A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

show them the love

Mark 1:4-11, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, January 18, 2009

An astronomer and a pastor were talking. The astronomer said, “You know, pastor, with all due respect to Christianity, there is not much to theology. Everything I ever learned I was taught in my first day of Sunday school: “Jesus loves me this I know.” The pastor thought for a moment and then said, “You know, professor, with all due respect to science, there’s not much to astronomy, is there. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star.” If I had to take sides on this one, I’d have to agree with the astronomer. Now to live out what we believe is true is a different matter.

Our text is an interesting piece, though probably well known by most here. Jesus gets baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer and he hears a special message from his Father: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Just so you know, the word baptism or any of its derivatives cannot be found in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Baptism was not an official part of Judaism as it reshaped itself during and after the Exile in Babylon (most of the sixth century B.C.). Baptism was, however, practiced unofficially by some Jewish people in the century before and after Jesus' birth. In this context, baptism was a sign of general repentance and thus could be repeated, like altar calls in Baptist churches. Now at Qumran on the west side of the Dead Sea, during Jesus’ lifetime a particular community of Jews known as Essenes practiced a baptism of repentance. Some scholars think this group may have influenced John's ministry. Throughout Jewish history it had been traditional for Jews to demonstrate outwardly an inward repentance. They would do that through washing ceremonies. John’s ministry from God was as you may know to preach repentance in order to be prepared for the kingdom of heaven and the arrival of the Messiah. The people who accepted that message and desired to repent came to John, repented, and demonstrated their repentance in baptism. They were a people being made ready for the coming of the Messiah. So it was a Jewish washing as they prepared themselves for the arrival of the Messiah internally in their heart and demonstrated that commitment externally in their baptism.

Now when it comes to Christian baptism, there is a difference. We don’t just wash. We also do something more significant. Christian baptism is identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the United Church of Christ Book of Worship states: “Baptism is the sacrament through which we are united to Jesus Christ and given part in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation…. (Baptism) shows the death of self and the rising to a life of obedience and praise.” As for the washing aspect of baptism, the Book tells us: “In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the Spirit, and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people always.” Sounds like a good soul-scrubbing to me.

But now that we’ve gone through all of this, let’s move forward to the man who is waist deep in water and to the message he hears when he rises up out of the water. Normally to understand what God accomplishes in Jesus Christ we ought to keep in mind the statement: What God does to Jesus, God does for us. The passion and resurrection come to mind. But what is different about today’s scene is that here we have just the opposite. This time we should think instead that what God does for Jesus, God does to us. What happened at the Jordan is a Father telling his Son he loves him. That’s as simple as I can put it. God the Father showed his love to his Son. God did this to him so that Jesus might hear and know he is loved. How many times have we heard that this single utterance was missing between a human father and son, and what a sad and despairing difference it made. You know we often think of God as the one who is far and away, creator almighty, magnificent in majesty, but close and loving, well that is what we hear, you know God is love, but don’t often believe. John the Apostle writes late in the New Testament, “God is Love.” We also know John 3:16: “For God so loved the world….” But they both seem rather impersonal; one feels mostly like a definition of God’s nature, the other a generalized declaration of love for a ubiquitous entity called “the world.” But at the very beginning of Mark’s gospel, only ten verses in, this God, this Father, tells his Son he is his beloved, and he is so proud of him. Before Jesus has done anything, way before Jesus has risen to the task his dad sets before him, before Jesus has truly proven himself worthy of such affection, God declares an unbounded devotion to him. This is no impersonal, generalized attention. God has gone way beyond the boundaries of good, common (divine) sense.

I believe it is most important to declare one’s love for a child when perhaps it is the most difficult to do so, not that this is Jesus’ case. My point is simply that if a parent feels distant toward his child, you can bet that the child, young or grown up, feels it even more. It is the parent’s responsibility to relearn, if necessary, the depths of his or her love and devotion to the child, and to bless the beloved with speaking it. I say this because our scripture tells us this is God’s way toward Jesus. Before the son proves his worth, the father tells him he is loved, which shows that the basis for love can never be that of good performance of expectations fulfilled. As we say, nobody is perfect and all have failed to live up to the grandeur and value of another’s love for us. So show the love that others need to hear. Don’t be afraid to change the pattern of a relationship. Find a way to recapture the spark and truth of your feeling for your once and forever beloved.

Of course this isn’t true of just this one relationship. Ever heard of the word Shmily? Actually, it’s not a real word. It’s a word one couple made up. According to a granddaughter, the story goes: Grandfather would stuff little notes with the word "Shmily" in Grandmother's sock drawer. Grandmother would trace the word "Shmily" in the steam on the bathroom mirror so Grandfather would see it when he took his morning shower. Over the years, they competed to see who could find the most creative way to leave a "Shmily" note for the other. And when Grandmother lost her ten-year fight against cancer, her casket was wreathed with a huge bouquet of flowers. On the yellow ribbon around the bouquet was that one word, "Shmily." The thing that held her grandparents' marriage together, the thing that nourished them in life and sustained them in death: Shmily. What does Shmily mean? S-h-m-i-l-y: “See how much I love you.”

Now I’m sure not every moment between these two were shmily moments. You know what I mean? And I am sure not every moment we experience in life is a shmily moment when we think in terms of our expectations of God. But God plays shmily with us all over the place, at all times, and in all types of circumstances, situations, and conditions.  As scripture says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lam 3:22-23 Scripture makes no promise that you will always feel loved, nor that circumstances will always make it obvious that you are loved. God simply promises that you are loved.

A five-year-old child approached her mom one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?" Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." This goes along very well with the teacher who, for reasons of his own, asked the kids one day, "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?" Think about it. What color would you be? Red or Green? It is a tough question isn't it when you pose only two options. One very wise child: "Striped." Now whether we are the good kid painted green with red stripes or we are the bad kids painted red with green stripes is an important question. Scripture answers we are the former, green with red stripes, created by a green God in a green God’s image. And we are lovable even when we’ve played too long in cans of red paint.

There is a story of an ocean liner headed to the Middle East. Nine hundred miles out to sea a sail was sighted on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, the passengers saw that the boat, a small sloop flying a Turkish flag, had run up a distress signal and other flags asking for its position at sea. Through a faulty chronometer or immature navigation the small vessel had become lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the little boat, giving its crew correct latitude and longitude. Naturally there was a great deal of interest in all the proceeding among the passengers of the liner. A passenger standing on the deck remarked aloud to himself, "It's a big ocean to be lost in." The truth is it’s a big universe to be lost in too. And we do get lost; we get mixed up and turned around. We despair, we make mistakes, we do evil to each other. We don’t necessarily deserve the goodness we get. Jesus understood God. Christ came from God. He knew God as a Shepherd in search of the one lost sheep. He knew God as a woman searching in the dark, in the crevasses, for that valuable coin. He knew God to be the Father who loved him, and who wanted to share such love with all of us. So believe in this love. Make no mistake; we love God because God loves us first. We are loved by God.

This love is indescribable but an old Jewish legend does a pretty good job. It describes what happened when God created humanity. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; 'Create him not. If you do he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.' The Angel of Truth said, 'Create him not. If you do he will be false and deceitful to his sister and brother and even to you.' The Angel of Holiness stood and said; 'Create him not. If you do he will follow what’s impure in your sight, and dishonor you to your face.' Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God's most beloved angel, and said; 'Create him, for when they sin and turn from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take them tenderly by the hand, speak loving words to them, and lead them back to you.' Love will conquer all.

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