March 5th

Brain Buckets

1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 9:15-22




So, did any of you read the sermon title, “Brain Buckets,” and think to yourself, “OK, what is Danny up to now? What in the world are brain buckets?”

Well, simply put, “brain buckets” are just another name for “helmets.” And helmets have come a long way since many of us here were children, too, haven’t they? Of course, if any of you were like me growing up, about the only time we wore helmets was if we played an organized school team sport like football. We just didn’t think that much about the risk of head injuries. Besides, helmets were for “sissies.” Then again, you have to wonder if, after looking back at some of the stunts we pulled back in the day, maybe using helmets would have not been so bad after all!

But it seems that now helmets are “cool,” as well as wise safety choices. I read this week that there is now a helmet with integrated headphones for snowboarders to listen to their iPods while speeding down the slopes—otherwise known as “thrashing some powder.” Some models of this particular helmet even incorporate a cell phone! Oh yeah! That certainly makes sense, now doesn’t it? Although I guess you could use the cell phone to call for help after you’ve had an accident caused by using that same cell phone— you could, that is, if you were conscious.

But helmet use is now going far beyond the typical sports of cycling, snowboarding, and whitewater rafting. For example, the government is currently reviewing a patent for a child-sized car helmet. There is even discussion about helmets for walkers! Now a helmet for walkers may sound strange at first; but with all the gulls flying around in Corpus Christi, it actually makes perfectly good sense to me!

With the increased use of helmets these days, one would think that the number of head injuries would go down, right? Well, believe it or not, that is not the case! Studies have shown that helmet use can, in some cases, cause a person to take greater risks than he or she would take without the helmet. So, it appears that this risk-taking behavior leads to more injuries. Apparently, as the article put it, “Wearing a brain bucket is no substitute for actually using the brain it protects.”

Just as we need the right protection to keep our physical bodies together, we could also use some “spiritual brain buckets”—what some people refer to as “holy helmets”--- to keep our spiritual lives in tact when we enter the wilderness experiences of our lives. As we take a closer look at our reading from the Gospel of Mark, we can see that Jesus knew this fact all too well.

Today’s reading begins with the baptism of Jesus. So right off the bat, we face a deep theological question: If John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, why would the Son of God need to be baptized? The question of whether or not Jesus himself needs to repent is passed over in this particular passage, and the author doesn’t seem to have a problem with the omission. Some scholars suggest that the fact John baptized Jesus suggests only that Jesus associated himself with the need to prepare for the coming of the Lord with this gesture of repentance—whether repentance on Jesus’ part was actually needed or not. But maybe there is another clue to this mystery further along in our passage. Let’s take a look.

Just as he was coming out of the water, Jesus 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.” God is the one who gives Jesus his identity in his baptism by sending the Holy Spirit to descend upon him, marking Jesus as someone special, someone who has God’s favor. So it is possible, for Mark at least, that the baptism of Jesus wasn’t a question of repentance, as much as it was a question of identity and obedience.

So, what does any of this lofty theological stuff have to do with “brain buckets?” Well, with the tearing open of the heavens, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, we can say that Jesus began his ministry equipped with and protected by nothing less that the “holy helmet” of the full love of God. Scripture tells us that immediately after Jesus was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. Jesus needed all the holy helmet protection he could get, as he entered the dangerous environment of the wilderness.

Now the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness receives just two verses in Mark’s Gospel; but these two verses are packed with meaning for us. For Mark, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is not reduced to three specific temptations after 40 days of fasting. From Mark’s account, we can see that Jesus’ time in the wilderness was a full 40 days of trial and testing. Also, you may notice that this account of the temptation of Jesus does not mention fasting, and we may even infer from this account that the angels ministered to Jesus throughout his time in the wilderness—not just at the end of his 40 days in the wilderness! There is an Old Testament connection here. For as God provided for Israel throughout its 40 years in the wilderness, God provided for Jesus throughout his 40 days in the wilderness.

There is a lot of powerful symbolism in this passage for us, too, folks. Wilderness experiences are often times for sorting out our priorities—what matters most to us, and to try to get clear about God’s will for our lives. In fact, many Christians use the 40-day season of Lent that we have just entered as a symbolic wilderness period when we undertake these tasks of reflection and discernment.

Of course, “40 days,” when used in the Bible, is often symbolic language for “a really, really, really long time,” and sometimes our wilderness experiences do last a lot longer than 40 days, too. For some of us, these times of trial and temptation may seem a lot closer to the 40 years experienced by the children of Israel! Amen?

And what forms do these trials and temptations take? Well, our passage in Mark doesn’t give us exact details, and in this case, the silence of scripture can be deafening. By that comment, I mean by not detailing the exact nature of these trials and temptations, we can infer that they can take on any form at any time—even when we aren’t observing an “official” time of reflection and fasting, such as Lent.

For example, perhaps satisfying our hunger is the temptation—and “hunger” comes in many forms, too. “Hey, go ahead and party like there’s no tomorrow! Drink and drug all you want! Sleep with whomever, wherever, and whenever you want! Satisfy all your desires! After all, if God really loved you, wouldn’t God want you to be happy?” Well, of course God loves us! But the brain bucket of self-denial reminds us that our bodies are temples of God, and that we should take care of them.

Maybe the temptation is power and authority. “You know, you could get that promotion. All you have to do is change a few numbers on that year-end report, maybe forget to report a few small items to the IRS, and bingo! The corner office is yours’! Besides, if God really loves you, God will protect you from the IRS.” But if we are wearing the brain bucket of common sense, we will realize that people who have real power earn it honestly, don’t need to show it off, and don’t use it to suit their own needs.

Or, maybe the temptation is a combination of all these; in other words, the desire to have it all. “It can all be yours—wealth, fame, fortune, friendship—everything! All you have to do is forget all this God stuff. Besides, if you have it all—who needs God, anyway?” But if we are wearing the holy helmet of humility, we realize that the world and all that is in it belongs to God. And we know that God is the only One worth serving.

You see, Jesus knew who he was, and what he had to do. Through his baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit, Jesus knew in a powerful way that he was loved. It was this knowledge that kept Jesus’ mind guarded and his heart protected throughout his ministry here on earth.

We, too, are beloved children of God. Through our obedience in following the example of Jesus Christ in baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, we too, can know in a powerful way that we are loved. The knowledge that we are beloved children of God is the protection that our minds and our hearts need. It is this knowledge that we are children of the Most High God that sustains us not only through the difficult wilderness times of our lives, but also heals the bumps and bruises that can come from day-to-day living.

God’s love. It is the ultimate brain bucket. God’s love. It is the holy helmet for all occasions.

Don’t leave home without it. Amen?

God bless you and amen.