Reflections...

A sermon preached on Sunday, 7th January 2007 at Kowloon Union Church by Rev. Hans Lutz on Mark 1:9-11. The Bible readings for that day were Psalm 85, Philippians 2:5-11 and Mark 1:9-11.


I
In Mark’s gospel the baptism is the first thing we hear about Jesus. Mark’s gospel says nothing about the birth of Jesus and events surrounding it. So the baptism of Jesus is very important. Through it we learn who Jesus is and what ministry he is given. He is the beloved, the only son of his heavenly father, and he is going to fulfill the ministry of servant of God outlined in the book of Isaiah.

II
The baptism of Jesus is told devoid of any details in a single sentence. The emphasis is not on the baptism itself, but on what God is doing in connection with it. At the moment Jesus came out of the water, he saw the heavens open. God was about to reach out to Jesus and act towards him. God’s Spirit, like a dove, descended on Jesus. The descending of the Spirit means the legitimation of a person, his or her empowerment for a task.

Jesus confirmed this later when he read from the book of Isaiah the words “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the broken victims go free and to proclaim the year of God’s favour”, and added “This text has come true.”

When the Spirit descended on Jesus, a voice spoke from heaven, “Thou art my Son, my beloved; on thee my favour rests.” It is agreed that these words are taken from the book of Isaiah 42, 1, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.” The word for “servant” can also mean “son”. With these words God the Father designated Jesus as the one who was going to fulfill the ministry of God’s servant, who will be the light of the nations, who will suffer and die for others.

III
Why did Jesus ask to be baptized by John? The baptism of John the Baptist is in repentance and for the forgiveness of sins in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah and has no sin. Why then does he undergo the baptism for the forgiveness of sins?

Baptism is part of Jesus’ becoming man. By undergoing baptism Jesus enters into solidarity with us sinners.

What is the meaning of solidarity? It means doing something for others on a voluntary basis, something which I do despite not having to do it, and to do it even if it costs me.

Solidarity is an important virtue of the labour movement. Workers have been known to go on strike in support of workers from another industry or even another country. For example Australian dock workers have gone on strike in support of Indonesian seaman whose working conditions violated international labour conventions. They gave up their own wages in order to help others.

During Second World War priests from France joined French workers who were sent to Germany in order to work in factories there. The priests did so incognito and at high risk to themselves, because to do so was strictly forbidden by the German authorities. Their experience was the origin of the workers priests.

We express solidarity by signing petitions, taking part in vigils and marches.

IV
By undergoing baptism Jesus entered into solidarity with us who are sinners. He did not have to do it, but he did so out of his own free will. And he paid the price for his choice. The gospel of John lets John the Baptist say, when he saw Jesus coming towards him, “Behold the lamb of God that carries the sins of the world.” Jesus is the suffering servant who is going to die for our sins.

He who is without sin lowered himself to receive the baptism of sinners. At that moment he received the Spirit and was declared Son of God. The humiliation is followed by exaltation.

The early church has expressed this in the hymn which is found in the letter to the Philippians : “He assumed the nature of a slave. He humbled himself… Therefore God raised him to the heights and bestowed on him the name above all names….”