1. Good morning. Let’s pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
2. Good morning. Let me ask you a question, “How much does your Baptism mean to you?
In our Gospel reading we saw Jesus baptized and it meant something to Him otherwise He would never have done it. He actually insisted that John Baptize Him – why? Why Is His baptism so significant?
So how much does your baptism mean to you?
· For some of us the answer may be “not much” if we were willing to be very candid.
· For others of us the answer might be “Everything!” and this may be said with deep passion.
· For even others of us the answer might be “something but I’m not sure what as yet.”
I believe that today God wants to remind us of our Baptisms in light of His own and in so doing to remind us of the wonder of our Baptism. So if I can reflect what He wants to say to us well and you receive it fully then I believe that we’re all going to walk out of this Sanctuary soon feel very very privileged, blessed and empowered.
The fact is though that if we have been baptized all of the power of that baptism has been with us from the moment we were baptized the only difference might have been that we never fully entered into our privileged rights!
It’s like being given a Billion dollars and never cashing the check!
So let’s see what this Sacrament of Baptism is all about shall we? And we will look at it though our Lord’s own Baptism. It’s looking through this lens that makes all of the difference in the world.
To aid our reflections I have a short video clip for us. It’s a reasonably good enactment of our Lord’s Baptism. Before I ask Kevin to play it for us let me warn you that it may seem a little less than perfect but remember that this scene actually took place. At some point 2,000 years ago Jesus came forward and asked John to baptize him – this actually happened. There was a real Jesus and a real John and they probably didn’t look like Brad Pitt and Colin Firth – they probably both looked very Jewish whatever that means.
OK Kevin please play that video clip.
Now let’s focus on the fact that Jesus insisted upon being Baptized. Remember in our Gospel reading we read:
Matt. 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
For the early church this gospel incident provided something of a puzzle. Why would Jesus, the sinless One, insist on Baptism by John? Why be washed by the waters of Jordan River as though He were a repentant sinner?
The answer to this question should give us great hope and joy.
world now knew who He was and it must never be forgotten that this came at the very time when He fully identified with each and every one of us – from the sinner to the saint, from the pedophile to Mother Theresa, from the alcoholic daily fighting this terrible demon to the innocent baby suckling at his mother’s breast.
Jesus entered Right from the start of His public ministry, Jesus wanted to be identified with the great mass of humanity who are just like you and me – all of us in our journey through life have at times chosen to fall short of what we were created to be and do.
What was Jesus actually doing when He submitted to this cleansing – this washing with water?
He was fully identifying with each and every one of us in a magnificent act of solidarity or absolute unity!
He wanted to identify with those of us who have become conscious of the brokenness of our relationship with God, and have felt the compelling need to return to God like the prodigal sons and daughters that we so often are!
But was this just a ritual act or was it something much more profound than that?
What I’m getting at here is that Hollywood is good at playing theatrics: good at choosing a sentimental word or gesture or series of actions that will capture the imaginations and hearts of their audience. Was what Jesus did just that – a theatrical act to make a point?
No – absolutely not because Jesus Himself clearly had a mystical experience precisely at the very moment when He emerged from His identification with us in the waters of the River Jordan!
Our Gospel reading noted,
Matt. 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
“This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
As soon as Jesus emerged FROM His identification with us His father revealed to the world that He was His beloved Son! And so Jesus’ public ministry was inaugurated with this heavenly benediction!
Jesus and the into His world-shaking ministry as He fully identified with each and every human being that had ever lived or would ever live!
Now back to my opening question – “How much does your baptism mean to you?
And the answer is now just a short reflection away as we begin to see the connection between our baptism and our Lord’s.
You see, when you and I were baptized we shared in the baptism of our Lord. Each and every one of us has been incorporated into His baptism.
At whatever age we received baptism, the heavens were opened and divine love and power showered down upon us from heaven. At that very moment, heaven and earth were one in each one of us!
The Holy Spirit hovered over us as He did Jesus and deep down at the very source of our beings – our very souls hear the divine declaration – “This is my beloved son or daughter, in whom I am very well pleased!” and it’s precisely because of this that we pray “OUR FATHER who art in heaven. . . Amen.” And it’s precisely because of this that we can cry “Abba” - Daddy! To our heavenly father who is very well pleased with us!
A metaphor that may help us get a grasp on the enormity of this reality might be to compare what happens at our baptism to be the reverse of what happens at our birth.
Before our birth we are one with our mother but at birth the one becomes two. In fact what happens at Baptism is the reverse of this. At baptism we’re reincorporated into the very inner being of the Trinity and the distant deity becomes “Daddy – Father!”
Perhaps another metaphor that may help us grasp what happens at baptism is the scene in bike scene in ET. I’ll bet some of us might remember this. I remember gasping for breath when it happened.
We should wake up every morning with God’s divine voice ringing in our ears, “You are my Beloved son, beloved daughter!
For this very reason it’s very appropriate to read this particular Gospel at every baptism. Each and every Christian has the right to hear, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I take delight,” Personally addressed to him or her by God.
· At our baptism we receive a new heart and a new spirit or spiritual inclination.
· The old heart and spirit of stone die during the Sacrament of Baptism.
· And God places His Holy Spirit within us to help our new heart and the new spirit to remain righteous, obeying His Holy ways. [Ezek. 36:26]
· This is the most beautiful thing that happens to us during the Sacrament of Baptism, something that most Christians don’t even realize.
· This transformation is what it means to be reborn.
· God actually creates a new heart and a new spirit within us. [Jn. 3:3, 5, 7; 1 Jn. 4:7, 5:1, 4]
· We are truly not the same anymore – we are a new creation!
· The Sacrament of Baptism gives birth to our life of faith.
· While the Sacrament of Confirmation strengthens us.
· And in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we receive food to live a holy life.
· Because Jesus obeyed His Father, we’re made righteous during the Sacrament of Baptism.
· We were buried with Christ during the Sacrament of Baptism so that now we may be raised as a new creation;
· We’re all new!
As I meditated upon what my baptism has come to mean to me I searched for a way of expressing it. I searched for a metaphor or simile to grasp it and I finally came up with this one.
Kevin please show that brief video clip for the ET movie. You may guess which one it is!
That’s what my Baptism has come to mean to me.
What does it mean to you now?
Spend some time today trying to find a metaphor to describe what it means to you.
Do I have any volunteers to try it now?
Let’s pray . . .
