Baptism of the Lord + Loved! + 1.13.19

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David Bonnell, The Baptism of the Christ

M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)

Today’s gospel reading brings us to a riverbank, to the baptism of Jesus. Before he is baptized, the people gather around John to hear him preach and to see him baptize people for repentance of sins. There is a tremendous sense of expectation from the people. Richard Swanson describes it this way: A “’multitude of Jews who are all waiting for the promises they heard about from their grandmothers’ in a time when ‘the sense of accumulated wrong is so powerful, the backlog of unkept promises so enormous, that the hopes coalesced into a focused question directed at John: Are you the messiah?’”[1]
Wow, does that sound familiar or what? The weight of a lot of unkept promises in the world today, the promises from our grandmothers that a better world can be? Can you feel the similar built up expectations?
And of course, John was not the Messiah, but here he comes, Jesus. And his first act here is a humble one. He is to be baptized. Not to show his authority first, but to allow John to exercise his prophetic ministry. In this way, he shows us how real power is wrought – with humility and respect for others’ authority.
And so today we are brought again to that shore, and reminded of our baptism.
It is interesting that this Sunday generally falls near to the beginning of the year, because renewing our baptismal vows is a bit like making New Year’s resolutions – but for church. If we truly remember and renew our baptismal vows, we are saying to God, I re-commit to this relationship. Thank you for loving me and being in my life.
In hearing of Jesus’ baptism and we are called to remember who we are – each of us a Christian, who has been baptized and who is claimed by God
Baptism of course is not a Christian invention. In the Jewish tradition baptism was a ritual for the washing away or forgiveness of sins. It is also still used as part of the initiation of converts to Judaism.
And the focus on forgiveness of sin is still one of the biggest items that arises when I am preparing people for baptism. It makes sense our symbolism is still that of washing and cleansing ourselves. And that is a big part of what we are doing.
But here John speaks of a new level to religious initiation – the baptism of the Holy Spirit – which purifies not just of sin but cleanses all in us that holds us back from God. It also unleashes the spiritual gifts that God has given each of us to serve. Many times we want to talk about the separation of the wheat and the chaff as the separation of good people from bad people. But truth be told, all of us likely have some wheat and some chaff. It is more likely that the process described here is both a communal cleansing and a personal process of healing by which that which separates us from God is removed from us by the grace of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.
And then we see in Jesus’ modeling this process for us a reminder of his belovedness, which is also an extension of our beloved-ness. It is an echo of the words we heard from the prophet Isaiah: “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you (Isaiah 43:4a).” We hear a lot about God’s love for us in the scriptures, but I have heard that this is the only time in scripture when God directly tells God’s people “I love you.”[2] So let us listen! Because in echoing these words of Jesus, God isn’t just reinforcing Jesus’ authority as God’s son and beloved, God is by extension reminding all of God’s faithful people of their belovedness. You. Are. Loved. You were loved before you were born, before your father or mother or grandmother or aunt knew you would be. And that is what we are reminded at our baptism.
So as you continue to look at New Year’s resolutions this January, don’t just focus on your “sins” – if you haven’t exercised enough or eaten well enough or been disciplined enough about other goals- also be aware of cleaning out what in your life is keeping you from God. Is there something in your life that prevents you from daily prayer? A distraction? Are other commitments keeping you from regular church worship or reading the scriptures? Of course we all have other commitments that we need to stick to, but look at your relationship with God with an honest eye. Read the questions today with an open heart. Where and how is God asking you to grow this year?
Another way to think about this is not just what personal goals you have for this year but also what goals you have to make this year awesome for those around you- as they asked us at our daughter’s school this week. And perhaps in doing this as we know that in loving our neighbor we love God best, we might see how we can renew our baptismal vows this year by getting closer to God.
On a personal note, this is a year of much reflection for me. I have almost ten years of ministry under my belt and as always still so much to learn. Halfway through the year I will be taking some time for sabbatical – which will be rest but also an opportunity to grow spiritually and to learn as I hope to see the Holy Land and other religious sites. It is a time for me to ask how I am best serving you all as a congregation and how I can grow as a priest and as a person of faith.
Why do we do this reflection at the beginning of the year? And why might we reflect on our baptismal vows and recommit? There are a lot of good reasons, but one is because we know that when we get closer to God, we are closer to the one who loved us first. We are closer to the one who recognizes not just Jesus but also us as God’s beloved children. When empowered by that love, there is nothing this year cannot bring that we cannot conquer with the help of the one who loved us first!
So hear these words again from our God, as shared by Isaiah:
“Thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
…
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you.”
(Isaiah 43:1; 4a)
Amen

[1] As quoted by Kathryn Matthews, “Sermon Seeds January 13, 2019,” found at: http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_january_13_2019.
[2] Karoline Lewis, Matt Skinner, Rolf Jacobson, “Working Preacher Sermon Brainwave Podcast #643 - Baptism of Our Lord,” For January 13, 2019, found at: https://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=1094.

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