The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And 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. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He 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. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And 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. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
It's interesting to me that Mark begins his gospel story with the baptism of Jesus. There is no account of Jesus in the story until he comes to John at the Jordan River to be baptized. No birth narrative, no stories of teen Jesus in the temple, no Joseph and Mary, nothing prior to the baptism. Before Jesus arrives, John tells the people "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." To me, this is the most significant statement in today's passage. John's prophetic message and recognition of who Jesus is, helps us understand everything that follows.
When Jesus came out of the water, the scripture tells us that the Spirit descended on him. The spirit in the form of a dove and then a voice boomed from heaven. I don't know about you, but if I were there, I would have freaked out. If you think about it, it's a pretty scary scene.
I have been scared before, and I have heard sounds from the sky that boom like thunder. I've also seen birds land on people before. Combine all those elements and mix them with John's prophetic message, I still don't think we have the entirety of the scene.
John says that baptism with the Holy Spirit goes beyond baptism with water; there's more to it. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are renewed, restored, and born again as a new creation. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we follow the teachings of a man who embodied pure unconditional love for all of humanity who bids us do the same. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are Christ's own forever, and nothing on earth can break that bond.
The question for us today, as we are in the wilderness of Lent, is do we know this? If we are baptized and are brought into the life of Jesus, don't we know that we are recipients of such awesome power and responsibility? Don't we know that we are responsible for showing others who Jesus is by our life and action? As we prepare for the paschal feast, before we start to examine where we have come up short, we first need to remember who we are as baptized recipients of the Holy Spirit. We are beloved of God, we are agents of the Holy Spirit, and we belong to Christ Jesus.
