Scripture: Luke 3:15-17; 21-22
When you stop and think of all the scientific progress and knowledge that we as a species have acquired it is truly staggering. Scientists in a wide variety of fields are discovering new things all the time. While we may not always be aware of or understand these new scientific findings or breakthroughs, I think we are generally aware that there are smart people at the top of their field who are always expanding the boundaries of human knowledge. One of the things that might surprise us though is that despite all that we have learned, there are some very common, everyday things that scientists are clueless about. For instance, science cannot explain why ice is slippery. Ice, as a solid, is not particularly smooth or frictionless. The best explanation for why ice is slippery is that it has a very thin layer of water on top of it, but science cannot explain why solid water does this and no other substance does. Science also cannot explain what causes this thin layer in the first place. Science also cannot explain what makes magnets work the way they do. Scientists can observe the effects of magnetism, and they can explain how magnetic forces work, but the “why” is a mystery. In much the same way, gravity is also a mystery because science currently has no good answer for why gravity is. It is seeking to answer these unanswered questions that drive scientific discovery in the first place. Isaac Asimov once said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries is not Eureka! But that’s funny. . .” Science and faith share a common denominator in that both disciplines are seeking truth, just from different angles. In the same way many of our spiritual insights come not from flashes of brilliance but from thinking “that’s funny” and asking questions. The bible is full of all kinds of instances that can make us say “That’s funny... “There are several scriptural stories that we may be familiar with, but when we really start to ponder lead us down a path of asking questions and discovery. I think this morning’s scripture is a good example of this. We believe that Jesus is God incarnate. So, it is funny then that Jesus had to be baptized. Why did Jesus get baptized? I think by exploring this question we can gain a better understanding of our own baptism and the amazing grace of God. Baptism is one of the oldest Christian traditions. The book of Acts as well as Paul’s letters mention the importance of baptism as a way of signifying faith and a new life. There is an ancient Christian document called the Didache. This document dates all the way back to the first century and contains a baptism liturgy in it. For as long as our faith has existed, baptism has been part of it. We often trace this back to the fact that Jesus was baptized, and his disciples went on to baptize. Baptism is one of the basic building blocks of the Christian faith and the Christian experience. So, understanding baptism should be important, but one of our primary examples, Jesus being baptized can leave us with some questions. The gospels tell us that John the Baptist offered a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As this morning’s scripture tells us, he used water. In doing so, he was utilizing a Jewish concept that has roots in the law that God gave the Israelites in the Old Testament. In that part of the scripture, we find water being used to wash away spiritual uncleanliness. The physical outward act of washing with water represented an inward spiritual change. John built on this concept by emphasizing repentance instead of cleanliness. The idea was the same. The outward, physical act of being baptized in the water represented an inward change. For those baptized by John, baptism was a physical act that marked their desire and commitment to turn away from the sins they had been committing. It was a symbolic act of a fresh start. To this day, the idea of a fresh start, of renouncing a life of sin and embracing a life of following Jesus is still part of how we understand baptism. In our United Methodist baptism part of the baptismal vows is to renounce sin and confess to live a new life with Jesus as Lord and savior. There are some branches of the Christian tree that particularly emphasize this aspect of baptism above any other element of what baptism is. However, it is in this emphasis that we can begin to say, “that’s funny”, because If the baptism of John the Baptist was primarily about repentance, then Jesus should not have needed to be baptized. We believe that Jesus is the Messiah. That means we believe that Jesus lived the perfect, sinless life. He literally had nothing he needed to repent for. He did not need to turn away from what he was doing and live differently. Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent. This means while we can find value in baptism representing an act of repentance, it can not be the only reason why we get baptized as Christians. The baptism of John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but Christian baptism is to be more than that. This morning’s scripture gives us two clues to what other inward, spiritual changes the outward act of baptism represents. The first clue is found in what John the Baptist says at the beginning of this morning’s scripture. John the Baptist speaks of Jesus and says that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. When Jesus is baptized and emerges from the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove. From the very beginning of our faith the Holy Spirit is linked with baptism. This is especially evident in the book of Acts. One of the inward changes that the outward act of baptism represents is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. This is demonstrated in our Baptism liturgy. Right after the water is administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the pastor then prays over the newly baptized saying, “The Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.” Baptism marks a new chapter in our faith journey, and it is the Holy Spirit that continues to guide us along the