What Is New?
Scripture References
Genesis 1:1-5
The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Romans 6:1-11
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Mark 1:4-11
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my strength and redeemer. Amen.
What’s New?
Hey, what’s new? This conversation starter often catches me off guard… well, not much, same o’ same o’, or just living the dream, doesn’t really answer the question… Now that we are at the start of a fresh New Year, this might be a good time to consider changing this question to, “What will be new?”
A brand-new year once again. Many of us use this as an opportunity to prioritize “what will be new” in our life. Making resolutions or setting goals for anticipation or expectations of “What will be new,” What will 2024 bring? Good crops, better health, or a renewed relationship?
As we contemplate these things, now is also the time we reset our sights on what lies ahead on the calendar. I doubt any of us will be Christmas shopping any time soon, so what is there in January to look forward too? I looked and what I found was Martin Luther King Jr. Day…. Hmmm, not a very glamorous “what’s new…” well at least in February we have the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents Day.
Even though nothing festive is happening any time soon in the secular world, we must turn our focus at what’s new on the Church calendar. Like I mentioned last week, this time in the church year, we begin the celebration of Epiphany which starts twelve days after Christmas and will continue until the beginning of Lent. Which by the way, is on Valentine’s day this year. At any rate, what we are celebrating, by the definition of Epiphany… is “the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world.”
This is the time in the Church year where we acknowledge that the little babe in swaddling clothes, who was taken to the temple at 40 days old for a sin offering, who with His parents fled to Egypt from the grasp of Herod, who taught in the temple when He was twelve years old… was in fact the promised Messiah right before our eyes.
Preparing The Way
In the Gospel lesson today in Mark chapter one, we find Jesus beyond His youth and ready to be revealed to the world as the Son of God. John the Baptist was preparing the way. Preparing the way for the Savior of all people in every nation, Gentiles as well as Jews… The setting is in the Jordan river, where Jesus is going to be Baptized by John.
This is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, right there in the Jordan, where we hear the voice of God the Father that He is indeed the Son of God, we read from verse 11, “a voice come from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased.””
This voice from heaven is why the Baptism of our Lord is a bookend so to speak for the Epiphany season. This carpenter from Nazareth is far more than He appears to our eyes. He is the light that shines in all dark places. In fact, He is the same light on day one of the beginning of creation where God said in our Old Testament reading from Genesis one… “and God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” And indeed, there was. God speaks and things happen as Jesus is and always has been the light of the world.
Just Don’t Belong
This got me to thinking as I was looking at the Gospel lesson for today. What is happening in the Jordan river? What was Jesus doing in the water? By John’s own description of His baptism, it was a baptism for the repentance of sins. If Jesus really is the Son of God, He has no sins to repent of. So, why was He in line with the rest of the sinners for the baptism by John? Did He really belong there?
Have you ever felt like you do not fit in, like you don’t belong? It happens to all of us at some point or another where we find ourselves in a situation where we “stand out” so to speak.
I remember one time during a goose hunting excursion when me and my hunting companion walked into a café for lunch in a small rural town. The place was buzzing with conversation, and as we opened the door, that come to a screeching halt. Not only that, but everyone in the room turned and looked our way. I had to analyze if there was something about our appearance that determined we did not belong there or if by chance we forgot to leave our guns in the truck.
At that time my kids were young, and I had a lot of exposure to Sesame Street. The song “one of these things just doesn’t belong” popped into my mind. For a moment, I felt like the image Sesame Street used of a single blue balloon amongst the three red ones. Which one doesn’t belong here? However, what seemed endless but realistically only lasted for just a moment… the conversation in the room resumed and we sat down for a meal.
The way it turned out, We were not the odd colored balloon after all, and Jesus wasn’t either. Jesus did belong in the water. By standing in the Jordan, Jesus identifies with all the sinful people He came to save through His substitutionary life and death on the cross. We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The more you think about that, the more humbling it actually becomes. Jesus stands in the repentance line with me because He knows I cannot do it alone. None of us can. We stand in this repentance line over and over because our sins just keep coming. Time and time again.
For sure mine do. How about yours? Do you need coffee in the morning before you speak? Can you say you’re sorry and truly mean it? Like Paul says in Romans 7:15, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” There is no part of our life which does not need His redemption.
