"Jesus' Baptism and Ours"
Luke 3:15-17, 21-23
Here we are again, in the season of Epiphany, on Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Each year the lectionary gives us the story of Jesus’ baptism, as told by Matthew, Mark, or Luke. This year, it’s Luke.
When Jesus came out to the Jordan to be baptized, he came
to be publicly identified as the one John had been proclaiming as the pivotal
figure in the movement towards the kingdom of God. His baptism was a sign that God was now
taking steps through Jesus’ ministry that the world was beginning to turn.
Jesus’ baptism takes place in community. It is not a private ceremony. After Jesus is baptized, the heavens open,
and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven saying, “You are
my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus’ baptism was an epiphany moment—as the Holy Spirit
descends upon him… and he and others
heard confirmation from God: “You are
mine. Beloved. I am well pleased with you.”
“You are precious in my sight, and I love you.” These are words the people of Israel
heard—words that helped them to understand who they were, and whose they
were.
Baptism
teaches us who we are – God’s beloved children. It reminds us of the promise: God loves us unconditionally. Baptism reminds us that we discover who we
are in relation to whose we are: God’s beloved children. We belong to God’s family, and baptism is a
tangible sign of that.
Baptism
is about knowing who we are-- so we
don’t waste precious time searching
frantically for an identity that something or someone else can confer on us-- but instead, use our lives to live out our God-given
identity.
The
same Spirit that descended on Jesus baptizes us! We can live in confidence that-- no matter how
often we fall short or fail-- nothing that we do or fail to do can change the
fact that we are God’s beloved children.
This identity is something God gives us—as a gift.Maybe you don’t remember, but at your baptism, that voice named and claimed you. We need to remember our baptism. So, turn to your neighbor, and remind them. Tell them, you are God’s child... God’s beloved. God loves you and claims you. [People actually got out of their seats to share this good news. There were smiles and maybe a handshake or hug or two.]
There’s something else we need to
remember: at our baptism, God gave each
of us the gift of the Spirit. So, let’s
turn to one another and remind one another:
You’ve got the Spirit, because God gave it to you when you were
baptized.
[Again, people moved around a bit and made sure
everybody was reminded that they’ve got the Spirit.]
Okay,
so what does all this mean?
Without the rest of Jesus’ life, his
baptism isn’t something we can comprehend.
We can only comprehend the purpose of Jesus’ baptism when we look at the
days and years that followed that day in the Jordan. It’s when we see Jesus taking his place with
hurting people that his baptism starts to make sense. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan foreshadowed his
baptism on the cross. Baptism was Jesus’
commissioning for ministry.
During the week before his death,
Jesus was challenged by the leaders of the temple: “By what authority do you do these things?”
Jesus answers by referring to his
baptism: “Was the baptism of John from heaven--
or not?” In other words, I was baptized. That’s how all this started.” It was in the waters of baptism that Jesus
heard the Spirit calling him to speak the truth and to live with grace.
Baptisms, like all beginnings, find
their meaning after the event. Beginning
is usually fairly easy. Finishing is
usually harder.
Starry-eyed young couples who are in love come
to the pastor, and very often, they’re focused on having the perfect wedding. It’s part of the pastor’s job to remind them
that the wedding is just the beginning.
It’s the living out of the promises they make that’s the hard
part... the part that will make all the
difference ten or fifty years from that day.
Baptism is the beginning of a journey. We’re handed a map, but we have to take the
trip. It takes our whole life to finish
our baptisms... to fulfill what was
started when we were baptized.
In baptism, God proclaims God's
grace and love for us. God claims us and
marks us as God’s own. We have a new identity
as members of the body of Christ.
So we are baptized and begin a lifelong pilgrimage with
God... a lifelong process of conversion
and nurture which begins at the font...
and doesn't end until death,
until we are at last tucked safely into the everlasting arms of the God
who first reached for us in baptism.
God keeps on reaching out for us
throughout our lives. God isn't finished
with any of us yet. Every day we live
out our baptism. Every day we need to
respond to God's gracious gifts in our lives...
open ourselves again to God's work in our lives... say YES in all the big and little things we
do and people we meet and promises we keep throughout the day.
A major part of God's daily saving
work in our lives is God's gift of the Holy SPIRIT. Just as God's creating Spirit hovered over
the waters in the very BEGINNING, the Holy Spirit works in us... leads us daily... tugging at our lives until we are fully
turned toward God.
In our baptism, we become part of a
royal priesthood... a holy
nation... in order that we may proclaim the
mighty acts of the One who called us out of darkness, into God's marvelous light.[1]
As followers of Christ, we're called
to let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and
give glory to God.
In our Reformed part of the
Protestant branch of Christ’s church, we take our membership in the priesthood
of all believers very seriously. In
fact, in the Presbyterian Church, we take this calling so seriously that we ordain
our officers for service. The questions
we ask at a service of ordination and installation of elders and deacons-- the questions you'll hear in a few
minutes-- are the same questions asked
of a Teaching Elder, or Minister of the Word and Sacrament, except one. The congregation makes promises too: to support and encourage and pray for those
who are serving as officers.
Every one of us gathered here has
been given a particular set of gifts to use in God's service. This community of believers is part of God's
plan to bring good news of healing and freedom to a broken, hurting world.
On this Baptism of the Lord
Sunday, we are reminded of Jesus'
baptism... and our own. We are reminded who we are... and whose
we are.
At your baptism, the same Spirit
came down upon you as came down upon Jesus at his baptism. The same Father said to you, "you are my beloved son"... or "you are my beloved daughter." The same Father has continued ever since to hold
you... and to work to empower you for
God's work.
How easy it is, in the midst of this life, to forget
who you are... and whose you are. So the church is here to remind you that God has named
us... and claimed us... and seeks us and LOVES us unconditionally.
What a difference it can make in our
lives when we know—deep in our souls—that we are God’s beloved!
This is the gift Baptism gives to
us. We are children of God, joined together with
Christ to all the other Children of God.
So... remember your baptism... and be thankful. For this is who you are.
Listen attentively for God’s
call. Go on and be the minister God has
called you to be. Use the gifts God has
given you as a sign of the outbreaking of the kingdom of God. Take on new challenges in your ministry. Rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower and
uphold you.
As you go out into the world, be the
minister that God has called you to be...
ordained you to be.
So be it!
Amen!
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor
Littlefield Presbyterian Church
Dearborn, Michigan
January 10, 2016
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