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Baptism of Jesus

The Good News Written

Acts 8.14-17 (NRSV)

¹⁴Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the holy Spirit ¹⁶(for as yet… they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the holy Spirit.

Luke 3.15-16, 21-22 (NRSV)

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the holy Spirit descended upon… like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my… Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The Good News Proclaimed

Preached by the Reverend Robert L. Griffin at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, January 10, 2010.

I was visiting my sister Juniata once, and it was around one of our family reunions. My family being the religious family that is it decided that they all wanted to go to church on Sunday of the reunion … I of course, being the good minister that I am I said, go for it, I’m staying home.

They come back and my nephew is all excited about having going to church and attending Sunday School and I said well what did you learn and he stated talking about the creation story, all the things that the story said, animals, birds, you know all the stuff that the first creation story has it; then he said and God made people where this fig leaves, so being the good minister that I am, I said go find a bible and read the story me.

He brings the bible back and opens it to the book of Genesis and he shouts, Uncle look what I found, now this being my sisters Juniata’s bible I didn’t know what to expect, but pressed between the pages of the was an old leaf — and with the sincerest look on his face he looks at me with the leaf in hand and says I’ve just found part of Adam and Eve’s clothes.

In the Christian church, today is often referred to as baptism Sunday because it commemorates that day on which Jesus was baptized. There are many forms of baptism, if you come from a high church tradition, you might have experienced sprinkling or pouring as a form of baptism, and if you come from a low church background, full on emersion might have been your experienced. And for a newer and younger generation baptism might seem a little archaic and irrelevant.

Originally Baptism was a Jewish purification ritual performed by the priests at the temple to make someone who was deemed unclean presentable again to God. This uncleanness could come about from touching a dead, diseased, or bleeding body or breaking any one of a number of rules found in the Torah.

The ritual involved making an offering to the temple priest who would then bless the person and wash him or her ritualistically. This procedure symbolized washing away any spiritual impurity, leaving the washed person clean and renewed, worthy again to enter the holy temple.

Christianity began as a small sect within Judaism, and later branched out from Judaism. We see in the story of Jesus’ baptism that John the baptizer had developed a ministry of ritual cleansing in the river rather than at the Temple. Jesus goes to John for baptism before beginning his ministry, perhaps as a way of saying “I want to be fully ready to do what I feel called to do.” Perhaps the story is meant to encourage others to believe that wherever they are and whoever they are they can always have a fresh, new start. Perhaps, as the story is written after the Temple had been destroyed, it is meant to suggest that one can be cleansed, renewed, and committed to God even in the absence of the Temple. But it in any case, the story shows Jesus participating in the Jewish baptismal practice in a slightly new and different way. The Christian movement would continue the practice of baptism, asking people to make a commitment to the Christian path before being baptized into the life of Christian faith. Paul’s conversion was soon followed by the act of baptism, and in time, baptism was performed as early as infancy. So, baptism, as you can see, has a rich and multi-layered history.

Since Christmas we have looked at some of the moments in Jesus’ life that where especially filled with the presence of the Divine. The baptism story of Jesus is filled with mini epiphany moments. The first epiphany of this story today is that we learn that the people were filled with expectation. Why were they filled with expectation?

They were filled with expectation because they had heard a liberating and radical message spoken by John the Baptist. On his preaching stump, John quoted Isaiah, saying, “prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough way made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

This was good news, but it was not the goods. When the people heard this from John, they had been waiting for so long for One to come and make everything right. They wonder whether or not John was the Messiah, the promised one.

This period was during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee; needless to say, the oppressive Roman Empire was at work and the people who heard the message of John the Baptist heard in it the tone of liberation! What they heard was “get ready! World order is about to be turned upside down; the wrongs that have been done to you are about to be made right!” The people were ready for this kind of good news.

The people asked John, “What shall we do in order to survive since the government isn’t helping us?” John simply said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; whoever has food must do likewise.” John offered a message of hope and survival through a very simple message on sharing. In other words, John was saying don’t wait for the government to do for you when you can do for yourselves, be well pleased with your own actions and not wait for someone else. Choose to feel good about who you are; choose to let old regrets be washed away. Choose to let old disappointments be washed away. Choose to let old prejudices, fears, and mistakes be washed away. Choose to be who and what you are meant to be; wash away the false idea of yourself and know that you are a child of God in whom God is well pleased!

