bodies and our souls. We hear the Word proclaimed and even more so, we come to know the Word Incarnate, the Son of God.[6] Again, let us rejoice and as the Word was in the beginning with God, let us be with the Word now. As we are with the Word now, let us take the word out into the world.
[1] Book of Order, Directory for Worship, 2007-2009 Edition, W-2.1003
[2] Bradshaw, John, “Homecoming, Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child.” New York: Bantam Books, 1990, page 93.
[3] logos, BDAG, Greek-Hebrew Lexicon
[4] http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040502
[5] Hunter, George C. III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000, page 36.
[6] http://timelovesahero.blogspot.com/2009/05/unforeseen-hope.html
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:10-18
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
In the mid-80’s the R&B group Cameo brought suburban kids everywhere the expression “word up.” The band teaches us that “it’s the code word, no matter where you say it, you know it will be heard.” The video for the song, typical of 80’s R&B, starred LeVar Burton as “The Detective” and would have us believe the word is “cheesy.”
Those of you who enjoy movie musicals will remember that in the late 70’s, Frankie Valli taught us that “Grease is the word.” He sings “it’s got groove, it’s got meaning.” I say movie musicals because Frankie’s movie theme song was never in the stage version. Grease must not have been the word on Broadway.
We can go back deeper in the 70’s and listen to Billy Joel lament, “If I only had the words to tell you, if you only had the time to understand.” This was also about the time that Elton John taught the world that “‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word.”
Words, particularly words in music can teach us the power of words. Things like “sorry.” There are even words we use to explain that we don’t have the words to explain.
There is power in the word. There is power in the word. The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood. As for me, I absolutely love that the PC (USA) Book of Order’s Directory for Worship tells the church “Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer. Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever they gather for worship whether in church, home, or other special place.”[1]
When we were little we were taught to say “sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Honestly, don’t we all know that’s just a load? John Bradshaw turns this on its ear. He writes “Words are extremely powerful. Kind words can create a whole day of happiness. Critical words can put us in a funk for a week.” He finishes this thought turning that old expression on its ear, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will hurt you more.”[2]
John’s gospel begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood; Bradshaw reminds us that there is power in the word. Our reading from John also reminds us that there is power in the word. It is the distinctive teaching of the Fourth Gospel that this divine ‘Word’ took on human form in a historical person, that is, in Jesus.[3]
When Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet is asked a question about what he’s reading, he responds, “Words, words, words” — implying that the words in front of him are meaningless. And we’ve all been told at one time or another that what’s important are deeds, not words.[4]
Genesis shares the truth that “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” God didn’t build a light-generating apparatus but instead spoke light into being. Then God did the same for the sky, the land, the seas, the plants, the animals and even humankind itself. On each day of creation, God spoke a truly creative word.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God insists that “my word… shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” For God, “deeds, not words” really doesn’t make sense. The Lord doesn’t have to make a distinction between deeds and words. For God, words are deeds. God uses words to do God’s work.
The significance of God’s word reaches its peak in the New Testament, in which we learn that God’s “Word became flesh and lived among us” as Jesus. No longer simply to speech, God’s Word actually takes human form, becomes incarnate and begins to walk among us as a living and breathing expression of God’s grace and truth. Word, deed, flesh and spirit all come together in Jesus, to show us most clearly what God desires for us. “No one has ever seen God,” claims John in his gospel. “It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
The word shall not return to God empty but shall accomplish God’s goals.
The word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
In 1985, Allen Carr wrote The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and 25 million people kicked the habit. Two years later, Randy Shilts wrote “And the Band Played On,” forcing the world to pay attention to AIDS.
In the early ’90s, Peter Kramer’s best seller “Listening to Prozac” got America popping pills in a whole new way. According to “mental_floss” magazine, Kramer noted that drugs such as Prozac seem to make many people—including those who aren’t depressed—more confident, less sensitive to rejection and more willing to try new things. The jury is still out, of course, on whether people who are not depressed should be popping Prozac.
In 2001, Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover as an unskilled laborer and attempted to survive on $5.15 per hour. Her book “Nickel and Dimed” was one of the forces that led to changes in minimum wage. And last summer, we watched in amazement as social-networking technologies spread news about the Iranian elections like wildfire. Nationwide protests erupted, fueled by Twitter, YouTube and cell-phone communication.
Matthew’s gospel begins with a history lesson. Mark’s begins with John the Baptist. Luke splits the difference by giving us a history lesson about John the Baptist. Oh but John, John gives us this wonderful poetically theological introduction that connects the beginning of the gospel with the beginning of all that has ever begun. “In the beginning” he writes; “in the beginning.”
There is no Messianic secret in this gospel. There is no time for us to spend wondering just when Jesus will reveal himself to the world. The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
Words have creative power and can actually change the world.
The Gospel teaches us that there are people in the world who do not know God, but it is through God’s words, the words that God gives us that we are able to take the Gospel into the world.
To recapture power of the Word, we must again learn to speak so that those who will hear us will understand we have something to say. And what a thing we have to say. We believe that faith makes a difference in our lives.
As the apostles shared with the world on the day of Pentecost, we too are called to share. Our stories tell others about who we are and whose we are. We all have stories, but we only share in the Pentecost when we share these stories. We are called to know our stories, the stories of our faith that shows others the difference a relationship with the triune God makes in our lives. And we must be able to communicate this story so that those with ears may hear. We, we who carry the cross of Christ into the world must learn to speak the Word so that the world may hear.
We can gain wisdom on this matter from ancient Celtic Christianity.[5] In 563 AD, about a century after the death of St. Patrick, Columba sought off to an island off of the western Scottish coast. This isle would be his base to reach the Picts of Scotland. Columba took a sizeable corps with him and they learned the culture of the Picts. They chose to pay the price to understand the Picts. Columba’s way of doing mission was the opposite of the model James Michener presented in his novel “Hawaii.” They learned about the people, their language, and their culture. They sent out teams from their island settlement—a little place called Iona—and in 100 years the Picts were significantly Christian.
The lessons we take from this is that there are people close to us who do not know the Word of God. We need to learn about how they speak and show them the Gospel in words they understand. Peter and the Apostles did this miraculously; Columba and the Iona community did this diligently. We need to learn how to share the story of faith so that those with ears may be able to hear the word of God.
So today, let us all regain the elemental presence of the Word. We come to the font of many blessings overflowing with living water and remember our baptism. We come to the table with the cup and the plate to partake in the food that feeds our bodies and our souls. We hear the Word proclaimed and even more so, we come to know the Word Incarnate, the Son of God.[6] Again, let us rejoice and as the Word was in the beginning with God, let us be with the Word now. As we are with the Word now, let us take the word out into the world.
[1] Book of Order, Directory for Worship, 2007-2009 Edition, W-2.1003
[2] Bradshaw, John, “Homecoming, Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child.” New York: Bantam Books, 1990, page 93.
[3] logos, BDAG, Greek-Hebrew Lexicon
[4] http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040502
[5] Hunter, George C. III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000, page 36.
[6] http://timelovesahero.blogspot.com/2009/05/unforeseen-hope.html
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