January 12, 2020

 January 12, 2020:Baptism of our Lord      Matthew 3:13-17             Isaiah 42:1-9       Acts 10:34-43

                When I was 20 years old I took a trip to California to visit the seminary I was most interested in.  I spent a week there, taking a class, going to a baseball game, and exploring the Bay Area, making sure it would be a good fit.  While I was there, I called my parents to check in and found out my teenage sister was pregnant.   I never cried so hard in my life.  My sister would miss her childhood.  She would never go to prom.  She’d get married young and have to grow up so fast.  When my nephew was born 9 months later, it was an absolute miracle, because I saw him come into this world and there is nothing more miraculous, to me.

                It wasn’t long and his teenage parents were trying to decide whether he should be baptized.  My brother in law said he shouldn’t.  He was brought up with believer’s baptism, that a child should make up his or her or their own mind.  He asked the question, “What could baptism possibly mean to someone who couldn’t choose it?”  Well he didn’t know what can of worms he was opening up, because my sister and I, baptized as infants and trained in Sunday School and Confirmation, started in on what baptism meant to us.  It meant that we were claimed.  It meant that we were part of something bigger than ourselves.  It meant we were blessed.  It meant whatever frame of mind we were in regarding God, God was in loving regard to us.  By the time a couple of hours had passed, the new father was convinced that baptism was something he could accept for his baby.

                When it comes to Jesus’ baptism, we might similarly be asking why and what it means.  If baptism is a washing away of sin and Jesus had no sin, why should he be baptized? 

                Baptism is our initiation ritual as Christians.  The initiation ritual used to be circumcision, so aren’t we glad that there was a more accessible, universally available, painless way to join the community of believers? Jesus needs to be initiated in this new way into this new community to be the leader.  That John would baptize him was the prophecy coming true about John being a voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord.  And John was so much more than John.  The way he was dressed (in robes with a belt around his waist) and the food he ate (locusts and wild honey) as well as the words he used would have reminded everyone of Elijah, one of the ancient prophets.  So Elijah was giving his blessing through John to Jesus.  We wanted initiation for my nephew, because our place in our congregation and the body of Christ meant so much to me and my sister.

                Going through water as an initiation was not a new idea to Judeans and Israelites.  The Israelites were initiated into freedom as they went through the red sea.  They were again initiated into the promised land when they crossed the Jordan River right where Jesus is baptized on this day.  The Jewish people used bathing in purification rituals, initiating them back into the community after childbirth, or leprosy, or any other situation in which they might be considered unclean.

                Baptism is more than an initiation, though, it is one of two sacraments for Lutherans: Baptism and Communion.  To be a sacrament, Jesus had to have done it, Jesus had to have commanded us to do it, and something common such as water, bread, and wine that we can touch is used along with a promise or word from God.  God is truly and fully present in the sacrament, available to us, accessible, in with and under the elements, the water, the bread, and the wine.

                Jesus needs to be baptized because he was joining together in community.  Baptism is about community.  When Jesus began his ministry, he was showing right away that he didn’t act alone.  John was preparing the way.  This action was linked with thousands of years of Israelite history going through water and being purified by it.  He was baptized as he began his ministry, in which he constantly related to all kinds of people, especially restoring people who had lost their community because of disease or uncleanness.  And when Jesus says, “It is necessary to fulfill all righteousness,” he is saying that this is about right relationship—right relationship to God, to other people, and to all of God’s creation.  In baptism we take our proper place in the body of Christ, we are brothers and sisters with one another, and Christ is at our head.  Baptism means that we work together to do God’s work. 

                We wanted my nephew to have community.  We worried about him being born to such young parents.  They would need support.  He would need people around him to help him.  Even when you have experienced, wise parents, you need a community around you to show you other ways of doing things, to give you a variety of experiences and examples, to lift you up when you struggle.

                Jesus needed to be baptized to show us what kind of leader he would be.  The Gospel says a dove descends upon him. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus as he is praying after his baptism, in bodily form, like a dove. Every great leader had a bird that represented him. Caesar had an eagle. Herod had a hawk. Jesus has a dove. This is the dove that Noah sent out to see if the land was dried up enough to be habitable again after the flood. The dove is gentle and humble and peaceful. The dove is tender and innocent. This dove at Jesus’ baptism says what kind of leader Jesus will be. He will not respond with attacks, but with humility and tenderness. He will not seek to destroy, but to build up.  We still use the dove as a symbol in baptism, hoping that we will all take after our leader and be meek and gentle and peaceful.  We wanted that for my nephew.  We wanted him to seek peace and find peace.

                Jesus needed to be baptized because he was making a fresh start. Baptism is about a fresh start.  For us who are sinful, who do things we regret, hurt people we love accidentally and occasionally on purpose, who don’t do the good we wish we did, who have bad habits, who are pollute and destroy God’s creation, who harbor prejudices we are ashamed of and don’t know how to rid ourselves of, who are stingy about sharing, and who don’t like to be told what to do, there is hope.  We have been washed in the waters of God’s grace and we have a fresh beginning.  We have forgiveness and we can move forward in hope that we can do something different next time or that God can work through us despite or even through our imperfections.  For Jesus his fresh start was moving from the life of being a rabbi in training, to taking on disciples and starting his public ministry.  He was marking that transition with a ritual of going through the water, dying to his old self, and starting something new, rising up from the waters to begin this new way of being in the world. 

                We wanted for my nephew the chance to start fresh, to not be defined by his mistakes.  We wanted him to be able to forgive himself, and move forward.  We wanted him to be able to redefine himself as many times as he chose.  We wanted all the possibilities of life to be available to him.

                Jesus needed baptism to receive God’s blessing.  Baptism, as my friend Donna says, is a kiss from God.  All the little boys say, “Ewwww, gross!”  Her point is that it is a tangible touch of blessing, as a kiss is.  God made us and we are God’s children.  But our kids never know how much we love them unless we touch them.  In baptism, God touches us through water.  It is a public act, in front of other people.  God blessing us.  Jesus was human.  He needed that day, that touch, that promise.  It was a moment that would sustain him when he struggled, helped him focus on what was important when there were so many demands.  It was a memory he could pull up when he needed it.  And he heard the words to sustain him that he must have replayed over and over again, “This is my son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased.”

                My nephew cannot remember his baptism, but his family can tell him what happened that day.  It was a dark Easter Vigil.  We gathered around the font as the water trickled.  We had a very noisy font at that church.  I am his godmother.  The pastor poured the water on his head, lit a candle for him, marked the oil on his forehead and said, “You are sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” And “Let your light so shine before others that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Whenever he washes his face or stands in the rain he feels what he did the night of his baptism, whether he knows it or not.  My nephew and all of us are God’s beloved.  It is easy to forget so we need to hear it, remember it.  You are God’s beloved.

                My nephew does not believe in God.  But his light shines.  He is a caring person who has God’s blessing.  He does God’s work in the world, whether he knows it or not.  God has claimed him as a precious child, belonging to God.  I am proud of the man he has become and I hope he finds support in community, finds forgiveness, learning, and fresh starts when he disappoints himself or others, finds meaningful ways to serve especially his poor and hungry brothers and sisters in this world, and I especially hope he knows he is beloved.

                Some of you were baptized as adults and it was your choice.  Maybe you chose baptism for some of these reasons.  Some of you were baptized as babies or children.  Your families chose for you for some of the above reasons.  If you are not baptized, it doesn’t mean you don’t have God’s blessing.  It just means you haven’t marked the day, yet.  Whoever you are, this water of blessing is for you.  We baptize once, but we encounter water all the time, we need forgiveness and a fresh start and a blessing and God’s presence over and over.  So today, I invite you to the water, to touch it, to remember, to hear God’s words that you are a beloved child, and to start fresh as part of the body of Christ.