O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our

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1 Sermon-1 Epiphany B-Jan. 11, 2015 Mark 1:4-11 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of our lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen. Every season of Advent and every season of Epiphany we hear the story of John the Baptist. I have preached on John over 100 times in my career, or you might say, you have already had to listen to my sermons about John many many times. So, I thought rather than subject you to yet another sermon about John the Baptist I would try to give you, THE BIG PICTURE. Epiphany is the season immediately following the 12 days of Christmas. The length of Epiphany varies, from 5 weeks to 9, and ends at Ash Wednesday. The word Epiphany means unveiling or revealing or manifestation. And we usually talk about it as a surprise, or as it s defined: a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.

2 As always there is a plan about what gospel lessons we hear each year. This is year B so our gospel reading is primarily from the Gospel of Mark. There are four stories that are always associated with the season of Epiphany-the first one is the coming of the magi, the wise men-that is the Epiphany Gospel-that story is only found in Matthew. We always hear that one on Jan. 6 (or this year on Jan. 4). The first Sunday (today) after the Epiphany we always hear the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. That story is found in all four gospels. When Jesus comes up out of the water we hear God say: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. This is an epiphany, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding for all the people standing around him at the Jordan. The 3 rd story that is associated with the season of Epiphany is Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We only hear this story once every 3 years, in year C, but it s only read on the 2 nd Sunday after Epiphany (next year). Next week we will hear the story not of turning water into wine at a wedding, but a story from John concerning the calling of Nathaniel. The story will use the phrase that is the theme for Epiphany- Come and see! Come and see what a savior looks like, come and see what God is doing, Come and see who God is sending to save us. Come and see who is calling us. And the last story of Epiphany is always read on the last Sunday after Epiphany (this year Feb. 15)-it s the story of the Transfiguration-Jesus on the mountaintop being transformed into a glowing figure. All of the stories told in Epiphany every year have to do with Jesus being revealed as the Christ to people who weren t expecting it, or prepared for it. Epiphany is the season of surprises, of revelations, Epiphany is supposed to be the season of the unexpected-come and see. Jesus comes up out of the water, and God says, This is how Jesus ministry begins You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. -

3 with God saying to him, I love you, you are mine. I bless you. And from that moment on, Jesus never turns away from the life he was called. I sometimes wonder, what if God hadn t spoken at Jesus baptism? Or what if God had said, wait a second, let s see how this goes then I ll say something. What if Jesus had never heard these words? From this moment on, Jesus begins to live a whole different, dangerous life-after this one sentence. It s as if God is saying, you are free now to follow your heart, to live on the edge, to do whatever it takes. You are free to be the hope of the world. This is one of the few stories that all four gospels have-words spoken from God at Jesus baptism. Here s today s revelation, today s epiphany-god speaks and says, you re my child, I love you. Fred Craddock is a well known homiletics professor. Which is to say he teaches preaching. He was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee many years back on vacation with his wife. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal just the two of them. While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking, whitehaired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife, I hope he doesn t come over here. He didn t want the man to intrude on their privacy. But the man did come by his table. Where you folks from? he asked amicably. Oklahoma, they said. The man responded: Splendid state, I hear, although I ve never been there. What do you do for a Living?" Fred told him: I teach homiletics. This got the gentleman going. Oh, so you teach preachers, do you. Well, I ve got a story I want to tell you. And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife. Craddock said he groaned inwardly: Oh no, here comes another preacher story. It seems everyone has one. The man stuck out his hand. I m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My

4 mother wasn t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunch-time because the teasing of my playmates cut so deeply. What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering just who my father was. When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. Who are you, son? Whose boy are you? I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down. But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. Wait a minute, he said, I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God. With that he slapped me on the shoulder and said, Boy you ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it. The man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, That was the most important single sentence ever said to me. With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to greet the people at another table. Suddenly, Fred Craddock remembered. not so many years ago the people of Tennessee had elected Ben Hooper as their governor. We re in the season of Epiphany, a time for revelation and the unexpected. Today s surprise was God speaking to Jesus about how much he loved him. No conditions, no strings, no restrictions. You re my child, I love you-bless you. Some days we need to hear the old familiar stories in new ways. Some days we need to look at our lives and realize that we are on a journey. Some days we need a different perspective on what we are going through, and what is happening to us.

5 We tell the baptismal story over and over not just because it was the start of Jesus ministry, but because it s the start of ours. We hear the words of God, You are my beloved, you have my blessing. Martin Luther suffered from great depression all his life. And whenever he was most discouraged he would repeat over and over the words that gave him the most reassurance, and the most strength in his doubts- I am baptized, I am baptized. And on the days when we are unsure, or worried, or doubting, or fearful, on the days we are at our lowest and feel most despised by everyone we repeat these words: God has released us to be a power in this world. Amen.

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