Baptism by Fire Baptism of the Lord January 13, 2019 Jill R. Russell. Texts: Isaiah , Psalm 29, Acts , Luke 3.

Transcription

1 Baptism by Fire Baptism of the Lord January 13, 2019 Jill R. Russell Texts: Isaiah , Psalm 29, Acts , Luke , If the beginning of the gospel lesson for today feels like déjà vu, that s because it is. We read this passage back on December 16 th. I m not sure why the lectionary gives us the fire and brimstone of John the Baptist twice in one month s time. But I know we read it because Pastor Gordon and I led the adult education bible study that morning and we talked about this phrase from John s preaching about the chaff (that) will burn with unquenchable fire. 1 In our study, people recognized that when you read these verses in the context of the whole of the scriptures both the Old and New testaments, clearly the separating of wheat from chaff is not the separating of people. Some to heaven and some to hell. It is hard to square that meaning for this metaphor when you set this passage from Luke alongside the promise of Isaiah today: when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 2 A quick investigation of our own life will show us that clearly the wheat and the chaff live side by side in each of us. I can go back through any given day and do that dividing work. And what I would give for the chaff parts of me to be burned away! The parts that rush to judgment or that lash out when I am in pain or anger. The parts that turn from the obvious need in front of me toward something more pleasant and less demanding. That chaff would you please burn it to the ground? Once and for all! But this isn t about our baptism today; it is about the baptism of our Lord. So why I am talking about chaff and wheat that stand side by side? Surely, 1 Luke 3.17, NRSV 2 Isaiah 43.2, NRSV 1

2 he was not in need of a baptism by fire; no chaff intruding on the wheat inside of him. Or was there? If you look at what comes right after the story of Jesus baptism you will find the long list of Jesus ancestors which includes son of Nathan, son of David, son of Jesse 3 David. He was the case in point we discussed in that Advent bible study. A man who after being called by God was engaged in all manner of deception and abuse and even murder. This is the line from which Jesus comes which is to say he was fully human. The very next story is the story of his temptation where Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan (where he was baptized) and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. 4 Which is to say he was fully human. Luke goes to great pains in the way he tells this story to demonstrate that when Jesus entered into this life, he entered into the frailty that comes with being human. While we profess that he was also fully divine that divinity did not erase his humanity. It did not surround his humanity like a bullet proof vest. He may not have needed the waters of baptism for the cleansing of sin in the same way that you and I might need these waters. But he did need these waters and the memory of what these waters represent. They are sign and seal, our liturgy teaches, not just of God s promise of grace to forgive us but also to adopt and claim us and to send the Holy Spirit daily to renew and to cleanse us and to resurrect us to eternal life. I have come to believe that eternal life is not just about life after death. It is also about living the life that is really life 5 where we love God and we love our neighbor as we love ourselves (which means that we must first love ourselves). In the gospel of John, Jesus says I know that God s commandment is eternal life. 6 The teaching of Jesus the good news that he shared and showed to us - that way of life IS eternal life. Yes, Jesus needed these waters because in his humanity he had demons to wrestle to the ground just like the rest of us. False narratives about what our needs truly are, about where our success will be found, about who can 3 Luke , NRSV 4 Luke 4.1-2, NRSV 5 See this phrase in 1 Timothy 6.19, NRSV 6 John 12.50, NRSV 2

