Readings: Psalm 45:1-9, Song of Solomon. 2: 8-13, James 1:19-27, Mark 1:4–13
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, September 1 2024
We sit around a table prepared with bread and wine. The communion table is a place to give ourselves to Christ's service. At Jesus' baptism a voice from heaven declared Him to be the Servant King; "Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased"
That voice from heaven marked out the peculiar nature that His ministry would possess. The first words, "Thou art my beloved Son", are a direct quote from Psalm 2:7, the coronation formula for a King. The second phrase, "With thee I am well pleased" comes from Isaiah 42:1 and is the ordaining formula of the Servant who is sent forth to establish justice in the earth, even at the cost of suffering.
Right from the start, Jesus' ministry embodied both the authority and power of a world ruler and the atoning power of a word servant, fusing the regal authority of a King with the gentle humility of a slave.
This fusion of the dual roles of ruler and slave is well pictured in one of my favorite modern hymns, Graham Kendrick's hymn, "The Servant King". He speaks of God entering our world as a vulnerable child with His glory veiled and coming not to be served but to serve. He vividly pictures the King of Creation as the Christ who died for us,
"Come see His hands and His feet,
The scars that speak of sacrifice;
Hands that flung stars into space,
To cruel nails surrendered"
This is our God! This is the Savior who calls us to follow His example. As we come to the table, I wish to share two things He calls us to.
1. He calls us to recognize our inheritance.
As well as growing up with the sound of the Beatles, I also grew up with the humor of Monty Python's Flying Circus. There is a sketch in their film "The Holy Grail" where Sir Launcelot is standing with his son and heir, Prince Herbert, looking out of the castle window and surveying the hills and valleys of the land that stretches before them. Sir Launcelot bids the child look out of the window and says, "One day, lad, all this will be yours!" Prince Herbert glances at the drapes and replies, "What, the curtains?"
Such small mindedness and narrowness of vision is not limited to the Herbert's of this world. Myopic vision is a malaise of many Christians as they fail to discern their inheritance as children of God. Our God is the King of Creation. He has made this world a place full of beauty, extravagant beyond our wildest imaginings. Even St Paul struggled to describe the richness of His blessings.
In Ephesians 1:18 Paul writes; "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe."
The cartoon character Mr. Magoo is famous for his blundering escapades as he makes his short-sighted journey through life. He can't see any more than what is right in front of him. So shortsighted Christianity defines religion in terms of the church and the church in terms of what happens for an hour or two on a Sunday.
For Jesus to be enthroned in our lives means something far greater. It means that His rule must be the one that affects our thinking when we are in our place of work, guides our decisions as to how we relate to our families and friends, determines the choices we make in regard to our lifestyle. Until our religion encompasses every area of our lives it is nothing more than a lifeless echo of something that could be.
Baptism symbolizes God claims upon us as God’s own. None of us are born daughters and sons of God. Through the blood of Christ, God adopts us. Some are baptized as infants, and some are baptized as adults. Some are dunked in the water, and some are sprinkled on the head. It doesn't matter how, or even exactly when it is done.
What matters is that baptism represents God's action of accepting us as daughters and sons of the Living God, the inheritors of His promises. God calls us to recognize our inheritance.
2. Called to Service
When Jesus was baptized it was an action of commissioning for service. For thirty years He had stayed in Nazareth and worked as a carpenter. We are never given a glimpse as to what His inner thoughts were during that time, except that we know He had an awareness as early as the age of twelve that His true destiny lay elsewhere.
Maybe the emergence of John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness was the sign He had been looking for. In response to John, Jesus knew it was time to launch out on His own unique mission. Because the bible tells us that Jesus was fully human, I like to think that he wandered down to the Jordan's banks with a few doubts in His mind. Was this really the time and the place? Has my Father really called me to this task?
In every life there comes moments of decision which can be accepted or rejected. The bread and wine present us with a choice. To receive them is to say to God, "Yes I hear your call and yes, I will follow". But there may be a few doubts in our mind. "Lord, what if I let you down?" ''Lord what if I can't see this through to the end?"; "Lord I will go, but will you provide me with what I need?"
It was at His moment of decision that Jesus had affirmation from God that He had made the right choice. "You are my beloved Son". (Matthew 3:17). It was also the place where He was equipped by God for the days that lay ahead. At that moment the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.God at our baptism calls us His beloved daughters and sons. He expects us to respond. If that is what we are, then we should live like children of the most High God.
Through the equipping of His Holy Spirit God tells us; "Go into the world as my representatives, my ambassadors. Go in the name of Jesus, bearing His love and be a model for others as to what being His disciple is all about. Remember as you take bread and wine how He gave His life for yours and so give your life for others. For in doing so you will discover the love that was in His heart will also burn in your own.”
The concluding verse of the hymn "The Servant King" takes the form of a prayer. As we come to the table the words form a fitting prayer of approach.
"So let us learn how to serve,
And in our lives enthrone Him;
Each others needs to prefer,
For it is Christ we are serving"
To be a follower of Jesus Christ is both an awesome privilege and an awesome responsibility. The community of the baptized are called to be servant people, committed to doing the will of the servant king.
May the love of God inspire us for such a joyful task, as we share together in bread and wine!
The Reverend Adrian J Pratt B.D.
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