“Looking Back…Looking Forward” Matthew 3:13-17
Sunday, January 9, 2011 – Baptism of Our Lord Sunday
Sunday, January 9, 2011 – Baptism of Our Lord Sunday
Baptism is an act that looks back with gratitude on what God’s grace has already accomplished.
It is here and now an act of God’s grace.
It looks forward to what God’s grace will accomplish in the future.
As Baptism signifies the whole working of God’s grace – from the washing away of sin to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit – it represents the journey of an entire lifetime.
If a personal Christian commitment has been made – “believer’s baptism” – then the sacrament celebrates that commitment and God’s grace that made it possible.
“LOOKING BACK”
“LOOKING BACK”
If a Christian commitment has not been made – infant baptism – then the sacrament anticipates that commitment, declares it to be necessary, and celebrates God’s grace that will make it possible.
“LOOKING FORWARD”
“LOOKING FORWARD”
The story of Jesus’ baptism calls us to look back at and let go of things as we think they ought to be…And to look forward to how God sees things…
Jesus says: “It is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”
This story draws us into a place where the church has never been quite comfortable…
a place where Jesus stands among sinners…
where he walks in the mud of the river bank with us…
and steps into the cleansing water beside us, whether he needs it or not.
a place where Jesus stands among sinners…
where he walks in the mud of the river bank with us…
and steps into the cleansing water beside us, whether he needs it or not.
Let us pray…
You have taken us by the hand, O God, and kept us for your own.
You know us better than we know ourselves.
Our doubts, our fears, our weaknesses are not hidden from your sight,
nor our strengths, our potentials, our joys.
nor our strengths, our potentials, our joys.
May your Spirit work within us to spark and kindle our faith,
to guide our hearing of your Word today,
to give us courage and calm our fears,
and lead us to be your people, as your hands and your eyes in the world.
to guide our hearing of your Word today,
to give us courage and calm our fears,
and lead us to be your people, as your hands and your eyes in the world.
Amen.
If you look at the four gospels and how they each tell this story, you can’t help but see how uneasy the authors were.
Matthew’s version elaborates on Mark’s by adding that John tries to talk Jesus out of being baptized.
Luke won’t even come right out and say that it was John who did the baptizing.
John’s gospel re-tells John the Baptizer’s testimony that he saw the Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus, but he stops short of saying anything about Jesus himself being baptized.
Most scholars agree that all this embarrassment about telling the story probably means that the story is true…You see, if someone tells you a story that isn’t in his best interest to tell, it’s probably the truth.
And the story of Jesus being baptized like every other sinner wasn’t exactly the kind of story that inspires confidence in this new movement and inspires others to join.
Try putting it into today’s context…
If Jesus had listened to his public relations people, he probably would have been a friend to sinners, a loving helper to the lost, but he would never have risked being mistaken for one them by acting like one of them and standing in line to have his sins washed away…
His handlers would never have let him be baptized like one of the regular folk.
He might have stood on the shore offering words of encouragement.
He might offer his hand to help those struggling to get out of the water weighed down by their wet tunics.
He might even step in to give John a break with the dunking.
But getting down and dirty with the real people would get him on the cover of every rag mag in the supermarket check-out line…It would ruin his reputation.
Who is going to believe that he was there because he cared about everyone and refused to separate himself from them?
Gossip being what it is, who’s not going to think that maybe this Jesus had at least a few teenie weenie things to get off his conscience before he sets off to change the world?
The campaign geeks would never allow Jesus to be mistaken for one of these poor schmucks he’s come to save…
I mean, you see the problem here don’t you? Sure, God loves sinners, but WE, I mean He, doesn’t want to be mistaken for one of them…Guilt by association and all.
AH, now maybe you really see the problem and why the church has always been so uncomfortable with the story of Jesus’ baptism.
“We spend a lot of time in the Christian church talking about God’s love for sinners, but we sure go to a lot of trouble not to be mistaken for one of them.”[1]
We’re all about welcoming the lost and the lonely and broken, as long as it’s clear that we’re found, popular, and healed.
Here’s the thing…Jesus – our leader, our example, our Lord – doesn’t seem to care very much about all that.
“In him, God’s being-with-us included God’s being in the river with us, in the flesh with us, in the sorrow of repentance and the joy of new life with us. So what if he didn’t have anything of his own to be sorry about?”[2]
When we come to the altar to pray and confess our sins, it is not just our personal sins that concern us…
We kneel before God and lament all the things we, as a people, have done and have failed to do; all the ways we have turned from God; all the times we have run away from God’s love; the times we have been afraid to be changed by God…
We repent for ourselves, for each other, and for our world.
Likewise, when we come to celebrate new life, we don’t do it for ourselves alone…
We shout alleluia on behalf of all those who have discovered hope and healing in the midst of despair and brokenness…
We shout for joy as light is shined into another’s darkness or life is found at the edge of death…
When we baptize here at the altar, we celebrate for the one and for the all of the church; we rejoice with the whole Body of Christ.
“Nothing we do here is a private matter between us and God…
Like Jesus in the river, this is something we do in union – in communion – with all humankind.”[3]
· “Will you let the Spirit use you as prophets to the powers that be?”
· “Will you be living witnesses to the gospel, individually and together, wherever you are, and in all that you do?”
These are just two of the questions we will answer together in a few moments as we re-affirm our Baptismal Covenant.
Whenever we baptize someone, whether an infant or an adult, we begin with the Baptismal Covenant.
We say it with them, we celebrate with them,
so that we all remember what is expected of us:
to believe in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
to take our places at God’s table and grow strong on His food;
to never give up on ourselves or on each other;
to proclaim the good news that God has come among us in the flesh
so that we all remember what is expected of us:
to believe in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
to take our places at God’s table and grow strong on His food;
to never give up on ourselves or on each other;
to proclaim the good news that God has come among us in the flesh
“Then we invite the newcomers to step into the river with Jesus, so that their beings are wrapped up with all other human beings: the well ones and the hurt ones, the brave ones and the weak ones, the successful ones and the ones who cannot seem to get anything right.”[4]
You see, if you look back you’ll realize that you and all the rest of us did the same thing…
Whether we were carried up here in our mother’s arms or we walked down the aisle in answer to a call, we all climbed into the River of Life with Jesus and all of his flawed kinfolk.
There’s no chance that we’ll be mistaken for one of those sinner people –
We are one of them – and Thanks be to God, just like them,
we can look forward to a life spent splashing around in the water with Jesus!
We are one of them – and Thanks be to God, just like them,
we can look forward to a life spent splashing around in the water with Jesus!
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen
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