Mark 11 - 13

Beloved and Sent

“Just as [Jesus] 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.” Mark 1:10-12, NRSV

Dear Edinburg FUMC family, 

 Over the past month, our Bible study has been journeying through the Gospel of Mark together. And it’s been a great time! If you haven’t been able to make it to Bible study, it’s always a time of good food and good conversation. It’s a space where you can bring your questions, the unique insights you hold, and faithfully wrestle with the question Jesus poses to his disciples: Who do you say I am? No Bible expertise required. Just show up with an open mind and an empty stomach.

 The next time the Bible study gathers—Wednesday, October 8—we will be reading Mark 11-13, which describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of the end of his earthly ministry. This has made me think about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In those days, there was a man named John the Baptist; he began to call people to a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And the people responded. People from Jerusalem and the countryside all around came to John to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River. John the Baptist said, “‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me… I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” The people responded to John’s message because they recognized the signs of the coming Messiah. 

 Enter: Jesus to be baptized. So much could be said about what happens next. He sees the heavens torn open. The Holy Spirit descends upon him. And he hears a voice—the Father’s voice—say, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” When Jesus comes out of the water, his new life begins. All that Jesus would do—his miracles, his teachings that would inspire both awe and ire, his death and resurrection—come from this moment. 

Immediately after, the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the wilderness for forty days. He was tempted by Satan, spent time with the wild beasts, and was waited on by angels. 

 It strikes me that before these forty days of struggle, Jesus was reminded of three things. 1) He is God’s beloved son; his identity is rooted in Belovedness. 2) Before he overcomes Satan’s temptations, the miracles and the teachings, the Father affirms that he is well-pleased with Jesus. 3) Fully-human Jesus receives the Holy Spirit; whatever his ministry would bring, Jesus would not face it alone. 

 The same is true for us. In baptism, we are brought into the family of God. In The United Methodist Church, we baptize infants as the purest expression of God’s gracious love that longs to bring us close even before we can understand this love. When we are witnesses to a baptism, we remind ourselves that we, too, are God’s beloved child; we, too, are always growing in understanding of who God is and what this great love calls us to. By our baptism, we are sent in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who guides us through the wilderness of life. The Spirit is the one who tugs on us to respond to the call of love—to call that friend, linger around the family table, show up for the Shoe Bank or the food pantry or pumpkin patch.

 Over the month of October, we will be spending time thinking about the elements at the heart of our worship: communion, baptism, fellowship, and the Word. As we spend the month reflecting on “true and proper worship,” remember that worship is grounded in the reality that you are God’s beloved child. You are sent and empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring that transforming love out to the world. You do not go alone. You go with the Spirit, and we go together. 

Con cariño, With love, 

Pastor Sarah