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| My Baptismal Certificate (Thanks be to God that God wasn't finished with me then). |
January 13, 2019—First Sunday
after the Epiphany
Do you remember your baptism? I don’t. In the
Church we sometimes say, “Remember your baptism!” but I don’t. It’s not that I
don’t remember that I was baptized, it’s just that I was seven months old. I do
however, remember what people told me about that day.
On Saturday, May 4, 1985 in front of just a
handful of people Fr. Jim Touhy celebrated a service of Holy Baptism. It is not
lost on me as a Star Wars fan that I was baptized on May 4th—as in, "May the Fourth (sic) be with you." Still there are so many more important details
that others have told me about that day worth remembering.
Like that it was one of the last private baptisms
celebrated at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham. As you know, we in
the Episcopal Church now prefer a raucous celebration in the midst of a big feast
day like All Saints’ Day or today. Being baptized in front of a few people who
will raise one up right is profound, but when a whole church says, “We will!”
make sure this child or person is brought up into the full stature of Christ, it’s
so rich for the whole community.
Back to my own baptism, I also have been told
that on that spring day in 1985 I cried bloody murder throughout the whole
service. Fr. Touhy—an Irishman—said afterward in his thick accent, “Well, I
hope it took!” As in, he hoped that he had gotten all the Satan out of me.
These shared details and my own other memories about that church weave together
this beautiful tapestry that informs me about the importance of being marked as
Christ’s own forever. What about you, what do you remember about your own
baptism?
What do you remember about what happened after
your baptism? I’m not talking about the reception, I mean what occurred in the
wake of your baptism? I ask this because today’s Gospel lesson directs us
strangely away from Jesus’ baptism at the hands of John and towards another moment
entirely. And, truth be told, what happens as we move through our life in
Christ, our life-long journey as the beloveds of God, may shine just as
brightly as that one shimmering moment in the baptismal waters. So, let’s look
more closely at today’s words from Luke, as we are charged to move onward in
our relationship with God through Christ.
Unlike in Mark’s account, when Jesus emerged from
baptism with the heavens being torn open immediately, or Matthew’s account,
when again the dove descended as Jesus rose out of the River Jordan, or John’s
account, when we did not receive an elaborate description of the baptism at
all, unlike the others, Luke’s story gives us an intentional account of Jesus’
baptism, but in the past tense. Listen again: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized…” the heavens opened,
the Holy Spirit came down, and the Father’s voice boomed. The moment of baptism
had already passed.
How long ago was it? Well, in a blog post thisweek, our former rector writing about the Greek word, which we translate as
“had been baptized,” lets us know that it’s unclear. However, what is as clear
as the flowing baptismal water itself is that Jesus had already been baptized and
was currently praying when the Spirit alighted upon Him. That’s right. The way
Luke writes it Jesus was not being baptized when the Holy Spirit descended upon
him in bodily form like that of a dove instead, it was when Jesus was praying
that all of this action took place. This changes some things my friends!
Sometime after Jesus was baptized he was praying.
And, as he was, God’s Spirit came upon him and told him the most important
truth we will ever hear, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.” There are two things here I want to dwell upon—first, what this tells
us about prayer and second, why we need these words today more than ever.
So first prayer! Oftentimes parents of young
children come into a priest’s office panicking. Especially if this child is the
first in a family, the parents worry that if they do not hurry up and get their
child baptized, then something bad could occur. And, so they ask, “What will
happen if my child dies before she is baptized?” Sometimes not wanting to pull
the rug out from underneath the parents’ feet too quickly, I will slowly try to
unpack the fears surrounding this wayward belief. Most notably I want them to
know clearly that Holy Baptism IS NOT
eternal fire insurance.
This morning please hear me as I restate this
truth. There is nothing you or your child can do that will separate either of
you from God’s love. Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING! Baptism is
not fire insurance. It is a repentance from sin and a turning towards God;
however, God never waits on you to do something before God loves you! Got it?
Now, not to undercut the profundity of the Holy Sacrament of Holy Baptism, but
today’s Holy Scripture tells us that it is in prayer that Jesus received the
Spirit and accepted His true identity as the Beloved.
So what does this mean? Is Holy Baptism
insignificant? Well, no. But, it does shed some light on the power of prayer. Parents,
guardians, grandparents, and the extended church family who may worry about our
children’s eternal lives are also called to care about our children’s mortal
lives, which are very much part of eternity. How do we care for ourselves and
our children? How do we help ourselves and others to turn from evil? How do we
lean ever closer towards Christ? How? How? How? Not only through the mysterious
waters of Holy Baptism, but also in the rich life of prayer that we share
together! Baptism is wonderful and can be profound, but it may very well be in
our individual and shared lives of prayer that we hear the most important
truth.
That second thing worth dwelling upon is why we
need this truth now more than ever. What’s the truth? Through Christ and the
Spirit, which came to reside upon and within Jesus, God says also to you, “You
are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” You and you and you and
you and you and all of us are God’s most precious child. Like all good parents
God does not play favorites, instead God says you are my beloved. Jesus heard
that truth, at least according to Luke, not in baptism but in prayer. If you
are one of those worried parents who must have your child baptized perhaps
these words are challenging because it’s not as simple as one moment. God is
too big for just one moment. God wants you forever. God wants you to know that
you are God’s beloved forever.
In just a moment we are going to remember our
baptisms. We will do so by reciting the Baptismal Covenant. It will be lovely.
And, I hope you take time each year on your baptismal anniversary to think back
upon that moment when you were cleansed from sin and marked as Christ’s own
forever. Still, what you need now and always is to pray. Not because it’s
required of you. Not because God has to hear you worshipping, praising, or groveling.
You need to pray because it is in prayer that you will recognize the truth of
Holy Baptism. It is in prayer that you will hear God saying, “You are my child,
my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And for that, thanks be to God. Amen!
