Mark 1:4-11
I always love this Sunday. The baptism of the Lord. It always comes the Sunday following Epiphany. It’s the one day of the year that we intentionally remember that Jesus was baptized by John, and that we are also called to be baptized into his family. For me, it’s always a treasured opportunity to talk with you about why we baptize, what it means to us.
It’s easy to forget about baptism, really. Every new Christian is meant to be baptized, but we do it so infrequently that we seldom think of it. We all get baptized, but only once. And if you were baptized as an infant, as most of us were, you don’t even have any memory of it. Some people don’t even know for sure if they were baptized. Which is interesting to me. It says to me that baptism is sometimes a rather meaningless ritual that families go through in a perfunctory way. But, if somehow the family was too busy or too distracted, it can be easily overlooked.
So I always like to take the opportunity to talk about just how much baptism means to me. But today I am thinking about it a little differently than I usually do. Today I am thinking about what our baptism equips us to do as Christians living in this world.
How does our baptism prepare us to live out the gospel in a land where chaos and violence threaten, where divisiveness and mistrust have become so powerful that we can barely function in an orderly and peaceful manner?
Last week we witnessed the culmination of attempts to interfere with our presidential election. At least, I hope it was the culmination, but it’s certainly possible that there will be more violence and chaos to come. At 3:00 Wednesday afternoon I left the church and was shocked to learn what was happening in our nation’s capital. I went home and sat glued to the TV for hours, as I imagine so many did.
And I wondered what I should do. Did you wonder if there was something you should do? I sent out on Facebook an appeal for prayer. But that was all I did that evening. I watched and I prayed and I asked others to pray.
I didn’t feel any urge to get out and join a protest action. I didn’t feel compelled to express anger or pick fights on social media. In the moment all I wanted to do was watch and listen and pray. But in the aftermath of the moment, I have to think about what else a baptized person is meant to do. How shall we respond to these actions we witnessed on the day of Epiphany?
What does our baptism mean for how we live our lives in this world?
Even though baptism seems like a little thing, it is actually profoundly important in our faith. As Presbyterians, we know baptism as one of only two sacraments initiated by Christ in the scriptures. The other is the Lord’s Supper, or communion. We call baptism our entry into the church. Baptism sets us on the right path; the Lord’s Supper keeps us on it.
We say that our baptism is sufficient to equip us for service in the church. We are reminded whenever we welcome someone into the congregation that this is so, and whenever we ordain men and women for service as elders and deacons, that it is their baptism which qualifies them for this. Your baptism is sufficient to equip you for ministry, and so we are all ministers in Christ’s service.
This means that when we are baptized each of us has a mantle placed across our shoulders.
You may not be in the habit of thinking about baptism this way. So often when we consider baptism, we think of it as our means of salvation. Our ticket to heaven. Our get-out-of-jail-free card. Our presidential pardon for any and all sins. Our vaccination against the ravages of evil.
But that’s all rubbish.
If you want to think about your baptism in some pithy way, then think of it as your identification. It speaks to who you are. Who we are.
And let us say that everything we do and everything we say, and even what we fail to do or say, is a reflection of who we are.
The mantle that was placed on your shoulders when you were baptized is a responsibility to live into your identity as Christ’s brother or sister. You represent the faith, and how you are seen is how our faith is seen. So if you lie, that is a reflection on Christianity. If you mock and denigrate others, for your own amusement or benefit, that is a reflection on Christianity. If you take part in suppressing the rights of others, or if you neglect the plight of the oppressed, that is a reflection on Christianity. You can’t help it; it’s just the way it is. You don’t live unto yourself anymore because you are baptized into Christ Jesus.
The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or die we are the Lord’s.”
Therefore, everything you do and say, you do and say to the Lord.
This is heavy stuff. There are no exemptions. There is forgiveness, certainly. But, the point is, we are accountable to the Lord for all we say and do, and yes, sometimes for the things we fail to say or fail to do.
As we reflect on the events that occurred on the day of Epiphany, we know that there were some who acted in egregious ways. But let us say clearly that actions alone are not responsible for the troubles of the world. Words bear responsibility.
Words have power. As a people who hold a book as our highest authority in life and faith, we know this is true. As the saying goes, words create worlds.
It was the Word of God that created the world we live in, according to Genesis 1. Then the Word of God created a people formed in God’s image. And as the Gospel of John says, at the appointed time the Word of God was made flesh in Christ Jesus, full of God’s grace and truth. Words create worlds.
And how we use words creates worlds of compassion or worlds of hate. Worlds of collaboration or worlds of mistrust. Worlds of hope or worlds of fear.
Words matter. They can tear down or build up. They can destroy or heal. They can reflect reality or fan the flames of conspiracy. Words can either condone or condemn acts of violence – both directly and indirectly.
If we say we condemn acts of violence, but then we continue to use our words to sow seeds of division and rage – well, that matters too.
For we are baptized into new life. We are called children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. And, thus, we wear the mantle of ministry in all we say and do. We follow Jesus’ example in baptism, in celebrating the Lord’s Supper, in healing the sick, feeding the hungry, taking our place as the last, and serving him through our service to others. We read the words of scripture as our guide to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.
Every week I put out a couple of handfuls of words, across the internet and onto your computers. My hope always is to give you words that will build up and comfort – but also speak truth and challenge you to accountability. Because every one of us who has been baptized into Christ is accountable for our own words and actions.
In this text from Mark, Jesus went into the water and was baptized by John. And as he emerged from the water a voice from heaven was heard, saying these words: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” When I hear a voice from heaven, I too want to hear these words: With you I am well pleased.
May it be so for you and for me. Amen.
