Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:14-15
First words are critically important. They can be sentimental, as in the first words spoken by our children. I remember clearly Jamie looking at a stuffed cat Amy had sewn for Halloween. She pointed and said, “Cat”. And if I remember correctly, Aaron’s first words were “trust fund”.
First words are so important when we meet someone or, when we are young, those first words spoken to someone who has captured our heart. For those high school boys present, here is some unsolicited advice. When you see a girl at the dance and you want to make a good impression, do not approach her and ask “whose your dermatologist?” Well, at least it didn’t work for me.
We have just completed important elections and that reminds us of how important first words are in the public forum. When a candidate first announces a campaign, when a candidate makes an acceptance speech, whenever a public figure appears for the first time in a new capacity, those first words are so important. They suggest the tone, the direction, the vision. These first words are designed to reassure the audience of the hopes and dreams they are looking for. First words set the stage for all that follows.
These are my first words. I know that I was here in September for my candidate sermon but that doesn’t count. That was like the pilot episode for a new series. It doesn’t win any Emmys… you just hope to sell the series. So this is the real first time and these are my real first words and I hope not to fumble it.
So as I thought about today, about this first sermon, it occurred to me that the best model for such a thing would, or course, come from the bible. Now the most famous first words are these words from Genesis, the first book in the bible. In the Beginning. In the beginning, at the time when God began to create the heavens and the earth, there was only darkness. But God said, “Let there be light.” We should not let this moment pass without acknowledging not only that God is the creative force of the universe but how specifically that creation happens. God speaks creation into being. God speaks light into the darkness and speaks form into the void. Language is at the heart of God’s creation. Speech is the powerful creative force.
Therefore we do not take for granted the power of our words. Our words are powerful—they create joy and they create sorrow. They create hope and they create despair. This is why not only words are important, but first words especially important. There is silence, darkness, a void at the advent of creation as God’s first word is formed. And that first word is light. Before anything, there is light.
Which leads us to this question: what were Jesus’ first words? Not his first words as a child for we are not told this so we have no way of knowing. Matthew, Mark, and Luke offer us accounts of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness at which time Jesus speaks with Satan, but this is a private conversation. Jesus is baptized by John and some words are exchanged, but again, this is private. These words are not intended for public consumption. So what are Jesus’ first public words, his first official words, the first words that will set the tone and purpose of his life and mission?
The four gospels offer slightly different accounts. John chooses to begin his story of Jesus’ public life not with words but actions. Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding and therefore “revealed his glory”. In Luke’s gospel Jesus first public appearance is in his home synagogue and he reads from the prophet Isaiah—“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” Matthew and Mark reduce this somewhat to this basic statement—Jesus first words to the waiting world—“The time has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Change your lives and hearts and receive this good news.”
Jesus has established his priority. These are his all important “first words”. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Join it. Over the course of his ministry Jesus, of course, has much more to say. He teaches and preaches, heals and reveals. But everything that is recorded about Jesus’ public ministry ultimately comes back to these first words—the Kingdom of God is at hand. Make the changes necessary to be a part of God’s New Creation.
Now you are a perceptive lot, to be sure, and you have no doubt noticed that I have avoided using the word “repent”, which appears in our text. To repent is not a bad thing nor is the word a bad translation. But it can be misleading or, perhaps, distracting. Repentance is commonly associated with feeling sorry. When we repent, we regret, we are sorry, we say we were wrong. There is some guilt associated with the need for “repentance. The need for forgiveness accompanies the need for repentance. But in these first words of Jesus there is no talk of forgiveness, only “repentance”. But the word here translated as repent has a more comprehensive meaning. Jesus is stating that a “re-orientation” is in order. A “re-tooling” if you will. For the Kingdom of God is so different in its emphasis and its priorities from the society into which Jesus came that it was simply not possible to live in both simultaneously.
Let us say you were invited to play a game. So you went home and put on your football helmet and your shoulder pads and your knee pads and put that black stuff under your eyes and come running back with your football. And when you got there you discovered that it was a baseball game. Now, would you feel you had to apologize for how you were dressed? No. But would you have to do something different in order to play in the baseball game? Yes. You would have to shed one set of equipment and replace it with another more suited to the game. This is what Jesus is saying with his first words. The game has changed. You are no longer dressed appropriately. Go home and change. Join the game.
Now I will grant you that, in my illustration, if you plowed over the short stop and the second baseman on your way into right field where you spiked your ball and declared a touchdown, you would have much to answer for. And as time goes on and the gospel unfolds, there are many whom Jesus meets who refuse to join the game. Repentance as regret is not irrelevant, and forgiveness is a hallmark of the new “game” Jesus is bringing. But the point is this: Jesus only has one chance to make a first impression. And that first impression, as Mark and Matthew tell it anyway, is this: The time of the Kingdom of God is at hand. Make a choice. Hear the good news. Be part of God’s new creation.
As these are my “first words”, my first public statement as your Lead Pastor, I am happy to rely on these great models. In fact, I should rely on them, for what is our task if it is not Jesus’ task? What is our orientation to the world if not the orientation God directs us toward? What are our words if they are not Jesus’ words? What we are about here, at the First Presbyterian Church Salina, is the Kingdom of God. We are interested in changing hearts and lives and in having our hearts and lives constantly renewed for God’s good purposes.
Now first words are not last words. Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God but took several chapters of Gospel to flesh out what the Kingdom of God is. And I use the phrase, flesh out, deliberately. In the beginning when God spoke the first words of creation, he called for light. In the Gospel of John this same set of "first words" are employed, but with a different emphasis. In the beginning was the Word. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. What was in this word that become flesh was light. That light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the beginning God said let there be light. In the beginning was the Word, the Word that became flesh. The Word that was the light. Isn’t that fabulous? The connection? The continuity? God spoke creation into being. And Jesus, himself, is the spoken word of God, what Paul calls the New Creation In the beginning God called for light. God brought the light—Jesus Christ—to lighten the darkness. Words. First Words. Words becoming flesh. Words to bring light in the darkness.
We are to use our words to bring light, to shed light, to be the light and participate in the Kingdom of God in all of its splendor and wonder. The time is at hand. The Kingdom of God has come near. Change your hearts and lives and believe in this good news. Or, said more simply. Let there be light.
Let us pray:
We thank you, Lord, for your Word, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom he came to proclaim. For your Holy Spirit which breathes in us your grace and peace. Grant that we may set our course together to fulfill your will, be a light to others, and to build up the body of Christ for your dear sake as ours. Amen.
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