Torn Apart and Filled with Love
Sermon for 1-11-2009
Scripture: Acts 19:1-7, Mark1:4-11
“No shepherds. No angels. No Magi. No star. No stable. Not a word about Mary and Joseph. Mark's story of Jesus begins at the river: "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." There's no list of ancestors. None of the cosmic wonder that opens John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Mark's word is far more ordinary and direct" "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Jesus entered the river with others to be washed in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”1
We are so familiar with the first chapters of Matthew and Luke, filled with the Christmas stories. John’s Gospel is less familiar but we have heard the more metaphysical beginnings of Jesus as the Word and the light shining in the darkness. Mark gets right to Jesus’ baptism, filled with the drama of the heavens being torn apart and a Spirit descending on him like a dove. And then most amazing, the Word comes from God that Jesus is his son, the Beloved! It’s unclear as to whether or not this voice is a public or private voice. We don’t know if anyone else heard God’s voice or if it was heard only by Jesus. Did anyone else see the heavens torn apart or just Jesus? By the way, in Matthew and Luke it says the heavens are opened up, not torn apart. The word for torn apart in Mark comes from the Greek scizomevnou, meaning “to divide by use of force, split, divide, separate, tear apart…” the root for our word schizophrenic. It is not used again in Mark except at the time of Jesus’ death when he speaks of the veil of the Temple, being “torn in two, from top to bottom”2
For Mark’s Jesus, the world would never be the same again—the heavens would never be able to close up as tightly as before this happened. Barbara Lundblad in a sermon on this topic suggests that at this point Jesus begins to tear apart the pictures of whom the Messiah was suppose to be:
When Mark’s narrative continues, we are told that the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. Those of us who know the story know that Jesus will be there for 40 days, being tempted by Satan. So there’s no doubt about this baptism leading Jesus to a new place.
Have you ever had a time in your life when your whole world changed? For some of our more evangelical church family, they may tell you it was the time when they were born again. For some of you that were baptized as adults, it might have been the time when you decided to be baptized. For most of us there are many moments, small and large that have impact on our life, that are defining moments. Maybe baptism itself, especially for those of us baptized as infants, should be thought of as not a once for all event but an invitation to constant growth.
Often it’s when we find a torn place in our lives that we can go forth in a new way, do a new thing. Maybe it is in those torn places that we can hear Jesus calling us. I always remember how the Chinese symbol for crisis is made up of two symbols: danger and opportunity. What are these torn places? A loss through death or divorce, a loss of function such as seeing, hearing, walking, or the ability to be independent are significant ones. Also, a relocation, both voluntary or involuntary, maybe my experience in India will be a torn place of change for me. It’s a radical change of some sort in your life.
In our Gospel lesson today there is another significant aspect that allows Jesus (and us) to be able to break away from the old and go on with the new and that is, knowing that we are loved. God tells Jesus that he is the Beloved, one in whom God is well pleased. Some of us are fortunate enough to have family that let us know in no uncertain way that we are loved. Others are not so fortunate. Henri Nouwen reminds us that in baptism God says, “All I want to say to you is: You are the beloved, and all I hope is that you can hear these words with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being… You are the beloved.” Whatever your situation, there is God’s love to inspire you, to comfort you, to give you confidence. I believe that one of the greatest duties of the church is to let the people know about God’s love. Can you imagine yourself as beloved? Can you imagine every woman, man, and child sitting here today as God’s beloved? What about your neighbors, those you work with, those you go to school with? If we each were to think about ourselves and each other as God’s beloved, do you think it would make a difference in our actions, how we treat each other, how we make laws and policies in our governments?
God comes to us through torn apart heavens and troubling waters. I love the Negro Spiritual, “Wade in the Water”, which is said to be a coded song telling the Negro slaves ways to escape to their freedom, covering their tracks and scent by entering the water. I wonder what it means for God to be troubling the waters in our life. Is troubled water a necessary part of our journey to be free?
Baptism is one of only two sacraments in the United Church of Christ. A sacrament means an outward and visible sign of an inward, spiritual grace given by God. When a baptism is performed, we are exhorted to remember our own baptism. Remembering helps us know who and whose we are; it reminds us that we are God’s beloved; it can help us find an equilibrium that is necessary when our heaven is torn apart or when God is “troublin’ the waters”. At this time I am going to walk up and down the aisles sprinkling you with water as a ritual for you to remember your own baptism, remember how you are God’s beloved sons and daughters. It’s also a way that I want to bless you as I leave for my Sabbatical to India. As the water is sprayed, please know that you are not only God’s beloved but that each of you is also very special to me. No matter where you are or where I am, may the water remind us of the Holy Spirit and of that special connection that we have. Amen!
1 Barbara Lundblad, “Torn apart Forever”, online sermon.
2 Mark 15:38-9)
3 Op.cit
Scripture: Acts 19:1-7, Mark1:4-11
“No shepherds. No angels. No Magi. No star. No stable. Not a word about Mary and Joseph. Mark's story of Jesus begins at the river: "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." There's no list of ancestors. None of the cosmic wonder that opens John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Mark's word is far more ordinary and direct" "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Jesus entered the river with others to be washed in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”1
We are so familiar with the first chapters of Matthew and Luke, filled with the Christmas stories. John’s Gospel is less familiar but we have heard the more metaphysical beginnings of Jesus as the Word and the light shining in the darkness. Mark gets right to Jesus’ baptism, filled with the drama of the heavens being torn apart and a Spirit descending on him like a dove. And then most amazing, the Word comes from God that Jesus is his son, the Beloved! It’s unclear as to whether or not this voice is a public or private voice. We don’t know if anyone else heard God’s voice or if it was heard only by Jesus. Did anyone else see the heavens torn apart or just Jesus? By the way, in Matthew and Luke it says the heavens are opened up, not torn apart. The word for torn apart in Mark comes from the Greek scizomevnou, meaning “to divide by use of force, split, divide, separate, tear apart…” the root for our word schizophrenic. It is not used again in Mark except at the time of Jesus’ death when he speaks of the veil of the Temple, being “torn in two, from top to bottom”2
For Mark’s Jesus, the world would never be the same again—the heavens would never be able to close up as tightly as before this happened. Barbara Lundblad in a sermon on this topic suggests that at this point Jesus begins to tear apart the pictures of whom the Messiah was suppose to be:
Tearing apart the social fabric that separated rich from poor.
Breaking
through hardness of heart to bring forth compassion.
Breaking through
rituals that had grown rigid or routine.
Tearing apart the chains that bound
some in the demon's power.
Tearing apart the notions of what it means to be
God's Beloved Son. 3
When Mark’s narrative continues, we are told that the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. Those of us who know the story know that Jesus will be there for 40 days, being tempted by Satan. So there’s no doubt about this baptism leading Jesus to a new place.
Have you ever had a time in your life when your whole world changed? For some of our more evangelical church family, they may tell you it was the time when they were born again. For some of you that were baptized as adults, it might have been the time when you decided to be baptized. For most of us there are many moments, small and large that have impact on our life, that are defining moments. Maybe baptism itself, especially for those of us baptized as infants, should be thought of as not a once for all event but an invitation to constant growth.
Often it’s when we find a torn place in our lives that we can go forth in a new way, do a new thing. Maybe it is in those torn places that we can hear Jesus calling us. I always remember how the Chinese symbol for crisis is made up of two symbols: danger and opportunity. What are these torn places? A loss through death or divorce, a loss of function such as seeing, hearing, walking, or the ability to be independent are significant ones. Also, a relocation, both voluntary or involuntary, maybe my experience in India will be a torn place of change for me. It’s a radical change of some sort in your life.
In our Gospel lesson today there is another significant aspect that allows Jesus (and us) to be able to break away from the old and go on with the new and that is, knowing that we are loved. God tells Jesus that he is the Beloved, one in whom God is well pleased. Some of us are fortunate enough to have family that let us know in no uncertain way that we are loved. Others are not so fortunate. Henri Nouwen reminds us that in baptism God says, “All I want to say to you is: You are the beloved, and all I hope is that you can hear these words with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being… You are the beloved.” Whatever your situation, there is God’s love to inspire you, to comfort you, to give you confidence. I believe that one of the greatest duties of the church is to let the people know about God’s love. Can you imagine yourself as beloved? Can you imagine every woman, man, and child sitting here today as God’s beloved? What about your neighbors, those you work with, those you go to school with? If we each were to think about ourselves and each other as God’s beloved, do you think it would make a difference in our actions, how we treat each other, how we make laws and policies in our governments?
God comes to us through torn apart heavens and troubling waters. I love the Negro Spiritual, “Wade in the Water”, which is said to be a coded song telling the Negro slaves ways to escape to their freedom, covering their tracks and scent by entering the water. I wonder what it means for God to be troubling the waters in our life. Is troubled water a necessary part of our journey to be free?
Baptism is one of only two sacraments in the United Church of Christ. A sacrament means an outward and visible sign of an inward, spiritual grace given by God. When a baptism is performed, we are exhorted to remember our own baptism. Remembering helps us know who and whose we are; it reminds us that we are God’s beloved; it can help us find an equilibrium that is necessary when our heaven is torn apart or when God is “troublin’ the waters”. At this time I am going to walk up and down the aisles sprinkling you with water as a ritual for you to remember your own baptism, remember how you are God’s beloved sons and daughters. It’s also a way that I want to bless you as I leave for my Sabbatical to India. As the water is sprayed, please know that you are not only God’s beloved but that each of you is also very special to me. No matter where you are or where I am, may the water remind us of the Holy Spirit and of that special connection that we have. Amen!
1 Barbara Lundblad, “Torn apart Forever”, online sermon.
2 Mark 15:38-9)
3 Op.cit
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 10:00 AM
<< Home