Baptism of the Lord + 1/12/25

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M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Isaiah 43:1–7; Ps. 29; Acts 8:14–17; St. Luke 3:15–17, 21–22)

 

Veni Sancte Spiritus… Veni Sancte Spiritus… Come, Holy Spirit…

I remember the echo of these haunting words moving through my body, vibrating through the wood near the altar of the cathedral, on which I was lying prostrate. Although my posture and that of my peers was one of great humility, a recognition of the wondrous and fearful action that was about to occur, our ordination into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, to be honest in that moment I felt an almost mystical sense of being held in the Spirit. I felt that mass of worshippers chanting, invoking the Spirit’s presence, beseeching that same Spirit to bless our ministries, to work in and through us as priests. I could have stayed there forever, but instead I stood up, those fifteen years ago, because there was something to be done, and it has been an amazing journey ever since, and even before. This is a moment I relive each time I attend an ordination, as I did on Saturday for Karen James and her cohort. Always moving!

Because today is the Baptism of our Lord, and a day when many around the whole church of Christ are being baptized. Often during baptism preparations, I do a quick summary of the sacramental rites with the parents and godparents, and for the benefit of the one to be baptized also if they are able to understand. Sometimes when we get to the discussion of ordination, it is pointed out that that doesn’t seem like a sacrament for the people, since only priests, deacons and bishops experience it. Like marriage, it may not be a sacrament all of us participate in. However, remembering back to that moment, prostrate on the wood floor near the altar at St. John’s Cathedral, and remembering seeing the same for Karen and friends this past Saturday, I must beg to differ. Because, you see, the people were participating in it. The community was calling the Spirit, asking the Spirit to be present. Because without community and the Spirit, you can’t be baptized or make a priest or deacon. We all somehow participate.

Some may ask: why did Jesus need a baptism if he was already the Son of God? Was it perhaps to show us a way to enter his family, the family of God? Was it a way to follow him? Some commentators say that in Luke-Acts, Jesus’ role is to model how to live a Christian life.[1] He is baptized, so we are baptized. He shows us the way. Literally. He is the way, and we walk in it.

And notice—Jesus is baptized, and then what does he do? (…) He prays. He prays and the Spirit shows up. The disciples do the same in the passage from Acts, after those in Samaria are baptized. And the Spirit shows up. Now, this is Jesus’ prayer, but remember, Jesus is also modeling here, so isn’t it also perhaps the prayer of those gathered, that invites the Spirit to come and be present in such a dramatic fashion? Jesus prays, and the people pray, and the Spirit shows up, tearing through the clouds to tell us about God’s beloved son.

So a little later in this service, we will remember our own baptismal vows and those that parents or godparents may have said on our behalf if we do not recall it ourselves. We will walk this journey, the one we see in today’s gospel, with each other as a community of faith. We will walk the journey of repentance. Before the baptism, it is said: “we renounce Satan, the evil powers of the world, and sinful desires,” and here we will renounce those things once more. We will remember John the Baptist saying repent, calling us to leave behind those things in our lives that enslave us. I remember hearing that at my baptism, my godfather almost went on strike because he was not a big believer in a literal person called the Devil, but the priest tried to help him realize that we all interpret these questions differently and that what he was really rejecting was whatever harms the people of God and God’s creation, and he could get on board with that.

Also before a baptism we say: “we turn to Jesus Christ,” and here we remember John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus the Christ, and saying, “Look to him!” And in the baptism, we will also be thinking of John the Baptist and Jesus at the shore.

But let us also remember to pray. Jesus prayed. The crowd around him prayed. And the Spirit showed up. Our collective prayer leaves open a door for the Holy Spirit to break in, and to work. The same happened on Saturday at the ordination. Without prayer, it would have been a ritual of empty words and symbols, but with prayer, God showed up and something happened that changed the lives of the ordinands and those whose lives they will touch or continue to touch in their ministries.

Without prayer, we are simply moving through the ritualistic motions. But with it, we let the Holy Spirit take this moment and transform it. We let the Holy Spirit transform our lives. I have experienced this in my baptism, and in my ordination, and at other times in my life. I pray you feel it today, and that we each feel it afresh as we remember our baptisms.
And so, in a moment, instead of reciting the Nicene Creed, let us renew our own baptismal covenant, praying for all to be baptized in the whole church of Christ today. After a pause, let us open our prayer books to page 304 and affirm our faith together. Let us do the work of ritual but let us also pray. And may the Holy Spirit work in each of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Amen.

 



[1] Ron Allen, “Commentary on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22,” from Working Preacher, for January 10, 2016: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2709. 

 

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