3 keep us safe and how that security will be built. These were the themes of his temptation and they continue to be themes of ours. Jesus needed these waters because chaff can come from within and it can come from without. Luke reminds us as we read these origin stories for Jesus ministry that the barriers to living the life that is really life come not just from powers that are personal and internal. The barriers also come from powers the are political and structural. The lectionary invited us to skip over those verses about Herod throwing John in prison because John dared to rebuke him. But we cannot skip those verses. Some of the fires that burn across the landscape of a life come from trials not of your own making. You get scorched as John did and as Jesus will when you speak the truth; when the justice for which you labor hits a little close to home among those who are not accustomed to being held accountable. They lash back with violence and destruction. Sometimes in the form of character assassination and sometimes in the form of assassination-assassination. That s what happened to John and that s what will happen to Jesus. It takes courage sometimes to speak the good news and not let fear harden the heart or weaponize your words or your fists or your feet. If Jesus needed these waters that refresh and sustain and remind us of who we are, then you better believe that you and I need these waters. Living into our baptismal identity is a life long journey of separating wheat from chaff. I want to share a witness this morning of someone I recently heard - a poet named Rudy Francisco. When I heard his piece The Heart and The Fist it resonated with this sense of life-long call. He performs this as slam poetry, and I will not try to pull that off! You need to hear it in his voice so I am sharing a link to his performing of this piece below. 7 It s a lengthy piece, so settle in as you hear it. 7 Before clicking on this link to watch Rudy Francisco sharing his original poem, be aware that he includes a profane word twice in the middle of the poem that I edited out when sharing this in worship. 3

4 Rudy Francisco poem "The Heart and The Fist" And the article says, 'The Mexican government confiscates approximately 30,000 illegal firearms per year.' When the guns are taken they get dismantled and the metal is used to make other types of weapons that will later be utilized by their military. In 2012, Pedro Reyes, an artist from Mexico City, convinced his government to donate the guns to him and he turned them into musical instruments. So somewhere there's a tambourine, a drum set, a guitar, All made by things that were used to take people's lives, But now they create sound that puts life back into people's bodies, Which is you say a weapon will always be a weapon, But we choose how we fight the war, And from this I learned that even the most destructive instruments can still create a melody worth dancing to, And sometimes don't we also call that a battle? I wonder how long it took to convince the first rifle that it can hold a note instead of a bullet but still fire into a crowd and make everyone move. When I was 6 I was taught how to throw a punch, And in the 80s that was the Anti Bullying Movement. The first time one of my classmates took a 'Yo Mama' joke a little too far I remembered my training, So I turned his nose into a fountain. My fist 5 pennies, I closed my eyes, Made a wish, I came home with bloody knuckles and it was the first piece of artwork my family hung on the fridge. I remember staring at my hands the same way you stare at a midterm when all your answers are correct. I didn't know what class this was, But I did know I was passing, And isn't that what masculinity has become? 4

5 A bunch of dudes afraid of their own feelings, Terrified of any emotion but anger, Yelling at the shadow on the wall, But still haven't realized that we're the ones standing in front of the light. We learn how to dodge and jab. We learn how to step in before we swing. We learn that the heart is the same size as the fist, But we keep forgetting they don't have the same functions. We keep telling each other to man * up When we don't know what * that even means. We turn our boys into bayonets, We point them in the wrong direction, We pull their triggers, And then we just ignore all the damage they're doing in the distance. The word repurpose, It means to take an object and give it amnesia. It means to make something forget what it's been trained to do so you can use it for a better reason. I am learning that this body is not a shotgun. I am learning that this body is not a pistol. I am learning that a man is not defined by what he can destroy. I am learning that a person who only knows how to fight can only communicate in violence, And that shouldn't be anyone's first language. I'm learning that the only difference between a garden and a graveyard is what you choose to put in the ground. You see, once, I came across a picture of a strange-looking violin. The caption said that it was made out of a rifle. I thought to myself, 'Someday that could be me'. *profanity removed His story may not be your story or my story or maybe it is. I share it to encourage of us today to let the Spirit do this work in us of baptism by fire; burning the chaff and protecting or repurposing the wheat. 5

6 But it begins with remembering who we are; how we were made and what we are here for. So in the silence of our closing prayer feel free to come forward and touch the baptism waters or to stay where you are and pray the breath that prayer 8 I shared with the children. In whatever way you can, take in this promise from Isaiah when God speak to us saying, I have called you by name. You are mine. Thanks be to God! 8 I taught the children how to take a phrase from scripture and think about it while breathing in and then another phrase while breathing out. In this case it was from Isaiah Inhale I have called you by name and exhale You are mine. 6

7 The gospel for today comes from Luke chapter 3 beginning at verse 15 Luke As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. 7