It is challenging to write this on Wednesday afternoon as the drama of a riot in our nation’s capitol building unfolds. How in the world does the story of Jesus’ baptism, told extremely briefly in Mark 1:4-11 (actually just in verses 9-11 of the larger text) relate to protestors storming the capitol and causing injury to law enforcement officers, at least one shooting, and various property damage?
My only thought is to turn to where I was planning to go with this text anyway, to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus as He came up out of the water. The Spirit came in the form of a Dove, which Christians have also recognized as a sign of peace, based on the account of the end of the flood in Genesis 8:11. In Galatians 5:22, the third fruit of the Spirit is peace. Talking about the gifts of the Spirit and their use in worship, Paul says in II Corinthians 14:33, “for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.”
For the sermon I plan to talk some about how the words “inspire” and “inspiration” are built upon the word “spirit.” “Inspire” means both the physical act of drawing in breath (“breath” and “spirit” are the same word in the languages in which the Bible was written) and the more abstract act of filling oneself or another with “spirit” in the sense motivating and energizing emotional energy.
All I can find to say right now is that true Christian inspiration will never be toward the motivation of violence, but toward the motivation and encouragement of peace. Any “inspiring” of others which destroys peace is not the work of the Holy Spirit, but just the opposite, the work of an evil spirit.
Let us pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was promised by John the Baptist in our text in verse 8 to be brought by Jesus. We believe that baptism in the Spirit is part of our own baptism as followers of Jesus. Then let us remember that we have been baptized into peace and speak and act accordingly. In all that we say and do in days to come, let us pray to be inspired by the Spirit of peace.