February 18, 2024
St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pennsburg, PA
Mark 1:9-15
The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
“Bap-tiza-toos Zum”!!!
The story goes is that in later life, Martin Luther often claimed to be “pestered” by the Devil, who would come into his study at night and taunt him with evil thoughts, and fill him with self-doubt.
In response, Luther would throw his inkwell at the Devil and proclaim “Bap-tiza-toos Zum” which was Latin for “I am baptized!”
A common theme for Luther, who saw Baptism as one of the greatest gifts of God, a true sign of freely given Grace.
Luther held his baptism as a protection from the evils of the world, because through Baptism we are made part of God’s family, loved deeply as a child of God…
And filled with the Spirit of his Baptism, Luther was able to reject the Devil and all his lies.
In this morning’s Gospel Mark tells us the story of Jesus’s Baptism in the Jordan River: which, even in Jesus’ day was not much bigger than the Perkiomen Creek.
As per the custom of the Essenes, we can assume that Jesus entered the river and John placed his hands on Jesus’ head and shoulder and then pushed Jesus under the water as he said the words of Baptism…
Jesus would have been fully immersed in the water until he was almost out of breath, and that was when John let him go.
With that, Jesus would have risen up out of the water and would have taken that first big breath of air as the heavens opened and a dove appeared as the voice of God spoke:
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
The Hebrew word “Ruach” is used for both for “breath” and for “spirit”, meaning that when Jesus emerged from the water and took that first big breath, he was breathing in the Holy Spirit!
He WAS Baptized!!!
And as a newly born child of God, Jesus left the waters of the Jordan, and we are told he was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness where he wandered for 40 days (meaning a long time).
Although we do not hear that story in today’s Gospel, we know from the other Gospel accounts that Jesus did not have an easy time in the wilderness.
This wilderness was a scrubland, a desert devoid of water or food where Jesus starved and was plagued by thirst as he went on his “Vison Quest”. Then, at his weakest, he too found himself “pestered” by the Devil, just like Luther was!
We can imagine that the Devil came to Jesus as a friend, saying something like “Jesus, my brother, you don’t deserve this trouble, you are the Son of God, you should not be suffering!”
Herein lies the true temptation: as the Devil encouraged Jesus to believe that he was too good to suffer, was beyond the needs of humanity, somehow better than the rest of us!
That he knew better than God…and deserved to be a king!
However, filled with the Holy Spirit, living his Baptism, Jesus was protected, and able to reject the Devil’s lies and empty promises, and to stay true to his calling: To go out into the wilderness of the world, and cry out that the Kingdom of God has come near, and is within our midst!
Looking at it this way, we can see that Jesus’s baptism was just the beginning!
As Baptism is meant to be…
For Baptism IS our welcome into God’s family, and a confirmation that we are surrounded and protected by God’s gracious love!
As Luther noted, it is a true gift from God!
And we can use this gift of love at those times when we too feel as if we are lost in the wilderness, facing our own demons, who tempt us to do things that are not good for us, but can seem so appealing.
Think of the recovering Alcoholic or Drug Addict, who has struggled with their demons, and found a solution and have been washed clean to emerge into a new life…
Only to be tempted again and again by the siren call of Addiction: the people, places and things that seek to pull them back to their old ways…who often come as a friendly and caring face, with the promise to make everything all right…
I had a friend, who found himself lost in the wilderness of Alcoholism, but after years of struggle he finally got the help he needed and found sobriety, and had come full circle and was helping others with their own struggles.
He had also found his faith and started going to church, and wanted to do something he had never done before: get Baptized!!
So, he went to his pastor and asked to be Baptized, to symbolize the renewal of his faith and of his life, after a long dark period of drinking.
The pastor was happy to help, and after weeks of study and review, the day came, and my friend was Baptized in the midst of his family, friends and the congregation.
Like with Jesus, this church did a full immersion for adults, and my friend was held under the water while the pastor said the words of the Baptismal Promise, and when my friend came up out of the water, he said he took a great big breath!
“Ruach”
And he told me that when he came out of the Baptismal pool, he was not only feeling refreshed, but renewed, and filled with the Holy Spirit, dead to his old life and truly beginning his new one!
I would love to say that my friend lived the rest of his life happy joyous and free, but that is not the case…Alcoholism does not just go away, we work on our recovery one day at a time!
And there were times when my friend still found himself pestered by the devil, being drawn back into the wilderness!
Old friends would come back into his life and offer him a drink…not understanding that they were playing with his life.
Then life, as it has a way of doing, would suddenly hand him a great big lump that he just couldn’t begin to swallow, and his old urges would arise, like the Devil in Luther’s corner: and would tempt him with the false comfort that comes at the bottom of the bottle…telling my friend lies he wanted to hear!
He shared with me, that these temptations were troubling and very real, and that along with what he learned through recovery support group, he was helped by remembering the words of his Baptism:
“…you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked by the cross of Christ forever”
This reminds me of Luther’s cry: “I am Baptized!”
For saying “I am Baptized” is a reminder that we are all children of God and surrounded by God’s unconditional love!
And this is the love that protects us as we make our way through our lives…facing our own Devils, as we are challenged by things that stress us out, like parenting, work, finances and in some cases: Addiction of all kinds.
As we face shame and stigma, anger and resentment…
Remembering our Baptism is also important as we move into the wilderness of Lent, making that difficult journey towards the cross!
In many ways, Lent is about looking forward, not just to the cross, but beyond: to the brightness of Easter morning…to the promise that the Holy Spirit is ours as well!
But we have a stony road to trod before we can get there…and it can be filled with the Devils of temptation and self-doubts.
That’s why Lent can be a good time to let go of these things we no longer need, to lighten our journey…to give up what no longer works for us!
Like Luther, we can see Baptism our shield and protection through life, not only because it is a sign that we are children of God, but also because we all share in the same Baptismal promise that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked by the cross of Christ forever.
That with the very breath we breathe, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and protected from those Devils that can pester us.
Once protected, we can turn these things over to the care of the Holy Spirit, and this will free us to do the good that is within us…
And do what Jesus calls upon us to do: follow him as we proclaim the good news to the world…
The good news that God Loves us, just as we and right where we are…
We share this good news by helping others, offering a welcome into our community, as well as into our church…and our lives, offering people support and friendship when they need it most!
When we reach out to help others in need, and break the stigma of things like addiction, mental illness, and poverty…
When we support the homeless, by seeing that they can get to shelter, and get fed, on nights when the temperature drops, the snow falls, and rains come.
And when we let go of our resentment, anger and shame, and embrace each other as fellow children of God…no matter who they are!
When we call for unity and compromise, joining together to share God’s grace, putting aside all that seems to want to divide us…we will see we have much more that brings us together than keeps us apart.
When we live our Baptism on a daily basis…remembering that we have been washed clean and filled with the Holy Spirit…
We are proclaiming the good news that the Kingdom of God is not in the far-off Heavens, but becoming a reality right here, where we are, and grows stronger the more we work together…
When we share this good news, we give hope to our broken world…a world that is often struggling with evil thoughts and self-doubt, and that is in desperate need of the healing and renewal promised in the words “I am Baptized!”
“Bap-tiza-toos Zum”!!!
Amen.
Ordinary Adventures 