This message was edgy, liberating, and life-giving. Tax collectors, people that worked for the system, came to John to be baptized and asked John, “What should we do” and John told them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed you.” In others words, why are you robbing from your own people; it is bad enough that they have to work for less than minimum wages; then you come along and take what they owe to the government and the extra that you charge. If you didn’t do that, the resources could go to benefit the community at large, instead of you making yourself to feel secure on the backs of your own people.

John’s message was so on target that even the soldiers who worked for the Roman Empire inquired of John the Baptist, “What should we do?” John told them don’t be the heavy on your own people. It is bad enough that they have to give all they have and then you come and bear false witness just to feel entitled. You hurt your own people so that you can feel safer, more important, or more privileged. You know that’s wrong. Stop doing that… treat others the way you’d want to be treated.

So, yes, the people heard the liberating voice of John the Baptist. They heard a voice pushing back against the status quo, challenging communities to do better toward each other … yes this was good news and the people were wondering, they were hoping that the one that the prophet Isaiah had spoken of had come in the person of John the Baptist.

And then John the Baptist reveals the next epiphany when he says, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.”

Baptism is a sacrament, that means it is an OUTWARD sign of INWARD grace. The grace is already an inward event… the ritual isn’t magic; it is a symbol of an inward reality. Baptism doesn’t cleans us; it reminds us that we are innately clean. It doesn’t make us good; it reminds us that we are good. It is an activity meant to help us hear, “This is my child whom I love and with whom I am well pleased.” It is the outward water that reminds us of the inward fire… and that water and fire mix to make the steam that powers our life of faith.

Jesus’ baptism is yet another one of those epiphany moments in story and time. You heard Luke’s version read this morning. ²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the holy Spirit descended upon… like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my… Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

That is Luke’s version. All four gospels portray this scene. But Luke’s version is a little different than the others. In each version, though, the Spirit descends “like a dove”. The holy Spirit is not a bird. Luke and the other apostles use the dove as a metaphor for the Spirit’s presence in our lives. It is a beautiful metaphor. Have you ever seen a dove descend and land? It is graceful, gentle, and quiet. That’s the point being made. That is the way the holy Spirit seems to express in our lives: as a gentle presence, a glowing light, a cleansing fire, a refreshing breeze. Baptism revealed the presence of the Spirit in Jesus’ life, and the presence of the Spirit affirmed Jesus’ sacred value. Baptism, for us, is meant to reveal the presence of the Spirit; it is meant to affirm our sacred value.

Baptism doesn’t save us; it reminds us that we are safe. Baptism doesn’t make us clean; it reminds us that we are clean. Baptism doesn’t make us children of God; it reminds us that we are children of God. We are already immersed in the power and the presence of God. Baptism is the ritual act that reminds of this inward and eternal truth. Baptism is the reminder of who and whose are, always have been, and always will be.

If you’ve been baptized — remember today the message of your baptism: you are a child of God with whom God is well pleased.

If you’ve been baptized — don’t think you need to do it again. The real event was within you all the time… the event of grace that affirmed your sacred value didn’t need water or witnesses; those just helped remind us all of the Truth that always has been — the truth of God’s love for all people.

If you haven’t been baptized and would like to be (or if you would like to have your child baptized) — just call the office, tell us you want a baptism, we’ll schedule it.

And if you haven’t been baptized and don’t want to have the ritual… that’s OK too. Because you are already immersed in God’s love… you already have the fire of the Spirit in your heart, the refreshing presence of God’s love in your soul. If you don’t want the outward celebration of the inward Truth, then just know the Truth and be thankful for it.

Whether you were baptized as an infant or an adult, with a few drops of water or in a deep creek, by a pastor or a layperson, or even not at all… the message is the same. YOU are God’s child, loved eternally by God, and in you God is well pleased!

As we recall Jesus’ baptism and the baptisms that are performed in our community, may we remember that the ritual is really an outward sign of inward grace… and grace is unmerited favor… it can’t be earned and it can’t be lost. We are washed in God’s love and we are forever immersed in the flowing stream of that unconditional love. Baptism, whether Jesus’ or our own, is a sign that God is with us and always will be.

As we reflect on baptism today, may we remember that God cares for us when we are not able to care for ourselves because we are God’s beloved.

May we be reminded that we are connected to a larger community of believers and seekers on a journey together and we are God’s beloved.

Beloved lets us love God, because God first loved us and it is in that sharing of God’s love that we are renewed in our faith, in our passion for life and justice. Amen.

The Good News Affirmed

I am baptized in the love of God!

I am made clean by the love of God!

I am made whole by the power of God!

I am renewed by the spirit of God!

I am a beloved of God!

Amen!

Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20100110_1.mp3)

Video readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/video/20100110_1.wmv)