The Scripture
Luke 3: 1-22
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—
during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.
John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. 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 barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done,
Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God, thanks be to God. Amen.
Let us pray.....
The Message Baptism Brings About New Beginnings
Every January, on the Sunday after the feast of the Epiphany, we remember Jesus’ baptism. Jesus’ baptism was his “debut” as the Messiah – his first public appearance as the Son of God. As was true for Jesus, our baptisms are also our debuts as Christians.
When we are baptized, we claim the Chrisitan faith for ourselves... If we chose to be baptized as adults, we chose to accept the Christan faith and claim it as our own. If we were baptized as babies or children, our parents promised to raise us as Christians. When we were confirmed, we claimed the Christian faith our ourselves – we confirmed the choice of our parents and publicly chose the Christian faith for ourselves.
Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. Our reading this morning is more focused on John’s work than on Jesus’ baptism. John was called “the new Elijah.” Elijah was an Old Testament prophet who prepared the people for the appearance of the Messiah. John was like him—he came to prepare people for the messiah. Both John and Elijah stood against injustice, false religion and the evil that permeated their societies.
The people of Israel who lived during the first century were stressed and traumatized. They were ruled by the far-off Roman Empire....the people were constantly under threat of losing their land, their religion, and their holy places. The Romans could snap their fingers and take away everything the people of Israel cherished. Over the years leading up to the birth of Jesus, zealots stepped forward and rebelled against the Romans – they were unsuccessful in their attempts....so the Romans treated the people of Israel with even more suspicion. The pressure was on the people and John offered them a welcome alternative amid their stress and fear – he invited them to recommit themselves to the God of Israel and reform their lives.
Many people followed John out into the wilderness.... they wanted to be baptized by him. They wanted him to help them change and reform their lives. So, they asked him questions.... they wanted to know what does the Lord require us to do? John’s answers were simple and succent: we must share and avoid being greedy or mean.
He told them to give away their extras to people who didn’t have enough....to give away their extra clothing and to give away their extra food.
People who represented specific professions came to him and asked how they should behave – he said tax collectors must stop collecting more than the law required – they should not enrich themselves by lying and telling their clients to pay more than they owed. Soldiers must treat civilians with kindness and must stop extorting money from them.
John’s words are still applicable to us, even though our lives are very different than those of 1st century Jews . We must also share and refrain from being greedy or mean. Even more than the people of the first century, we all have more than we need.... more food, more clothing, more stuff. Our family has been moving over the past few months and I am keenly aware of this – I have more craft items and clothing and paperclips than I could possibly ever use....So, I have been taking a hard look at all of the stuff I have acquired over these 47 years of my life and asking myself why I accumulated these things and how can I change? We all need to reduce what we have, reuse things instead of acquiring more, and share our extras with people who have a use for them.
We all must do more to support people who are struggling. In the First Century, the people may have only had enough extra food for a few days and a second cloak. Most of us have enough food to feed a crowd for days and enough clothing to wear a different outfit every day for a month. But, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, and in our county, there are many people who are struggling to pay their rent, pay their utility bills, pay for toiletries, pay for food. As Christians, we are called upon to share our resources, so all people have enough. God calls on God’s people to help each other, so we must do more if we are able.
People went to John because they were ready to do more – they wanted to be baptized and have a restart – to let their old selves pass away and start again. Christians have moments in our lives when we are also ready to break from our past ways and have a new beginning. Fortunately, our relationship with Christ as baptized Christians gives us that opportunity to start over.. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come!”
On this day when we remember Jesus’s baptism, we are also called to remember our baptisms. When we were baptized or confirmed, we made some statements and vows. So, now, let’s make those promises again:
Do you renounce the powers of evil and desire the freedom of new life in Christ?
If so, answer “I do.”
Do you profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
If so, answer “I do.”
Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciple, to follow in the way of our Savior, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best you are able?
If so, answer “I promise, with the help of God.”
Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to grow in the Chris-tian faith and to be a faithful member of the church of Jesus Christ, celebrating Christ’s presence and furthering Christ’s mission in all the world?
If so, answer “I promise, with the help of God.”
Now that we have reaffirmed our baptismal vows, remember that every day we wake up is an opportunity to do better than we did yesterday, We are called to be generous, kind, and to share. If we don’t get it right one day, we can do better the next day.
And, now that we have recommitted to the baptismal promises, receive this blessing:
Gracious God, you have filled the world with joy by giving us the gift of Jesus. Bless these baptized people. May they be filled with joy; may they never be ashamed to confess a personal faith in you. Bless these your faithful people. Unite them in the peace of Christ and the company of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
