Baptized by the Holy Spirit - Mark 1: 4-11

We are a country that prides itself on the idea of doing everything yourself and pulling yourself up by your own boot straps. We rarely acknowledge the people who have come before us. The ones who have shouted, “prepare the way.” The ones who quiet whispers of encouragement have given us the strength to go after our dreams, and the ones who silently had tilled the soil so we can forge ahead, reaping the benefits of their labor.

Recently, while reflecting upon 1 Corinthians I was struck by the statement made by the apostle Paul that “I planted the seed, Appolos watered it, but God made it grow.” Sometimes this verse is summarized as some plant, some water, other harvest, but God gives the increase. I like to plant and harvest, but watering sometimes is hard. Watering is in that waiting time, the time when you don’t really get to see the benefit of all of your hard work and at times you just continue to do what you are doing, running the risk of forgetting its purpose in the first place.

If I had to describe John the Baptist in terms of Pauls’s statement, he would not have even been included. John was the one who prepared the ground so the seeds of truth could even be planted. Often a thankless task. John was the one who proclaimed, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” He tilled the land so Jesus could come and plant and reap the harvest.

John appeared in the wilderness with a message that sounded like that of the prophets of old. It had been quite some time since the people had encountered a prophet, yet here he was preaching a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The prophets from the scriptures that the people would have known continually told them the same thing: they had screwed up, but God had prepared a way for them to repent and be forgiven. John told the people that he was not the way to repentance and forgiveness, he was simply the messenger for one who was more powerful who would come after him. One whom he was not unworthy to touch the feet of. One who would not need to baptize with water as John did, for this one who was coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

John wold have more then likely known his cousin Jesus. He would have heard the stories his mother told him about her womb leaping for joy at the sheer sound of the voice of the mother of the Christ child. But I wonder if John really knew that Jesus, his cousin, was the Messiah before he showed up to be baptized by John in the Jordan. For as Jesus approached the Jordan River the heavens tore open and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove as God proclaimed, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

The words that were spoken over Jesus are spoken over each of us at the waters of baptism as well. We might not hear an audible voice or have the Holy Spirit descend upon us like a dove, but God proclaims that we are the children of God, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.

And most of us have a John in our life. Someone who has prepared the way for us to go to the waters of baptism, accepting that we are part of the body of Christ, redeemed, forgiveness, and sent on a mission. We might not all know our John’s by name but they were there. For those of us who were baptized as infants, we would have many more John’s in our life who would teach us about the faith, those who would exemplify what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, sharing the love of God.

There are many faithful servants of the Lord who have impacted my life. Countless Sunday School teachers, patient acolyte trainers, Youth group leaders, parents of friends, people praying for me, people who taught me about missions, United Methodist Women who adopted me into their fold early on, the list is endless. I have only recently began to think about them one by one and give thanks for what they did, and especially praise God for all of the silent things they did on my behalf that I never knew about.

The question begs to be asked - who are the John’s in your life? Who are the people who prepared the way for your walk of faith? Recently, for United Methodist Student Sunday, one of the women at my former parish stood up and asked everyone to give one dollar to this special offering for everyone who taught them something in life - everyone who impacted them. When she put out this call for a tangible figure, it caused the congregation, including myself, to pause and really consider who has taught us something - anything in life - that was worth learning. Now I am asking you something similar, who are the people who have taught you something about the faith?

Being part of the body of Christ means that we also serve as Johns for other people. We are the ones who lift each other up in prayer and tech the children about the faith. We are the ones who lead by example and till the ground so others can come to know Christ. A thankless task at times, it is also vital. It calls us for self-examination. I truly believe that John had to wrestle with himself before he was able to go out and call others to repentance. He had to honestly ask himself if he lived a life that would draw others to repentance - if he himself had repented and turned around to a new life. You are someone’s John the Baptist, whether you realize it or not. Someone is looking up to you to learn about the faith. Maybe someone in this congregation. Maybe a family member. Maybe someone in the community. Maybe someone whom you don’t even know, but who recognizes something different about you. Are you living a life that is worthy of being their John? In other words, have you examined your own heart and are you striving to grow in your own relationship with Christ? Yes, there will be times that we stumble along the way, but have you repented of those times and learned from them? Are you living into the truth that you are tilling the ground for the seeds of other’s faith?

Today we have a lot to celebrate. In a few moments we are going to take part in the Wesley Covenant Service. This was adapted from a prayer written by John Welsey for the renewal of life. While the first Covenant Renewal Service was held in August, Methodists now traditionally have this service at the beginning of the new year. Admits our time of making personal resolutions in the spirit of hope that the new year brings, now is our opportunity to renew the covenant made at our baptism before God. It is paired with the celebration of the baptism of Jesus, so we are reminded that we, too, were baptized into the body of Christ and called God’s beloved. As we remember the vows made at our baptism, either by us or on our behalf, and as we renew our covenant with the Lord this day, let us also remember those who made this time possible. Those who have made it possible for us to be at this place in our faith journey today, for none of us have come this far alone. We are not a people who pride themselves on self-reliant or stand-alone faith.

Today is especially exciting for me to be renewing my convent with the Lord for this coming year, in this new place. I am humble to know the legacy of some of the people who laid the foundation on which our ministry together can now take place. Former District Superintendents like Ed Zediers and former pastors like Howard Woodruff and Christopher Shaffer, amongst many others. I am humbled because I know that these are big shoulders for me to be standing on, but I also feel blessed to know that God has called us - you and me - together for this time to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God. I am not like the pastors whom have come before me, like you are not identical to the people of whom you stand on their shoulders in faith. We have come this far, together, as the body of Christ, starting something new that is built upon so much history and hard work of those who have come before us preparing the way. May they never be forgotten. And may we never forget that we are preparing the way for those who will come after us as well. In this spirit of hope and promise may we renew our covenant with the Lord, this day.