Funeral for Aug. 29, the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Here is the sermon from this past Sunday. I really love preaching on these commemorations and festivals.

Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 29, 2010
Romans 6:1-5
What shall we say then?

In the name of Jesus, amen. What shall we say then? Of those born among women, none is greater than John the Baptist. What shall we say then? Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. What shall we say then about the last of the Old Testament prophets, about the forerunner of Christ, about the one whom Zechariah sang, “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

What shall we say then? We should glorify and exalt the Lord God for the gift of John the Baptist, for the preaching of John, for John’s faithfulness unto death, to the time he was beheaded by Herod Antipas, who happened to be son of Herod the Great, the one who tried to kill Jesus in his infancy.

Our talk about John the Baptist should be talk about God’s grace and God’s desire for our salvation. John the Baptist preached baptism. John the Baptist did baptism. Great crowds were coming to see the prophet dressed in weird clothing and eating a weird diet. Great crowds came to hear John’s preaching of repentance, to hear John’s preaching of a return to God. Soldiers, don’t extort people for protection. Tax collectors, collect only what you are supposed to collect. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal. Return to God. What a scold, this popular prophet- John the finger-wagger.

John did what the Lord sent him to do. John’s beginning was miraculous. He was the miracle baby of old Zechariah and barren Elizabeth. And the arrival of John was to get everything ready for Jesus. John brought down the mountains, raised the valleys and made the rough places plain.

And when John was finished with that work, John started talking about baptism. And he addressed the crowd as a brood of vipers. And he told them that the axe was at the root of the tree and that Jesus was going to start chopping down every tree that did not bear the fruit of repentance. So be baptized. I baptize you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. Praise God for the gift of John the Baptist, who speaks the hard words that we, viperish people that we are, might not want to hear.

What shall we say then? We let Paul do the talking: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 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.”

Continue in sin? By no means. Why would we think of such a thing? John preached repentance. John preached washed and regeneration through baptism. So did Jesus. Jesus preached repentance. Last week Jesus told the crowds that they were to strive to enter through the narrow door. Jesus preached repentance, and then Jesus delivered. Jesus travelled the roads that John had prepared- the road that led throughout Palestine, to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to the tomb. Jesus delivered for the people who did repent, who did turn back to God with tears in their eyes, only to discover that God the Father was crying just as much. God desires our repentance. God desires our sorrow over sin. And God desires that we live in a right relationship with him.

We have indeed been baptized into Christ’s death through baptism. That is one of the shocking realities of the Sacrament that makes us Christian. On that holy, happy day, when the little child is dressed in that baptismal gown, when the parents are worried about the child screaming, when grammy and pop-pop have their cameras ready, a death is being celebrated.

The death of Jesus Christ our Lord is celebrated in the washing of water and the Word. Without the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, there is no need for Holy Baptism. Holy Baptism is just a formality, a worthless ritual, if the forgiveness of sins is not present.

And it is not only the death of Jesus Christ that we acknowledge and celebrate, it is also the glory of the Father that takes center stage. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

What shall we say then? It is our heavenly Father’s glory that we rise from death, that we shake off the sleep of death, and walk in new life.

We rise from our slumbers to new life everyday. This new life is the forgiven life. New life is joyous. New life is challenging. It is a little scary. It can hard to discern and decipher. Through faith in Christ, and as we live in him, we learn this new life. We put away the judgmentalism of Satan and pick up the justice of the Lord. We leave behind the sin of racism, of greed, of self-absorbed superiority and we pray for God’s energy to share the mercy of God and the sacrificial love of Christ with those in our life. With Christians and non-Christians alike, we reflect the redemption that has come to us. We forgive as we have been forgiven. We mercy as we have been mercied. We love, because He first loved us.

What shall we say then? Of course, of those born of women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet those who are least in the kingdom of God are greater. What shall we say? Praise to you O Father for the life and ministry of John the Baptist. What shall we say? Christ is our life. Christ’s death is our death. Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection. What shall we say? We are sinners called by the Word of God to repent and find the forgiveness of those sins. What shall we say? God desires us to repent, God desires to forgive our sins, and through our savior Jesus, God delivers. SDG