Christ Episcopal Church
January 10, 2016
The Baptism of Jesus
For many years after my grandparents died, I could still hear the way their voices called my name. I was blessed to have a grandfather and three grandmothers, one of which was technically a step-grandmother, well into my adulthood. I had the luxury of countless visits with each of them over the years, so I knew them well. My Alabama grandmother had the lovely and distinctive accent of southeast Alabama. My only grandfather had a deep voice that conveyed the twinkle in his eye. His wife, who he had married 10 years before I was born, had the unmistakable accent of a South Carolinian. And my Arkansas grandmother had a more raspy southern accent. Hearing their voices speak my name when they were alive always made me feel special and loved. Remembering that sound after they died not only reminded me of the impact they had on my life, but also, who I am and where I come from.
I am reminded of the sound of their voices this morning when I hear the words of Isaiah. The Israelites are in exile in Babylon. Their life in the Promised Land has come to a screeching halt. The land has been devastated and the Temple has been destroyed. Their identity as God's chosen people was tied to that land and that Temple. They are wondering whether or not they are actually God's chosen people when God speaks to them through the prophet Isaiah with the words we hear this morning. "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. 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 the fire, you shall not be burned; the flame shall not consume you." God is telling God's exiled, desolate people that they are not alone in Babylon. God has called them by name and they belong to God, where ever mess they have made of their lives, whatever water or flame they might walk through.
Today is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. Today we see the heavens open, and the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus in bodily form like a dove. Then we hear the voice of God say to Jesus "You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased." In recent weeks, we have heard the story of Gabriel's appearance to Mary with the announcement that she will carry Jesus. We have watched Mary and Joseph make their way to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. We have heard the angels sing at the birth of Jesus. Just last week, the Magi arrived bearing gifts for a king. These stories have given us a pretty good idea of who Jesus is. But now we hear God's own voice claim Jesus as God's own beloved son.
The people who witnessed Jesus' baptism and heard the voice from God are likely pretty confused. John the Baptist had told them that one was coming who would show up with a winnowing fork, clear the threshing floor, separate the wheat from the chaff, and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. Jesus shows up and gets in line to be baptized in the river with all the people who are hoping for another chance at life and a new beginning. After everyone else is baptized, they are going home to start trying to live a different life to avoid that winnowing hook. After Jesus is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends, and the voice of God speaks. Could this possibly be the same person John was talking about?
John was right that one was coming who is mightier than he, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. But John had the details wrong about how the coming one would do that. God claimed Jesus as God's own beloved son at Jesus' baptism and God sent Jesus to reclaim humanity as God's own beloved children. At the end of the reading from Isaiah, we heard these words: "Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east; from the west I will gather you.....Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." The first two chapters of Genesis tells us that God formed and made all of humankind in God' image and for God's glory. Jesus came, not to separate the wheat from the chaff, but to gather us all together. In the gospel of John, Jesus says "And I, when I am lifted up, will draw the whole world to myself." Jesus came to reconcile all of humankind with God, so that we would all know in our hearts that God calls us each by name and that we are God's beloved children.
Baptism is the moment in our lives when the heavens open a bit and God reaches down to claim us as God's own forever. In the words of the baptismal liturgy, we are "sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever." Baptism does not mean that we will never find ourselves walking through floods or passing through flames, metaphorical or literal. Baptism certainly did not promise Jesus that he would never walk through raging water or the fires of hell. But in baptism, we, like Jesus, are promised that we will never face fire or water alone. And just as Jesus left the river and began his ministry ushering in the Kingdom of God, we called to follow Jesus into the world as people claimed by God and continue that same work. The prophets, including Isaiah, had harsh words for people who thought their status as the chosen people marked them for special privilege and status rather than sharing in God's work of making the Kingdom of God a more present reality on earth.
Our baptismal covenant, which we renew at every baptism and on baptismal feast days like today, reminds us of both God's claim on our lives and what that claim means. Being claimed by God means that we will never walk alone as we do the challenging gospel work of being faithful in worship, of repenting and returning to God when we sin, of proclaiming the good news with word and deed, of seeking and serving Christ in all people, and in working for justice and peace among all people. That work is only possible when we walk together and God walks with us.
"I have called you by name. You are mine." As Christians, we are called to hear the voice of God call our name and know in our hearts that we are created in the image of God, made one with God in Christ, and called through the water of baptism and the fire of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus out into the world, knowing that God promises to be with us.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment