Remembering Our Baptism

Isaiah 43:1-7

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

How many of you remember your baptism. I am sure there are a few of you who remember because you were baptized as child or adults. However for most of us, our baptisms happened long before we could remember anything. Instead it is our parents and our godparents who can recall the details of the day of our baptisms. My mom tells me that my baptism was quite uneventful. I was calm throughout the whole ceremony and I actually delighted as the priest poured the holy water upon my head. Then there are the stories like my friend Patrick, where while he was being baptized he actually tried to drink the baptismal water. Is it any surprise that we both ended up in the ministry.

This morning we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism as remembered by the evangelist Luke. John the Baptist, the prophet called by God to proclaim the coming of the messiah was at the river Jordan “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Luke 3: 3) The story continues with Jesus being baptized and while Jesus is in prayer, the heavens opens up and Holy Spirit appears in the bodily form of a dove.

The Holy Spirit is a mysterious thing for sure. You never know when it will show up or what it will look like when it does. Some believe that Holy Spirit works as the embodiment of God’s special effects. “Water, Spirit, Wind and Fire: the stage is set for something important to happen and such events are always more impressive and more memorable if there are “special effects” accompanying them. Water is the stuff of life beginning with birth and baptism and yet it can overwhelm us in such things as floods and tsunamis. Fire brings light in the darkest night and heat in the coldest winter but it can destroy anything it engulfs. Wind is the most evocative sign of the Spirit moving among us; in fact, the word “wind can be translated into Spirit,” however comforting a cool breeze maybe on a hot day, it can turn into a tornado causing the wind to destroy anything in its path. +

The Gospel of Luke is what some interpreters have called “the book of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is an outward sign of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling grace. Through the use of water and the work of the Holy Spirit, the baptized is marked by the grace of God. The Holy Spirit is the form in which God quietly influences people to be God’s hands, feet and voice on earth. God and the Holy Spirit are what creates and sustains. At the baptism of Jesus it is God and the Holy Spirit who break through from heaven to proclaim, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Through the waters of baptism we are named as children of God, beloved and pleasing to God. In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the spirit and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people always. Baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is the sign and seal of our common discipleship. Since baptism is God’s gift, the Holy Spirit is called to be upon the water and those being baptized. The act of baptism marks the beginning of new life of discipleship with Christ, the human response to the gift of God’s grace. In every Christian Church we share this sacrament of baptism within a worship service in order to welcome the newly baptized into our community of faith and vow to always remind them that indeed they are a children of God.

This indwelling grace, this beloved-ness comes to sustain us through the challenging and hard times that we encounter through life’s journey. Many of us know that the way of Christian discipleship can be difficult and at times can take us to places that we would rather not go. I know this has been true for me. I’ve faced trials and been in situations where I’ve been wounded while witnessing to Jesus’ message of peace and justice in this world. At times, I’ve lamented my call, knowing the difficulties I face as a Christ’s disciple. However in these dark times, I remember my baptism. I remember that with the water that was poured over my head oh so long ago that God had claimed me and named me as God’s beloved child. I take to heart these words of Isaiah spoken to a people in exile.

“Do not fear …for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name and you are mine.

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 will not consume you

…because you are precious in my sight,

and honored, and I love you…

Do not fear, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 43: 1-7)

This morning, I invite you to remember your baptism through the service of water. I invite you to remember your baptismal vows and our denomination’s statement of faith. I invite you to remember the delight of baptism through sprinkling of water in this morning’s blessing.

+http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuael/s010707.html