What God Has Done in Baptism
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Isaiah 43:1-7
Rev. Karen A. Goltz

            During Jesus’ post-baptismal prayer, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice from heaven (presumably God the Father’s) said to him, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure nothing that dramatic happened at my baptism.  At least my parents never mentioned anything about it, and I think they probably would have.  And I know nothing like that has ever happened at any of the baptisms I’ve presided at as pastor.  Things like that just don’t seem to happen anymore.  At Jesus’ baptism, there was no question whether it ‘took’ or not.  He got almost immediate assurance that it did.  Not so for the rest of us.  We’re left to wonder, especially those of us who were baptized as infants with no say in the matter and no memory of the event, did I really receive the Holy Spirit?  Was my baptism enough?  Did it take?

            Part of the problem is the fact that many of us aren’t really sure what baptism is.  Some are taught that it’s what gets you into heaven, and you can’t get into heaven at all without it, no matter what.  I’ve heard of one woman, about ninety years old, who’d had an older sister born terribly ill and who died at only three months of age.  The child’s grandmother had baptized her at home, but the pastor refused to hold the funeral in the sanctuary of the church because she had not been ‘properly’ baptized.  Ninety years later this woman still feared for the eternal soul of this sister she’d never met, because of what she’d been taught about baptism.

            Others are so comfortable in the fact of their own (properly conducted) baptisms that they honestly believe that that one-time event serves as a kind of ‘get out of hell free’ card, and they don’t need to go to church or pray or even think about God, because they’ve been baptized and are automatically going to heaven.

            Other arguments about baptism abound.  It has to be done by ordained clergy verses it can be done by anyone.  It has to be done in a certain denomination verses baptism is baptism, regardless of the flavor of Christianity that administers it.  It can only be done once verses it can be done over and over, as many times as you want to renew your relationship with God.  It only works if the water is sprinkled on the person, or poured on the person, or if the person is fully immersed.  It doesn’t count if the person doesn’t make a decision to commit their life to Christ, so it can only be effective after a certain age.  And on and on and on.

            And all of that misses the point.

            Baptism is not about what we do.  It’s about what God does.

            “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  These are the words God the Father says to Jesus when he is praying after his baptism.  God names him his Son, and expresses his delight in him.  But the thing is, we’re only in the third chapter in Luke.  Up to this point, Jesus hasn’t really done anything for God to be delighted with.  He’s been born to Mary at a really inconvenient time, forcing her to go into labor while spending the night in a smelly stable.  He’s caused his parents to worry when he was twelve years old by going off on his own during a trip to Jerusalem and staying lost for three days while they looked for him.  And he’s partaken with everyone else in John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  The only thing on that list that might have been particularly pleasing to God was the baptism, and Jesus did that along with hundreds, maybe thousands of other people.  So why was he singled out for special treatment?

            Partly because even though Jesus of Nazareth hadn’t done very much yet in his life, Jesus of Nazareth was no ordinary man.  Jesus of Nazareth was indeed, as God so named him, God’s own Son.  In our reading from Isaiah today, God tells his people, “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 fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”  Jesus himself had no need for a baptism of repentance, because he had nothing to repent for.  He didn’t need his sins forgiven, because he had no sin.  (Sorry, parents, but even that incident in Jerusalem when he was twelve didn’t count as a sin, because he was being obedient to his Father’s will.  Your kids, however, don’t have that excuse, so no, I’m not giving permission for kids to disobey their parents!)  Anyway, moving on.

            As I said, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Word made flesh, didn’t need a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but he joined with all those who did need it, and by doing so God himself was indeed with his people when they passed through the waters.  Jesus wasn’t baptized for his sake, but for ours, and as was said earlier in the Thanksgiving for Baptism, we are joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, and are therefore clothed with God’s mercy and forgiveness.

            And that’s another thing about baptism.  Not only is it about what God does rather than what we do, but it’s a statement about who we are now, not about where we’re going when we die.  As part of the baptismal liturgy, the newly baptized is called by the name given them by their parents, then renamed “Child of God,” and told, “You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”  Those words are not about geography after death, but about identity during life.  Last week I mentioned that you’re looking at me and I’m looking at you and we’re all wondering, who is this person?  Well, here’s the answer.  We are all children of God.  Individually created, sealed, and marked, but united together in Christ, through the waters of baptism.  Whoever else we are, we are that first, and that part of our identity can never be taken away from us.  It is the first word in our lives, the last word in our lives, and the most important word in our lives.  Child of God, you are my beloved; in you I am well pleased.

            I’m reminded of the movie Funny Girl, in which Fanny Brice, played by Barbara Streisand, is supposed to play a bride-to-be singing about how her engagement has changed her perception of herself.    The song was supposed to be about how a woman was beautiful simply because her betrothed loved her, and that love somehow transformed her into an exquisitely beautiful creature.  Fanny thought the song a bit silly, so at the last minute she stuck a pillow up her dress and performed the song as an extremely pregnant bride-to-be, giving a whole new meaning to the lyrics, “I am the beautiful reflection of my love’s affection, a walking illustration of his adoration.”

            Why am I reminded of this of all things while preaching a sermon about baptism?  The song without Fanny’s unique twist had the bride-to-be focusing entirely on how she saw herself, the effect of her betrothed’s love being kind of feathery and nebulous, possibly even fleeting.  But Fanny’s stunt brought an element of concreteness to the words; her betrothed loved her, had apparently, uh, demonstrated that love, and now there were consequences.  That young woman’s life was unalterably changed, and would never be the same again.  Because she was the beautiful reflection of her love’s affection, a walking illustration of his adoration.  And all comedy and double-entendre aside, that is what happens to us in baptism.  We are baptized once, but we are baptized into a relationship and an identity that remain with us for the rest of our lives, calling us to die to sin daily, and constantly renewing us.  That’s why God chose ordinary water to join his word to: it’s something we encounter every day in one form or another, and is absolutely necessary for maintaining and sustaining our lives.  And every time we encounter it, whether we’re brushing our teeth or making our coffee or washing our hands or even shoveling some of this blasted snow, we can remember that we are children of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.  And it’s all because God in Christ became human, took on our lives and our sinfulness, joined with us in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, paid the price for those sins on the cross, and then defeated death and rose again.  That’s the kind of love God has for you.

Let your life be a reflection of your Lord’s affection.  Live your life as a walking illustration of his adoration.  And be assured that his affection, his adoration, and his commitment to you will last forever and ever.  Amen.