The Baptism of Jesus according to the Gospel of John: I am not inclined to publish my sermons as a practice. However, I am attempting to publish these next few weeks as an experiment. 1) to see if anyone reads them and 2) to reach out to anyone who wants to read and maybe have questions. I ask that you keep the statements respectful. You may disagree with my statements and I am open to discussion. Please Note that the sermons are highly contextual; meaning, they are intended for a particular audience and have specific references.
Luke 3:15-17,
21-22
January 13, 2013
Today is the baptism of our Lord,
Jesus and this is the perfect time to talk about Baptism and what it means. So,
let’s talk about it:
-
We have two different people in today’s
scripture.
o
John is preaching repentence. He is
telling people to turn toward God, get ready because the Kingdom is near..
Several weeks ago we heard John telling how to prepare our hearts and minds and
DO.
o
Today, the people are filled with
expectation…and where there is expectation, there is hope. The people want to
know whether John is the Messiah.
o
John says “No”. I am not him; he says I
am not worthy. It is important to note that his phrase, “I am not worthy” does
not mean that he thinks less of himself. It means that John knows that, as one
theologian put it, John is saying that “I am not up to the task.”
o
HE tells of the one who IS the Messiah
and what the Messiah will do.
o
John is telling the people that this
Messiah will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
o
John is telling the people and us, “hold
onto your hats because when this person comes and baptizes you, things will be
different.”
-
Sounds a little odd doesn’t it; I mean
has your life really changed that much?
o
Well, many of us might not know, because
we were baptized as children.
o
And some people have been baptized as
adults.
-
I would suggest that all of our lives
have changed because of baptism. You might wonder how.
o
For one, Baptism has washed us clean
from sin. Our sinful lives are forgiven and we can start brand new from this
moment on, it’s a new day.
o
Martin Luther reminds us that when we
jump into the shower or the bathtub, that is a time to take a moment and remember….remember
this part of our Baptism when we begin the day anew.
o
We are changed because we are now given
a new identity; because now we are claimed by a loving God that makes promises
to us. These promises are that no matter what that God will be with us, walk
with us in those times of joy as well as the times of struggle.
o
We no longer hold the name that our
parents gave us but we add to that name, Child of God. We are named and claimed
a child of the God of love and there is nothing that can separate us from the
love of our God. It is God’s promise and God keeps God’s promises.
-
God is not the only one who makes
promises.
o
Parents make promises to the child and
we as congregation make promises.
o
We make promises to support this child
and this family throughout their journey of faith just as our family and
friends made promises to support our families and us, whether we be children or
adults.
o
Baptism brings us the gifts of God and
the gift of community. God is not the only one who walks with us but we walk together
as one community…as the body of Christ to help support one another and love one
another …because God literally knows how hard it is to walk in this world with
everything that is going on in the world.
-
One more thing:
o
Who is missing in this baptism of Jesus?
Look at verses 21-22. Who is missing? It is John. John is sitting in a jail.
Our story doesn’t mention John as a participant in Jesus’ baptism. Our verse
says, “after he was baptized…” In fact, in verses 18-20, John is sitting in
prison, arrested by Herod.
o
So who baptized John? If John is not
there then there must only be one answer…it was God who baptized Jesus. There
was no pastor there in our scripture. God is the one who comes to us and calls
us and baptizes us. The pastor is the instrument and God is the one who does
the naming and claiming.
-
So what does that mean for us?
o
It means that we are loved so much that
God claims us and makes us God’s children.
o
God rescues us and protects us and never
lets us go. It means that God saves us through the death and resurrection of
God’s only son, Jesus.
o
It means that we are given the gift of
eternal life so that not even death can keep us from the love and glory of God.
o
It means that we take this gift of life,
love, and protection and share it with others.
o
There is a story about Bishop Desmond
Tutu who was giving a bible test to some students. One question was, “what was
said when the heavens opened at Jesus, baptism? One student answered, “You are
the son of God; now act like it.” Out of the mouths of babes…
May
we all remember our baptism this day and every day. May we remember that we,
too, are children of God; and may we all live that out: AMEN
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