Last week, our
worship focused on the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. This morning, we
fast forward about 30 years through Jesus’ life to the day of his baptism. In the years before Jesus’ baptism, John the
Baptist called for the people of Israel to repent and prepare for the coming of
the Messiah. John invited the faithful to become baptized as a sign of
repentance. His baptism was a little different than our baptism – we believe we
are baptized by the waters of new life and by the presence of the Holy Spirit
coming into us.
Hear
the story of Jesus’ baptism as we read it in:
Scripture Reading Luke 3:
15-17, 21-22
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.”
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.
Prayer for Understanding
Let
us pray:
Speak with authority
in our lives, Christ.
Speak to us,
and to what is in us,
so that we might be whole.
Speak to us,
with love,
with hope,
and with strength,
so that we might hear you,
and know, deep inside,
that we are your people,
and that you are our God.
Let it be so. Amen
When Jesus was baptized, both the
waters of baptism and the Holy Spirit of God descended on Jesus. And, God’s
voice proclaimed from the Heavens: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am
well pleased.” This
affirmation from God bolstered Jesus as he prepared for his public ministry.
And, this affirmation from God announced to those gathered on the banks of the
Jordan River that day that Jesus was God’s son – the Messiah – and God was
pleased with Jesus’ work and the example Jesus would show us as the soon to be baptized
people of God.
In the United Church of Christ, and
here at Trinity, we baptize people of all ages. Last year, we baptized Carrie
McWilliams during a Sunday morning worship service in our fellowship hall.
Carrie chose, after much though and consideration, to become baptized as an adult
and to make a public proclamation of her faith in God. Just before the pandemic
began, on a cold Sunday morning, we baptized little baby Steven, who is now the
2 year old Bubbe who we see and hear during our worship services in our
sanctuary. He loves singing the “B-I-B-L-E” song, and he will grow up
experiencing the love of God and the love of the church community.
The promises we make at baptisms at
our church are the same promises we make when we invite our young adults to confirm
their baptisms as teenagers and when we invite adults to join our congregation.
The promises we make at baptism are promises we make to the person being
baptized and promises made by the baptized person (or their parents) to follow
God.
We believe the sacrament of baptism
is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. In baptism, we are united to Jesus Christ and
are given part of Christ’s ministry to reconcile the world – this means Jesus
came to earth to restore our right relationship with God – and Jesus opened the
door for us to live in right relationship with each other, Creation, and
ourselves. Baptism is a visible sign of an invisible event. In baptism, God
works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the Holy Spirit in us, and
the knowledge that we will always be called to be God’s people.
When we baptize, we confirm that the
one being baptized is choosing it for themselves or we ask their parents to
confirm that they are choosing to baptize their child into the faith and family
of Jesus Christ. Baptism is our symbolic
entry into the Christian faith and the moment we officially become one of the
members of Christ’s church.
We ask baptismal candidate to
renounce the powers of evil. People are
not perfect. We often sin. The Evangelical Catechism states that “no (one) has
ever perfectly kept the law of God. By nature we are inclined to evil and have
in many ways disobeyed God’s commandments.” We often do things that are
contrary to God’s will—and this is what sin is.
When we are baptized, we say we renounce the powers of evil, we repent
of the sins of our past, and we will try to live without sin in the future.
When we are baptized, we agree that
we desire the freedom of new life in Christ. This means we are working to live
life differently and embrace the teachings of Jesus in our thoughts, our words,
and our actions.
When we are baptized, we announce
that we profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – we are choosing to be
Christian followers of God.
When we are baptized, we promise to
work to be Christ’s disciples, to live following the example set by Jesus, to
fight against the oppression of other people, to fight evil and sin in
ourselves and others, to show love and work for justice for other people, and
to tell others about the work and word of Jesus Christ.
When we are baptized, we promise to
keep growing as Christians. Our faith is an ever-evolving and deepening part of
our lives. We promise to stay engaged in
our relationship with God. We promise to worship God, to study God’s word, to
learn from other Christians, to support and care for other believers, and to
regularly pray and talk to God.
When we are baptized, we promise to
be faithful members of the Christian church, to participate in Christ’s work in
the world and to work to live out the Great Commission – to go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them about Jesus and God’s love and
commandments.
When the church officiates at a
baptism, the people of the church make promises on behalf of the person being
baptized. So, baptism is a two-way contract. We promise to love, support, and
care for the person being baptized as the live and grow in Christ. Baptism is a
new beginning for both the person being baptized and for us, the people of
Christ. They promise to live following Jesus Christ and we promise to help
them.
As members of the United Church of
Christ, we believe that baptism is a “one and done” kind of sacrament. We
believe the water and Holy Spirit are poured into us at baptism and that Spirit
stays with us forever. Even if we fall away from Christ, the door is always
open to us to recommit to our faith. But, we don’t think that recommitment
needs to be done with a re-baptism.
Instead, we are invited to remember our baptismal promises and to affirm
our Baptism – not a redo, but a renewal
of the baptismal promises.
In the World Council of Church’s
paper “Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry,” it is written:
“Baptism is both God’s gift and our human response to that gift.”
It is “a sign and seal of our common discipleship. Through baptism, Christians
are brought into union with Christ, with each other and with the church of
every time and place.”
We thank God that we are invited to be God’s
people. We thank God that all of us are invited to be God’s people. We thank God
that all of us have access to new life in Christ, and we receive it in baptism.
At are baptisms, we are reassured of God’s love and filled with God’s loving Holy
Spirit. We become one with the body of Christ, and with our loving God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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