But wait…. There’s more.
Forgiveness
The same Jesus who stood in that line of sinners for you and me… has died and risen to new life with you and me as well. This is not “what’s new.” Through the cross He has so graciously empowered our lives with His goodness. Even though our old self rears its ugly head, Jesus is there to redeem us. Now as we live, we can stand perfected by His sacrifice. Yes, the world will still point to the sin that clings so effectively to us, but it will miss the real resolution which is at work in our lives. The forgiveness of sins.
And what is important to keep in mind is that all this is not of our own doing, or some act of our will… or some new year resolution that might fail…it started when water and the Word introduced you and I to this life-giving gift, when we were helpless and unaware of our sins or what was even happening. In our baptism, that was the day that Christ took ahold of us to work His solution to our sinfulness. A work begun… a work in progress even today… and a work which He will finish on the last day… The day we will inherit His eternal reward.
So, what’s new? The new life I now live in Christ. This is what Paul is talking about in the Epistle lesson for today in Romans 6. Paul’s reasoning is that our identity has been replaced in our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. We are no longer the people who want to sin, we are no longer the sinners whom Christ covered up with that flood. We have risen from the waters of baptism to live a new life.
But with this assurance, Paul warns us in verse one, as he did his Jewish opponents, with this question, “Shall I sin more to get more grace?” I must not be hovering on the fence with one side basking in the fruits of my new self, while at the same time on the other side of the fence, enjoying the worldly pleasures of my old self… Working both sides of the fence… does not align with being truly sorry for those sins.
Repentance
Let me ask you a personal question. Have you ever had an addiction? Now I don’t want everyone’s hand to go up at once. I can relate with a chewing tobacco addiction years ago. I eventually tried to quit, and declared quitting was easy… It’s easy because I’ve done it so many times. Now addictions can be many things; drugs, alcohol, social media, smoking, or watching things you shouldn’t. There are many others, including the one I had. If you experienced this or currently have one, you know what I’m talking about.
It is hard to admit there is a problem. However, as hard as it is, that is the first step that needs to be taken to begin that long road to bad habit recovery. But once again, like any addiction, wanting to fix the problem is where it must start. From there addicts can get clean. The same is true with our sins.
As sinners, we can amend our ways and become a clearer light and witness to Christ by the way we live our life. However… you must want it. This is what Paul is talking about, Jesus’ new, resurrected life that lives in you.
But what’s new? What about the Christian who continues to sin? There is a difference between continuing to sin and continuing to live in sin. No one reaches sinless perfection in this life, but the redeemed Christian is being sanctified (made holy) day by day, sinning less and hating it more each time he fails. Yes, we still sin, that’s not new, but we will sin unwillingly and less and less frequently as we mature.
What Will Be New?
Then, what will be new is our new self, will despise the sin that still has a hold on us.
Our new creation is no longer a slave to sin, as we formerly were. We are now freed from sin, and it no longer has power over us as Paul explains in the Epistle, verses 6-7, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.”
Now we are empowered by and for righteousness. We now have the choice to “let sin reign” or to count ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” verses 11-12. Best of all, now we have the power to choose the latter. Alive with Jesus.
This is where we can find ourselves back in the repentance line with Jesus in the Jordan. Knowing we are forgiven as He carries our sins to the cross. He Give His life on that cross so we could live a new life with Him.
This is the time of year we resonate these things. From the little child in a manger to the heavens being torn open and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove, we begin Epiphany… where we reiterate what the manifestation of Jesus Christ means to you me and all people.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have a new life… We can live it… His life is our life… This is what was revealed by the Holy Spirit in that baptism water as John baptized Jesus. He was identifying with every sinner and bringing His life to us. He would pay our price on Calvary and give us His righteousness.
So, what will be new? You me and all believers are a new creation. As new creations in Christ we are called to put on our new self because we are created to live out our baptismal grace every day to be like Jesus.
Connected to Jesus in our baptism, and in this baptismal union He poured out on us His Holy Spirit as it was poured out on Him. With this and through our faith in Him, as our Father in Heaven said of Jesus at the Jordan river, He now says of you…. “you are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen