In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Have
you ever wondered what Baptism is all about? I mean, why do we do it? I think
that many of us would say that God loves every single person in the world, and
that we are all children of God the moment we are born, if not sooner. Our
two-month old daughter hasn’t yet been baptized, but I don’t doubt God’s love
for her for one second. We belong to God before we are baptized, so why
Baptism? Some might say that in Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit. But do we
really want to say that the Holy Spirit can only come through a human action –
that somehow by denying someone Baptism that we could deny them the gift of God’s
Spirit? I’m not comfortable with that one. Of course, some will say that
Baptism is required for personal salvation from Hell, and as pervasive as that
point of view is, that conclusion doesn’t really have any solid Biblical or
theological basis. So why do we Baptize people?
Today’s
reading from Luke gives us a great opportunity to consider that question. This
past week, we celebrated Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus to the world.
Prior to Epiphany, Jesus had only been known to a few Jewish characters in the
story – shepherds and people in the Temple. But at the Epiphany, the magi from
foreign lands come to see God’s salvation in Jesus. On the Sunday after the
Epiphany, we always remember the Baptism of Our Lord – which is a furthering of
the manifestation of Jesus to the world. There, gathered at the river, the
heavens open and the voice of God is heard proclaiming Jesus’ belovedness for
all the world to hear.
After
the sermon, we’re going to be renewing our Baptismal vows, which is a fitting
thing to do after hearing this Baptism narrative from Luke. This is the first
time using the font in our renovated Baptistery, so I’d also like to use this
sermon to talk through how our liturgical space is influenced by our
understanding of Baptism. It has been said that “praying shapes believing.” The
way in which we pray, the words that we use, the actions that we make will
influence our beliefs. For example, many of you bow your head when the Cross
processes past you – that form of praying shapes what you believe about the
Cross, namely that it is worthy of our reverence. However, it is also true that
our beliefs influence the ways in which we pray. The ways in which we celebrate
Baptism will be shaped by what we proclaim about that Sacrament.
There
are three things that Baptism does – Baptism gives us our identity, Baptism
unites us, and Baptism transforms us. First, our identity. If I asked you to
write down the top five words that you’d use to describe yourself, what would
they be? How about if I asked your friends and family to write five words about
you? And what if I asked the people who don’t like you to describe you? What
words might end up on your cumulative list?
It
doesn’t matter. In our reading from Luke we heard the one word that describes
us all – beloved. In the text from Isaiah, we heard of God’s affection for us: “You
are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” I know that I’ve said
this in sermons before, but I’m not going to stop saying it – you are loved.
You are loved, not because of what you accomplished, or how many New Year’s
resolutions you keep, or what you look like, or how much money you have, but
you are loved because you are you.
What
Baptism proclaims is that nothing can take away that fact that you are loved by
God. While the words from heaven are spoken about Jesus, theologians through
the centuries have said that we should know that they are applicable to our own
Baptisms. Nothing can take that love away – not our rejection of that love, not
our forgetfulness, not our sins. This is why, at Baptism, we speak about being
cleansed from sin. In Baptism, anything that could ever threaten to separate us
from God is stripped away. It’s wonderful that Baptism happens so simply – the only
ingredient is water. So every time you drink water, or wash your hands, or take
a shower, let that water remind you that you are loved. We can never be
reminded too often of our identity as God’s beloved.
Baptism
also unites us, both to God and to each other. We proclaim that Baptism is our initiation
into the Body of Christ. You are Baptized and I am Baptized, and so nothing can
dissolve our relationship to each other. Baptism also unites Christian of all
different sorts. The most liberal and the most conservative followers of Jesus
all came into the faith in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We
might fight tooth and nail about issues like same-sex marriage, or the meaning
of Sacraments, or where authority lies in the Church, but Baptism keeps us all
together. If you have been Baptized, you have been Baptized; no one can take
that away or deny that they are bound to you because of that.
When
we celebrate a Baptism at St. Luke’s, we’ll start with the Examination of the
Candidates up front. The candidates for Baptism, or their parents and
godparents if they are unable to answer for themselves, will profess their faith
and trust in God and we will join them in reciting the Apostles’ Creed and
Baptismal Covenant. This will take place up front to emphasize that the
Candidates for Baptism are being united to the whole Body.
We
will then process to the Baptistery. There is a lot of imagery in this motion,
which is both shaped by our beliefs about Baptism and seeks to reinforce those
beliefs. The journey to the font goes through the congregation, a further
symbol that we are united together in Baptism. But the journey to the
Baptistery is also intended to evoke a sense of descent into death, with the Baptistery
being a tomb of sorts. Archeologists have found that the oldest Baptismal fonts
were shaped like a casket or sarcophagus. In his letter to Rome, St. Paul
writes “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism
into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united
with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his.”
Part
of the salvation of Baptism is that it unites us to the victory of Jesus’ Death
and Resurrection; so from the earliest days of the faith, Baptismal imagery has
involved images of death. Even water itself is a part of this image. In the
Biblical worldview, water represented chaos and danger. Given the stories that
we’ve in the news this past week about flooding around the Mississippi River,
we still know the chaotic power of water. It is the paradox of our faith that
we claim a peaceful Messiah as Lord, that through chaotic water we find peace,
and that in death we find new life. And so our praying is shaped by our
beliefs.
In
the Baptistery, we will give God thanks for water and perform Baptisms. We’ll
then process back to the front of the nave. As we do so, we’ll do so with the
word “Alleluia.” Alleluia is a word that means “praise God,” and it is the
refrain of our faith. Alleluia is the victory shout of Easter morning, and so
it is word that we use as we exit our symbolic tomb into newness of life. We’ll
then move to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the ultimate symbol and Sacrament of
our union with God and each other.
Finally,
Baptism transforms us. If we are given new life in and through Baptism, the
question becomes “What do you do with this new life?” As I’ve said before,
Baptism is not a status, it is Sacrament; and in Sacraments, things change and
grace flows. Baptism names you as God’s beloved, but the love doesn’t only come
at the moment of your Baptism, nor does it stop with you. As the beloved of
God, we are to be vehicles for God’s love to the world. Baptism not only gives
us our identity, it also gives us our call. In the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison narrates a story about escaped slaves, and
at one point writes “Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that
freed self was another.”
Interspersed
in our reading from Luke today is an odd story about King Herod and John the
Baptist. John had been speaking truth to power, and as it often does, that got
him into trouble. So Herod closed the prison door, locking John away. As the
story of Jesus’ Baptism progresses, we heard that the heavens were opened up by
God. Notice the difference in these actions – Herod closes and God opens.
What
does your Baptism open to you? Baptism transforms us by opening us to new possibilities
of what happens when we live more fully in God’s eternal love. What closed
doors need to be pushed open? What is the Holy Spirit empowering you to do? By
January 10, there’s a chance you’ve already forgotten about your resolution for
the new year. As we process back to the chancel from the font, I’m going to
sprinkle the whole congregation with the holy waters of Baptism as a reminder
of your Baptismal vows, your belovedness, and of your empowerment and charge to
be transformed.
Being reminded of your
Baptism, I wonder what you might resolve to you? How might you be open to spreading
God’s love? Might you resolve to volunteer at Rowan Helping Ministries or
Prevent Child Abuse Rowan? Might you resolve to pray and read Scripture on a
more regular basis? Might you resolve to treat everyone, including yourself, as
God’s beloved?
Let us pray. Almighty
God, we give you thanks for the Baptism of Jesus and revealing your love to the
world. As we renew the promises of our Baptism today, help us to claim our
identity as your beloved. Empower us through our unity in Jesus’ Death and
Resurrection. And transform our hearts and minds to be open to the calling of
our belovedness. Amen.
