The Baptism of Our Lord                                 January 8, 2006

This Sunday is called the Baptism of Jesus by the church calendar, and today we will baptize Donovan South and Jessica Shauchunas. This is a great blessing for all of us because it gives each of us the opportunity to reclaim and remember the promise of our baptism. I will only make a few comments today, because the Sacrament of Baptism, followed by Holy Communion eloquently gives us the gospel promise.

Our gospel reading tells that Jesus went to John the Baptizer to be baptized. Now John the Baptizer was quite a character. He wore clothes made of scratchy camel's hair. He lived out in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey. Despite his unusual appearance, people from far and wide came to hear his message to repent. God’s messiah, which is Hebrew for the anointed one, was going to come to the world.

John said the anointed one would make everything the way God said it should be. He would get rid of evil doers and bring justice for the poor. He said that his own baptism was with water, but when this messiah came, he would baptize them with the fire of the Holy Spirit that would empower change.

The day Jesus was baptized, the heavens tore open, and there was a voice that could only be the power and presence of God resting upon him. The heavens opened up and the voice of God said, "This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Jesus did not need to repent because he was sinless. His baptism meant that he was baptized into our human condition. From that time forward, Jesus went on the tell people that the kingdom was at hand. He healed the sick and forgave sins. But then you know what happened. People in Jerusalem rejected his kingdom, his claim as God’s anointed one, and rejected his authority. They convicted him of lying against God and treason against the government, and crucified him. But on that first Easter Day, God raised Jesus from the dead, and showed us the way into his kingdom.

There’s something very important here for each of us. When we are baptized we are baptized both into his cross and into his resurrection. Like Jesus, God the Father is saying that we are his child, and he is well pleased with us. God adopts us to be heirs to the riches of the kingdom of God, and we are reborn with this new identity, a child of God. Sin and death cannot have any power over us.

In today’s world, children are viewed as a liability. There’s the cost money, cost time away from work, babysitters and preschool. Then when the grow up they need a car and college tuition. This is not how it was back in Jesus day, or anytime before the twentieth century. But about 80 years ago, children were an asset to the family. They helped put food on the table, and helped with the daily work around the farm or house. The more children a family had, the more food they could raise.

When we talk about being a child of God, we mean the old-school child of God. When we are adopted as children of God, Jesus expects us to help with the housework. Jesus wants us to complete the work on earth that he began. We are called to do those things that Jesus did, heal the sick, feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, bring justice to the poor. There is lots of work all of us to do.

For Donovan, he get lots of love from his family and from us already. But he will soon realize, if he has not already, that not everyone will love him or even be fair with him. There will be people that will reject him not because of his character, but simply by the color of his skin. He will need us to show him the kingdom of God’s justice and mercy.

For Jessica, she is looking forward to marriage to Jake. The joy that a man and woman can find in each other is a blessing of creation when God made us man and woman. And I am praying that Jessica and Jake will take care of each other as husband and wife. However, because of human sin, the devil can work its way into a marriage. Too often, the joy of marriage can be overshadowed with broken hearts and vicious attacks. But baptism means that our joy can be restored when we follow Christ. He calls us to help reconcile ourselves to each other and to God.

Through the Holy Spirit, we can have our joy for life restored. I have often told married couples, you will have disagreements in marriage. That’s a given. The question is, can you work through your differences in a way that is fair to all concerned? This is the work of reconciliation to which we are called. This is a tremendous blessing! It is also true that this is also tremendous responsibility.

How can we have our joy restored? We follow Christ, and the six marks of discipleship. Living out our baptism, we are called to do these five things.

First pray at least once a day. Prayer is communicating with God. Prayer keeps us aware that God is with us. It also helps us to discern what God is doing, and helps handle the times when life is hard. Personally, I like to sing my prayers by singing hymns in my mind. Others pray by reading prayers, others just talking out loud to God on your knees. However we do it, pray daily!

Second, we live in our baptism by reading the Bible every day. This allows us to hear God’s Word for us. Join one of our Bible studies. This gives us the chance to discern God’s will for us. It tells us how God has created us and everything that exits, and how God has redeemed us through Christ. We can read it alone or in groups.

Third, we live in our baptism by worshiping weekly. Our worship reminds us of who God is, and what God has done for us. Worship usually is best when we come together with other Christians to praise God, and pray together. But, if we can’t do that, we can do personal devotions or family devotions that include prayer, scripture reading, and a message.

Fourth, living as a baptized Christian means serving our neighbors in Christian love. For me, this gives me the greatest joy. As a minister, I have been blessed in my service. I have had the opportunity to see the power of God changing people’s lives. The good news is that you don’t have to be ordained to serve God. All of us can feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, and work for justice for all God’s children. the I have fun when I go out and help the police. Their mission is to bring peace and justice to the world, right in our own neighborhoods.

The fifth way is through spiritual friendships. Spiritual friendships happen when we work together for the kingdom of God, and love each other as God has loved us. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. That kinship is a real blessing is a world that too often isolates and separates us. Here at Grace, we are blessed with many spiritual friends for life.

Finally, living in our baptism means giving what we have in proportion to what God has given us. Too often the world says that we are only worth the money we have, or the possessions we buy. When we give to God, we are saying our baptism is worth more than all the riches in the world. We give to the church so that we can fulfill our mission as God’s baptized people.

Today, I’d like you to look into the water of at our baptismal font, and remember the promise God gave you. I encourage you to dip your hands in the water, and claim the blessing God gave you. You are a child of God, and God is still well pleased with you. That is good news for life! Amen

Amen!