The Water's Fine - Matthew 3:13-17 (Baptism of the Lord, Year A)

Have you ever met a polar bear? I don’t mean one of those giant furry things that you can see at the zoo in Columbus or other places. I mean - a person who willingly flings themselves into a body of water on the 1st day of January, regardless of the temperature? I have to admit, I’ve thought about doing it - to engage all my senses; momentarily feel a little more alive. Let’s be honest, frostbite doesn’t look good on anyone! 

But when those crazies are in the water, what might they tell their onlookers? “Come on in, join me - the water’s fine!” Just because they’re freezing doesn’t mean they’re not having a good time. It’s all a matter of perspective. And maybe that’s how it looks on the outside to non-churchgoers. Ask someone to join you for church, and if you don’t know that person particularly well they may raise an eyebrow at you and wonder if they should call someone to take you home. It’s not the standard that it used to be - I’m gonna say something you might disagree with - but THAT’S OK. Churches ebb and flow, and have life cycles just like any organism. 

This morning, though, we are talking about baptism, specifically Jesus’ baptism. You would think that it wouldn’t make the top 10 list of things in a series called THRILL AND REJOICE, but amazingly enough - given the first week, maybe it’s the most thrilling. See - as a believer, besides your first transformational epiphany, what happens in the life of a believer that’s both thrilling and rejoicing? One could argue that it’s everyday we wake up, yes. But we believe that baptism is when these waters that are sprinkled, splashed, or dunked on a person (no, Methodists don't believe in a certain practice) that there is renewal in those waters washing them clean and marking them as a child of God. 

On its face, it seems as the most mundane ritual. I mean, we only practice two sacraments, and this is one of them. Any guesses on what the other one is? Yes - Communion. Naming them as sacraments means that they are ESSENTIAL to our Christian life. In other traditions, some could even see baptisms as routine or rote instead of these life-changing choices in someone's leap of faith. 

Does this passage change your perspective on baptism at all? I know you may have heard it all before, but let me read it again - this time with a different spin on it. This is from the Message: 

Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to  baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!” But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.

The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

This story is told in the other three gospels - although this is the only one where there is any dialogue. The words that are spoken between the two of them is minor, but reinforces a point that keeps returning - Jesus turns what is known upside down. Status and hierarchy gets flipped, just like many other stories in Jesus' ministry. The unworthy becomes worthy, 

Why do you think John was hesitant? I mean, as much as he is humbled by Jesus' presence, I wonder how deep those feelings of unworthiness went in John, even if it was for a moment. I wonder if John, standing there in the mud of the river, feeling the water rush between his ankles, was rocked to his very core of what Jesus was asking him to do. I know I would. Maybe that's why it's intimidating to take those leaps of faith. I can relate to that. 

I started this past Thursday at a home hospice service. As much as it's a way to get into chaplaincy and take a step of faith towards what I felt was my calling, I was sitting in orientation questioning. Asking... am i sure about this? But it’s part of the journey. So I can totally see where John is quivering on that riverbank, not knowing what to expect. 

How did Jesus respond to John's intimidation? As he always does, with encouragement and calm. As in our translation earlier - "Do it. God's work is coming together." Wow. If that's not the best sentence in the history of language. Do it - you don't know how big this moment is right now, even though it seemed as though John may have had a sense about it. 

In one of our governing books, the Book of Resolution from 2016, there's a paragraph 8031 titled, "Baptism as God's gift to persons at any age": The excerpt reads: 

“There is one baptism as there is one source of salvation—the gracious love of God. The baptizing of a person, whether as an infant or an adult, is a sign of God’s saving grace. That grace—experienced by us as initiating, enabling, and empowering— is the same for all persons. All stand in need of it, and none can be saved without it. The difference between the baptism of adults and that of infants is that the Christian faith is consciously being professed by an adult who is baptized. A baptized infant comes to profess her or his faith later in life, after having been nurtured and taught by parent(s) or other responsible adults and the community of faith...While the baptism of infants is appropriate for Christian families, the increasingly minority status of the church in contemporary society demands more attention to evangelizing, nurturing, and baptizing adult converts.”

This paragraph recognizes that fewer families are baptizing their newborn children. Is there more attention needed to seeking out not only youth, but adults of all ages for this life-changing decision? Evangelizing seems to have gotten to be a dirty word, and because of that, we need to shift our approach. This tactic has been manipulated so that too many people turn into converts, and not disciples. Our goal is to build on the hope and goodwill of the Good News that it makes people want to turn and live differently as disciples. We can’t do that by judgment and deception - that doesn’t build good relationships, and isn’t that what God wants from us? 

There is a power in belonging. Not in a ownership or possession kind of way, either. We belong because we are human, and as human, we can hold ourselves and others accountable, transparently through vulnerability because it’s all through compassion, trust, and care. 

John believed that the kingdom of God was going to be there any day, and wanted no one to be left out; to belong because to be on the outside was lonely and destructive. John wanted people to change because of the power of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus!

Many institutions and communities have formalities of joining, and we are not an exception to that. But I’d like to be able to use those formalities not as barriers but as commitment to the community. We have an evolving world of diversity, equity and inclusion as values that are being tossed around more and more. It brings people together when diversity is not only acknowledged but celebrated. Equity is something that is lacking in many of our social institutions as well - thinking that one group built it, then they have more rights to it. Inclusiveness is bringing people together and letting them belong just as they are. Jesus was in this line to be baptized just like everyone else. Solidarity!

Last week I talked about remembering and how important it is in the whole bible. I’m sure there’s some pastors today who are talking about remembering your baptism, and that’s important, but if like many of us were baptized as an infant, that’s a hard memory to recall, so what are we to do? Remembering your baptism is more about connecting with where you were, and whose you’ve become through that baptism. You may have been baptized in a different denomination, a different state, in a different language, but regardless - that baptism is more about your identity in the Lord, and how you belong in our community today. 

If there’s someone here today who has not been baptized, see me after the service or call the office and we can arrange to get that done. I encourage you to keep searching and helping people toward faith so they can take that first step and feel the water on their head (or all around them if immersed), joining the faithful believers and our community. 

I’m almost done this morning, but if you remember nothing else about this morning - let me leave you with this: 

Baptism, just as it was when it was given to Jesus, has always been a public or corporate act. It’s a necessary part of it, especially within the United Methodist Church. Baptism is a welcome into the great fellowship of believers, it is joining the body of Christ. Once you are baptized, you are never alone, even when it feels like you might be. There is always family around you, whether you are looking for them or not. You’ve joined something bigger than yourself, and is amazing and a wonderful part of faith. 

Amen.