In Jesus Holy Name December 10, 2023
Text: Mark 1:1 Advent II Redeemer
“Christmas Trees and Nativity Sets”
We know that Christmas is just around the corner. Christmas tree lots are packed with visitors. Our homes and churches are decorated. Soon presents will be wrapped and placed under our trees. I love the new "Hallow" commercial by the Roman Catholic Church. As the commercial begins you see a man walking into his home with his arms overflowing with lots of presents. As he drops them on the floor he says: “Christmas is not about presents but about the birth of Jesus.”
As you walk into our church you’ll see the nativity set on display. My wife, Colleen, loves to collect “nativity” scenes. They were purchased in Norway, Iceland, Israel, Peru or Truckee. They are on display all year long, a reminder every day that God entered our world in the person of Jesus.
So it might seen unusual this morning to read the opening verse from the Gospel of Mark as he begins with these words: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark gets right to the point…. There is no time to tell the story of the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph. Nor does he have time to include the story of the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. God’s grand design from the beginning of creation was to come Himself and break the power of Satan by providing His own blood (Acts 20:28) on the cross and then verifies forgiveness and eternal life by His own resurrection from the grave. Mark simple begins: “Let me introduce you to Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Messiah.”
The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have a total of 89 chapters. Of those 89 chapters, only about three chapters are about the birth of Jesus. Why is that? Because they want their readers to focus on the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as the fulfilment of the promise of God to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob and their descendants, the long awaited promise for a redeemer has arrived.
Mark quotes Isaiah the prophet: 'Behold, I send my messenger before you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Mk 1:4
John is a child of the desert. Leathery face. Tanned skin. Clothing of animal skins. What he owned fit in a pouch. His walls were mountains and his ceiling the stars. His was a courageous voice of repentance. Unfortunately, his message was not accepted by all. Herod rejected repentance and eventually John lost his head. (quote from Max Lucado)
John invited people to step into the water and be baptized. He called for action. . Would you feel comfortable marrying someone who wanted to keep the marriage a secret? (probably not) Neither does God. It’s one thing to say in the privacy of your own heart that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. But it’s quite another to walk out of the shadow and stand before family, friends and colleagues to state publicly that Christ is your forgiver and Savior and you want to be baptized.
Baptism is like a marriage covenant. It is more than a personal commitment to a local church which you are joining. No, in baptism you are accepting the forgiveness of Jesus earned at the cross. You are making a commitment to step across the threshold into the “kingdom” of Jesus. It is a one time event connecting you to Jesus.
Baptism reveals the beauty of the cross and the cost of our broken commandments. Baptism brings: Cleansing. Renewal. Repentance, Forgiveness, and the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit On the day of Pentecost Peter was clear: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is for you and your children. ….” . (Acts 2:38) The power of baptism rests not in the drops of water, but the water combined, infused with the promises of God. (Martin Luther) It is God’s mark of ownership. God’s promise of forgiveness. .
This action of being baptized with water is a public statement. Jesus commanded all his followers to prove it, to make the pledge, by public demonstration in baptism. Among his final words was the universal command to “go and make disciples of all people in all the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19).
It may seem odd to some that this untamed, locust eating figure, John the Baptist is one of the key figures in celebrating the Christmas season. His wild and probing message continues to cry in urgency. “Are you ready.” It is a cry to prepare for the “doctrine of the Incarnation.” God coming in flesh and bone. Are you ready to respond to the infant that came into the world through a virgin, found resting in a wooden manger. He is the great “I Am”.
What is the name of that TV game show where they call your name and say: "Come on down"? (let them answer) You can see John waving his arms…”Come on down”, repent, Come on down, step into the water. The Messiah is coming.”
I love my GPS. Have you ever watched the little Google car traveling you neighbor hood recording streets, dead end streets, addresses. How that works at every upcoming exit I don’t know. But I have yet to decide if I want my “google” GPS voice to have a British accent or American accent from the south. Have you ever wondered by the voice is a woman’s voice and not a man’s voice?
I can guarantee that if I make a wrong turn, I hear the word…. “recalculating”
Sometimes the soft female voice will say..…. “turn around” or “make a U turn”. Repent means to stop walking away from God and turn back to God because He is patient and desires that all people come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness and eternal life.
Since the human fall into sin, ever since Adam and Eve, and we are just guilty as they, by listening to the “voice” that compels us to be selfish or to be our own “god”. God has been listening as individuals tried to justify their sins, explain their transgressions, make excuses for their disobedience. You need read no further than the first few chapters of Genesis to see this is so. When the Lord caught the first two people who broke “one” commandment, Adam and Eve, they didn't say, "Oops! You got us there Lord. Yes, we disobedient." That would have been too easy.
Adam, said, "Maybe I did, but I only did so on the advice from my wife... who, by the way is the woman that You gave me Lord." You see, in Adam's eyes, he might have been kind of guilty... but the real culprits were Eve and the Lord, Himself. When God approached Eve, she had an excuse too. She said, "It's true, Lord. I did sin... but I only did so after receiving some expert advice from... from... that talking snake that You created.
You see how it goes. Adam and Eve had children. Cain and Abel were the first. As you know, boys will be boys and it didn't take too long before Cain, in a fit of blind jealousy and rage, to kill his brother and dispose of the corpse. When God came to visit with the two brothers, one was uncharacteristically absent. Although the omniscient Lord was fully aware of what had happened, He still asked, "Hey, Cain, have you seen your brother around here anywhere?"
Cain pretended to be shocked by the question. Drawing himself up in a pose of righteous indignation and acting as if he had been insulted, Cain replied, "Brother? Brother? Oh, you mean my little brother Abel? You don't really think I'm his babysitter, do You? Lord, being big brother doesn't make me my brother's keeper, does it?" (From sermon by Rev. Ken Klaas)
Yes, they were all guilty of sin, each one of them felt they had a reason, a perfectly good reason for their dark misdeeds. When it came time for God to send His Son, to offer His life as the ransom price to free us from the guilt and judgment for our broken commandments, He sent a forerunner, a messenger, a man to prepare the way. Jesus begins with the same Message as John the Baptist, “repent”. “Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
C.S. Lewis has this definition of “repentance”.
“Fallen man(kind) is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel (against the authority of God) who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor….
That is the way out of our “hole”. This process of surrender…. This movement full speed astern… is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves to do for thousands of years.” (C.S. Lewis)
Leonard Sweet writes: “The first work of grace is the word of grace: Repent.” How can "repent" be a word of "grace"? It is because the action of the Holy Spirit always acts on our hearts first and calls us to repent.
Jesus is calling us to stand in front of the mirror and be honest. In Jesus we see how beautiful God made you and me and that life is better if we follow Him. A theology of change is at the heart of Christianity. (Leonard Sweet “Jesus Speaks” p. 8)
Come to Bethlehem and see…but do not let your focus remain there. Follow the miracles, the words of God the Creator who became incarnate, present in flesh and bone found lying in a manger. Follow Him to the cross and empty tomb. Acknowledge His ascension to the throne in heaven. Let His Holy Spirit urge our heart to repent of your broken ethics. When you do your heart and life will be refreshed by the promises that come in the waters of baptism. Yes Christmas trees and nativity scenes are part of our Advent Christmas. They are reminders of John's invitation. "Come on Down."
