Sermon
1/10/16
Jesus' Baptism by Angelo Romano |
It’s Baptism Sunday. And because our 600 pound late
Victorian Baptismal font is in the Chapel, due to Antigona in the Sanctuary, we will worship there this morning. Dion
is there when I arrive, getting everything ready. And John Roggie will be our
musician. A young couple with a 2 month old named Jack is visiting.
We’ll share a lot of good Baptism songs today, like Take Me to the Water, and Baptized in
Water, and of course, When I Went Down to
the River to Pray. We read Isaiah 43: 1-7 and Psalm 29 and Luke 3: 15-17
and 19-22, the story of Jesus’ Baptism.
I ask everyone how many remember their baptism. About a
third received adult baptism. Including one by full immersion in a baptistery in public.
So we’re talking about Baptism. In Isaiah, we’re told that
God calls us by name…..you could say that it is at baptism , when
you receive your name, , is when YOU
become YOU so to speak.
I’m wearing today my father’s watch. My mom told my sister
she wanted to give it to one of the boys
someday, and my sister said, Do you know
how old the boys are? So my mom gave
o tot me for Christmas. Baptism was
really important to my dad. SO it was really special when he was so pleased at
the bris (Jewish circumcision /naming
ceremony) when my son received his
name. My Dad said, ..at least he’s not a nameless waif… a
blessing had been invoked, a name given, our friends and family celebrated.
At Baptism we receive our Christian name…..we only baptize using the
first (and second) name….Our last name is shared by family, but the
first and second names, those are unique to us, make us who we are.
We sometimes used to say Christening
as an alternative word for baptism pointing to being dedicated to Christ
and also the receiving of our Christian
name.
Isaiah speaks of redemption
. In the Old Testament, it related to debt,
to debts owed. Your redeemer was the one who paid your debt,
thus setting you free. The pawn
bought back to its original owner.
Isaiah also says Do
not fear….a common theme, like
the angels in the Christmas story. Do not
fear…
So we have water baptism ….and by fire…the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. Of the three basic elements,
Sun, air and water…does everything need all? No…creatures can live without
sun or without air (in the water) but no creature can live without water. Water
is primordial…it’s where life
begins…and we ourselves are 98% water.
By tradition, water was
Chaos…God brings order out of chaos.
…Defeats Tiamat of the Babylonian creation story. But Tiamat, chaos is always there…as my
friend Pastor Heidi…of Trinity Lutheran likes to say.
In Luke, John speaks of
Jesus coming to separate the wheat
from the chaff…..separating out…we
have come to see this not only in the individual but in the communal sense as well. At the end of the day, we are both. We have both within us and Jesus comes to burn the chaff part out of us.
But there is a communal issue as well. The question always
arises, so Why Jesus? If Jesus was sinless, why did he need to be baptized? I’m not going to get into “sinless”
discussion. The story of Jesus in the Temple spoke of him as needing to grow in
wisdom and stature, even as normal
children do.
At any rate, some commentators see this as Jesus’ commitment
to be in solidarity with humanity. In the middle verses, before Jesus’ baptism,
we find John in prison…SO Jesus in essence picks up John’s mantle…To understand
this, you have to understand John. He
left security of the Temple world where his father was an official. The center
of Jewish religious power living in collaboration with the Empire.
John’s baptism was an act of
protest/judgment against temple system, a call to come out from empire…So after Jesus lived within the system for 30
years, he had to COME OUT too.
Separate his life from the power of the Empire
to where only God the creator has authority. Baptism is a public witness to that authority.
So what does it mean
for us? First we are called to answer and demonstrate the question of what authority is primary. We need to
understand that if Jesus is our redeemer, in the time of Jubilee, all debts to empire cancelled…
Hear this…and know this…YOU are God’s child…in YOU God is
well pleased…you have your own name, you have your own ministry…name it, claim it and live it…
AMEN
After our prayers, I lead evryone to the baptismal font.
Tell the story of its florid Tiffany design. The uncommon water lily, lotus motif rising from the
waters of chaos, rippled by the breath of the Holy Spirit. How the lid disappeared during Occupy and how
a very special mother, Sheryl Jaffe, made us a new ceramic cover. How the one
on the other is a metaphor for who we are.
I say the Thanksgiving over water. Pour drops of Jordan
River water in. And invite every one to
come up for laying on of hands and a blessing. I remember doing that for so
many years with Katherine and how I felt the first time I did it alone.
We have our benediction. Sing Amen. And go out into the world….
FIRST
READING ISAIAH 43:1-7
1But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you
by name, you are mine.
2When 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 shall not consume you.
3For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4Because you are precious in
my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5Do not fear, for I am
with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
6I will say to the north,
"Give them up,"
and to the south, "Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth —
7everyone who is called by my
name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
1Ascribe to the LORD, O
heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and
strength.
2Ascribe to the LORD the
glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.
3The voice of the LORD is
over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
4The voice of the LORD is
powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of
majesty.
5The voice of the LORD breaks
the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of
Lebanon.
6He makes Lebanon skip like a
calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the LORD
flashes forth flames of fire.
8The voice of the LORD shakes
the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of
Kadesh.
9The voice of the LORD causes
the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare; and in
his temple all say, "Glory!"
10The LORD sits enthroned over
the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king for
ever.
11May the LORD give strength
to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with
peace!
15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize
you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy
to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his
threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will
burn with unquenchable fire."
21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had
been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22and the
Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, "You are
my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
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