Rediscovering our baptism

“…When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Luke 3:15-22 (Year C: Baptism of the Lord/First Sunday after the Epiphany, 13^th January, 2019)

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A NOTE ABOUT TODAY’S READINGS

In addition to this coming Sunday’s Gospel reading which is common to most Western Christian churches, the other readings from scripture found in the ‘paired’ Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) of the Church of Ireland for this Sunday are: Isaiah 43:1-7,  Psalm 29(28), and  Acts 8:14-17.  Directly parallel Gospel readings to this particular Gospel reading from Luke may be found in Matthew 3:11-17 and in Mark 1:4-11.

In the liturgical cycle of the Roman Catholic Church, for this coming Sunday, the choice of readings is the same as above except for the following: The first reading is from Isaiah 40:1-11 and the second is from Titus 2:11-14;3:4-7.

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SERMON NOTES (732 words)

Most of us cannot remember the most important day of our lives!  The day of our baptism is the day that we are sacramentally and ritually welcomed into the wider Christian family. It is a beautiful and altogether special day. Lest it might be suggested that our lives go steadily downwards thereafter it must be point out that baptism could be compared to an entrance ceremony in which we are enrolled on a lifelong course of discipleship. And on our journey we learn the most important skill in life – love.

And here is the most important life skill a young infant can learn – love. A loving home environment and wider community is rich in life-long and life-wide and life deep learning.

We are invited to love because we have been dearly loved in the first place.

That brings us to the story of Jesus in the Jordan. A voice is heard from heaven: (Luke 3:22).

‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

That same voice would speak, again, at the Transfiguration saying (Luke 9:35):

‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’

What the God of Love said to us on the day of our baptism is what He says to each of us today and it is this:

‘This is my Son, listen to him’.

And what is that Jesus the Christ says to us today? He bids us to go out into the world and love each person one by one and moment by moment. And that starts here and in this place. No matter what our history is or how we feel right now, today is a new day; a day that will never be repeated. It is a unique opportunity to respond to the call of love.

This is the meaning of baptism – that very ancient and modern of sacraments that we need to rediscover in all its simplicity and relevance now. It is a dying to self and a meeting with the Risen Christ. The outward sign of water symbolises the cleansing power of baptism in anticipation of a life dedicated to God. We become special and gentle members of the whole Christian family.

The only way to make sense of the story of our baptism is to travel down to the Jordan with Jesus in his baptism, so to speak, and be immersed in the waters of tribulation and cleaning (the two go hand in hand if we can see it).  That takes courage. To go there in the first place is a big step. Then, to allow oneself to be immersed in the waters for a moment is an act of trust on the part of the one being submerged. 

Jesus walked into the Jordan in solidarity with all of us seeking healing, renewal and life. He didn’t need to do this. In fact, God didn’t need to send Jesus in the first place. However, this God of ours is a God-who-is-love and cannot help himself loving and making himself one with what he has created.

Going along with a sound and established religious ritual is indeed a good thing to do. But, doing so with faith, conviction and prayer in the presence of God is what makes the difference.  This is why Christian baptism – a much neglected and overlooked sacrament – should be so central to the mission of all that we do as Christians.  Think of it – what happens in baptism is the most crucial outward sign of a gift that is ours over all that comes before and all that comes after.  Anybody can be baptised once and for all where there is faith and intention. Baptism is the one sacrament that can – legitimately – be administered by anyone lay or ordained. And it is the one sacrament that is seen to be shared by all disciples of Christ whatever the petty squabbles over other sacraments which in many cases turns out to be a squabble over words and human philosophy.

We are made into living members of his Body when ‘water is poured over us’ in baptism and when ‘bread and wine is freely given to us’ in the Eucharist.  From there flows the grace and energy of discipleship day by day, year by year until we meet the Lord Jesus fully face to face at our death which is only are final rebirth to everlasting life.

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SOME IDEAS FOR INTERCESSIONS

Loving Father you sent us your Son Jesus in the Holy Spirit to transform our world.

Recalling the baptism of Your son in the river Jordan we yearn to hear, once again, your Word in the depths of our hearts. At this time of joy for the birth of your Son let us be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we pray for:

The Earth and all its peoples….

Our own country…

The communities in which we live and work…

Christian churches across the world and in this locality…

Our parish/community/congregation…

For those preparing for baptism in the coming months…. (named?)

One another….

Named persons ….

Remembering with thanks those who have gone before us….

… praying in silence….

Loving Father accept these, our prayers, in the name of Jesus our saviour born that all may be truly free.

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FURTHER NOTES ON THE GOSPEL OF THE DAY

Preliminaries

In the liturgy we jump from the birth of Jesus forward to the time when he began his ministry soon after his baptism in the river Jordan. The theology behind this story is well captured in the concluding verses of that hymn sometimes used in liturgies, Down by the Jordan:

Here in the Church, we are baptized and filled with God's Spirit.

Freed and forgiven, we're welcomed with joy! Can you hear it?This is God's sign! This is how God says, "You're mine!"Let's take the good news and share it!

Luke relates many incidents in Jesus’ life when he prayed alone or in public. In this sketch we see a crowd pressing in on the prophet John eager to hear his answer to the questions being asked.  Jesus was beginning to make his mark in the region but John was still the leading prophet who challenged people far and wide with a message of repentance. The symbolism of going down into the water and re-emerging is a powerful one for death and re-birth.

Water carries a power and healing that is captured in many religious rituals and practices. In the Christian sacrament – not to be confused with the baptism of John found in the gospels – we go down with Christ to be raised up again.

For an adult undergoing ‘full immersion’ it can be a shock especially if the water is icy cold as it is in the baths in Lourdes in southern France by the waters of the river Gave.

How does our baptism connect with the baptism that Jesus – surprisingly – underwent in the river Jordan?  A baptism by John is a sign of something greater to come. It holds the meaning of repentance, cleansing and renewal. However, the baptism brought by Jesus will see a transformation in the Holy Spirit that will have a lasting effect on individuals and communities. It will build on John’s baptism and the prophecies of old but usher in a new life and reality for those who will taste of the Holy Spirit. Once marked there is no going back. Even if people walk away from their baptismal vows at some stage in their lives (is there anyone who doesn’t?) we have, each of us, been marked out by God’s love in this founding sacrament and this love will never leave us.

We may note that whereas Mark said Jesus was baptised by John, Matthew says that Jesus presented himself for baptism (and there was something of a tussle before John agreed to baptise his cousin) while Luke does not specifically say who baptised Jesus. Finally, John makes no mention of the baptism of the Lord in his gospel. Could it be that the entire episode probably presented challenges for the early Christian community for which the evangelists wrote and from which they came and among whom some disciples were still coming to terms with the story of how John gave way to Jesus?

v. 15-18   John proclaims the Good News of the coming of the Messiah

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John 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. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 

John prepares a way for Jesus. The baptism of John is a very different type of baptism. Luke makes this clear. John declares that he baptises with water but the one who comes after him will baptise with the Holy Spirit and with ‘fire’. Fire is often associated with the Holy Spirit. Moreover, fire is a sign of the purifying impact of God who is all powerful. The Spirit burns up and sorts out what is good from what is evil.

v. 19-20    A sign of contradiction and suffering

 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

Throughout the scriptures times of great joy and expectation are followed by times of trial, persecution and suffering. As it was then so it is now and will be until we find ourselves in the final victory of God’s Kingdom. In the choice of readings, these verses are usually omitted for this Sunday. Somehow, they interrupt the flow of the story leading up to the baptism of Jesus. Yet, it is important to restate that the signal for Jesus’ very public entry into ministry was not only his baptism by John but the execution of the latter. This must have had a devastating impact on Jesus. Not only did he lose a close cousin and ally but he knew, even then, what awaited him. And we may surmise that one way or another out baptism is not complete until we have shared the cup of the Lord.

v. 21-22    The Baptism of Jesus

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

In verse 22 the role of Jesus as Messiah, King, Prophet, Suffering Servant and unique Son come together. We meet the fulfilment of the role of the suffering servant in Isaiah 42:1:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

In the face of our beloved – Voltus Christi we can also see our own humanity – ‘those of the adoptive son revealed in our baptism’ as Saint Augustine of Hippo once wrote.

ENDS