January 7, 2007

Baptism of Jesus

Pastor Harry Mueller

St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church

PARTING THE WATERS

First, I want to thank you for the honor and the trust you have shown towards me by extending the invitation to be a part of this transition at St Paul Reformation. I have watched St Paul Reformation for many years from a distance and I have appreciated your ministry but I never would have imagined that I would be standing here as your interim pastor. So thank you for this invitation to Martha and myself. Thank you for the welcome.

Secondly, I have been between parishes for several months now and I haven’t preached, so…. if I run overtime into any Viking’s playoff game would someone please wave your hand? It is next August they start talking about that, right?

If we were to get on Hwy 35 and travel 100 miles south to Albert Lea and go to the down town exit we could cross Broadway on Clark St. Two blocks west of there is a big brown brick church building, First Lutheran, where I grew up. Inside is a big marble altar and baptismal font, which I think was imported from Italy. It has amazing similarities to the altar here. It was there that I was baptized on May 13, 1945. It was a few weeks after Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged at Flossenberg prison as World War II was ending. It was there I entered the Christian family and story.

I’m curious are there any people here today that were baptized in this font? Also are there any people here who are not baptized?

What a great day to begin an interim ministry for me and to be able to preach on the story of the baptism of Jesus. Years ago I served a parish that had about 50-60 baptisms a year. It gave me an opportunity every month to invite parents and godparents to a baptism preparation meeting. It gave people a chance to ask the questions they had about baptism and for me to do a little teaching. We had all kinds of people come. Baptists, Catholics, unchurched, even once some Buddhists. One of the questions that frequently came up was: Why did Jesus need to be baptized? Because, he never sinned? I loved that question. My response was: when he stepped into the Jordan River he was stepping into the place and history of our faith that went back 2000 years before him. And water played an important role in many critical parts of the story.

Remember Moses when he went to the Pharoah? Moses said, God has heard the cries of the Israelite people in bondage. God has heard their suffering and moaning. Let my people go! After some give and take between Pharoah and Moses the story unfolds that Moses is leading the people out of their bondage! He’s got the Egyptian army on his tail and in front of him appears the water of the Red Sea. Then with God’s power the story tells us the waters parted and the people went through on their escape from bondage.

Then, the people spent some time in the wilderness and at the end of Moses’ leadership we see Moses on the top of Mt Nebo. Before he died there, Moses said the words Martin Luther King has so emblazened on our memory. “I’ve been to the mountain top, I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land. I’m not going to get there with you, but I know you’ll make it.” Moses died there and the leadership was passed on to Joshua, his successor. This is a great interim passage. It’s about passing the leadership from one to another.

Then the story brings us to Joshua. He leads to the Jordan River, which is the one Jesus stepped into years later. The waters part as Joshua leads the people into the land of promise.

The story continues to unfold. After some time the people have a country that isn’t paying much attention to the poor, the widows, the orphaned, the homeless and the prophets arrive on the scene. They were God’s messengers who came to bring about a change of heart. One is Jonah who got a call from God to deliver a message to the “evil”- city of Ninevah. This is the city on the Tigis River, north of Baghdad today. Jonah really would have preferred to see God destroy this city. Instead of following this call Jonah turned and went the other way. You know the story, he got on board a ship and went the other direction, was thrown over board, had his water experience, was swallowed by a big fish, spit up and ended up going to Ninevah. He tells the city to repent and they do! The city he wanted destroyed was saved. God would rather save than destroy. Jonah had to be converted in the water before he could deliver the message.

I have a friend Sami Rosouli, who used to run Sinbad’s Deli on Nicollet in Minneapolis. A few years ago he sold the deli and returned to his homeland of Iraq. He wanted to help establish a Muslim peacemakers group there which was similar to the Christian peacemakers group at work around Baghdad. You may remember the three Christian peacemakers that were kidnapped and two were later released and one was killed. They were Sami’s inspiration. A year ago he was back in the Twin Cities area reporting what he had found in Baghdad. There is fear everywhere, many civilian deaths, including lots of children, there’s no electricity most of the time, and ¾ the population has hepatitis C. I thought to myself, Jonah would have been happy with this…..before his water experience and his conversion.

The biblical story continues. When Jesus stepped into the Jordan I’m sure he also was aware of the ministry of Elijah. Elijah stood before King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and confronted them when they were worshipping idle/idol gods. He confronted their

abandonment of the poor, orphaned, widows, and the like. The truth is… they wanted Elijah dead for talking about this. At the end of his ministry Elijah was going to pass on his work to Elisha. They came to the Jordan River and again, the waters parted. Before Elijah was taken up into heaven (remember swing low sweet chariot) Elisha asked him if he could have a double portion of his spirit. This is another of those great interim passages. Elijah passing on his ministry to Elisha. After Elijah had departed to heaven Elisha turned around and, lo and behold, the water parted for him too. God’s chosen coming through the water.

Then some years later the Children of God found themselves in a mess. They hadn’t listened to God’s desires for them and consequently they lost their land. They were refugees in a far away place. While they were off in the land of Babylon and all the chaos that comes into the life of a refugee they wrote a story which we have in the first chapter of Genesis. They affirmed that this God, who had been with them in the times of change, uncertainty, and chaos must also have been the God who created the heavens and the earth. Here was God pushing the waters into their place… “Let the waters be gathered together and let there be dry ground… And let there be heaven (a firmament) and earth.”

Then a few chapters later in the Priestly story, the chaos returns, and we have the story of the flood. The waters returned. The heavens opened up and the wells of the deep burst forth. But the chosen one of God, Noah, came through the chaos of the water experience.

When Jesus stepped into the water of the Jordan River He stepped into all this history. No doubt he remembered the liberator Moses, he understood the promise Joshua had delivered, he probably remembered the courage of Elijah confronting the king and queen. I sure he understood a God that wants to save the enemy, not destroy them…the lesson Jonah learned when he was converted in the water. Jesus would even say “love your enemy”later on. The Gospel writer Luke tells the story that when Jesus was baptised the waters parted too. Not the river but the firmament! He writes, the heavens opened and a voice said, “This is my child, with whom I am well pleased.” And the waters up above parted as if to say “This Jesus will carry this story on to new heights.”

Well, my brothers and sisters, by virtue of our baptism we are part of this story too. We’ve stepped into the story too. We are here to carry on the mission of these heroes of the faith. We are here to carry on the ministry of Pastors Mackey, Tidemann, Hill, Lorenzen, and all the members of St Paul Reformation who have made this place what it is. Let us hope for a double portion of the spirit. I’m sure the voice is saying, You are my child. With you I am pleased. Just as the mission has been passed on before we’re here to make choices about how it is passed on now.

I am looking forward to this interim time with you. I’m looking forward to worship with you. I have not been in a congregation that has so consciously planned to observe Martin Luther King Sunday as we will next week. On my bookshelf, at home, I have a thick book by Taylor Branch. It is a biography of Martin Luther King. It’s title is Parting the Waters. I’m sure it’s no coincidence.

To God be the Glory…

Pastor Harry Mueller