path. In how we live our lives and in our walk with God, baptism marks a specific time starting point where we are declared to belong to God, and we recognize the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives to make us new creations in Christ. Baptism is the physical act that signifies and makes the inward change tangible. However, this change tends not to be a one and done event. It is a process, where the Holy Spirit working in our lives, molds us and shapes us to be more like Christ. Being baptized does not prevent us from choosing sin, we can still fall short of the mark. When we do, then we need to return to God to experience the grace of forgiveness and the grace that entrust God’s Spirit to us in the first place again. The formal theological word for this is regeneration. The UMC articles of religion put it this way, “We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.” This act of regeneration happens in our lives, because we believe the Holy Spirit is with us and works within us to change us. The Holy Spirit can work in our lives to improve upon the work begun in our baptism. As we continue our faith journey the grace of God, the love of God that was declared over us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can become more real to us and we can better live into it. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can become more patient, more generous, or more loving people. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can take steps of faith we never thought possible, we can do more than we thought possible, we can meet real needs, and we absolutely can make a real and lasting transformation in the world today. The second clue as to what kind of inward change that baptism signifies in us is found at the very end of this morning’s scripture. Here a voice from heaven, attributed to God the Father, states, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” In Luke’s accounting of the baptism of Jesus, God the Father speaks directly to Jesus. Jesus is baptized, and God then tells Jesus who he is. This is a fundamental aspect of what baptism should do in our lives. Baptism, and the fact that we are baptized should inform our identity and who we understand ourselves to be. I greatly appreciate, in fact I love, how our United Methodist liturgy sums up what baptism does for us. Our baptismal liturgy begins with: “Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the sacrament of Baptism we are initiated in to Christ’s holy church. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.” Friends, the truth of this statement should inform who we understand ourselves to be. Through baptism it is acknowledge, that God wants us to be part of God’s church. Through baptism it is acknowledge that God believes that we are worth saving. Not only are we worth saving, but God believes in us enough that God has invested in us with the Holy Spirit and God believes we are capable of being better versions of ourselves. This is not transactional; this is not what God provides to us in exchange for worship. Grace, forgiveness, inclusion into God’s church, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all of it is a gift, freely given. It is a gift given out of the great love that God has for us. I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of having someone believing in you, someone who encouraged you, told you that you can do it, and inspired you to push yourself to reach the heights they believed you are capable of. I also don’t know if you have ever had someone in your life who would not give up on you , who would help carry you when you fell and who made sure you had all that you needed to not just succeed but thrive. If you have been fortunate to have those kinds of people in your life, then you know that when some believes in us and when someone pushes us to be our best, it informs who we are. We internalize their message and make it part of who we understand ourselves to be. This is exactly, what baptism does. A large part of baptism is that it is the ritual we used to acknowledge that God believes in us, God will not give up on us, and that God has entrusted us with all we need to be a thriving disciple of Christ. Baptism is the physical act that reminds us that our identity who we believe ourselves to be should be informed by what God thinks of us. Martin Luther, the great reformer believed this. When he would wash his face, he would look in the mirror and tell himself, “Remember, you are baptized.” In fact, when he was discouraged or afraid he would splash water on himself and say, “But I am baptized!” If you are a baptized believer, then it can be both affirming and powerful to regularly remind ourselves that we are baptized; That we have been claimed for and by God’s love. As often as we need to rinse and repeat, we can remind ourselves that we are baptized. In doing so we remind ourselves that our imperfections, our flaws, and failures do not define us because we have been baptized because God believes in us, God does not given up on us, and that we have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We are defined by the confidence that God has in us to be faithful disciples who can make disciples and transform the world. This morning’s scripture can cause us to pause and say “that’s funny” as we consider why Jesus was baptized in the first place. Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent. Jesus was baptized to signify a new beginning as he began his ministry with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus was baptized so that God the Father could speak to his identity. These too are part of the reasons why we are baptized. If you are not baptized, then may you anticipate your baptism-knowing that the waters communicate God’s gifts to you. If you are baptized, then may you remember your baptism and be thankful. May you be thankful that our baptism communicates to us that we are God’s children, that God loves us, and that God believes we can be exactly who God created us to be.
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