Baptism of our Lord
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Acts 8:14-17, Isaiah 43:1-7, Psalm 29
C. Edward Bowen tells of a high school science project a few years ago when a certain student conducted a survey of people asking them whether they thought dihydrogen monoxide should be banned. Before people could respond the student provided them with some information. He pointed out that dihydrogen monoxide is a major component of acid rain; the leading cause of soil erosion; that it has been proven to decrease the effectiveness of automobile brakes and that accidentally breathing in dihydrogen monoxide can kill you. Based on that information, nearly half of those surveyed said "Yes, there ought to be a law against dihydrogen monoxide." Actually, we all are very comfortable around this compound. It is essential to our very existence. Dihydrogen monoxide is the scientific name for water. Dihydrogen meaning two hydrogen molecules and monoxide meaning one oxygen molecule. H2O. How much attention you pay to water depends a great deal on what you call it--how you describe it and whether the encounter is real or abstract.
Last Sunday at about this time in the morning I was on retreat with 20 of our junior high teens and I found myself discussing with a number of the adults on retreat with me exactly what we though of the pending presence of water in our lives. The form of this water was snow that was being forecast at that time to begin to fall. We decided to make a timely and early departure from the camp, pausing for closing worship (which allowed the adults time to move vehicles and shift gear around) and then an early lunch so we wouldn't have to stop with car loads of teens begging for food. But the forecast of water in crystal form caused us to cancel the morning's activities and head for home early. Such is the power of water seen again and again. Power to sink--power to drown--power to flood.
To ancient Israel the chaos of the waters were the picture of the primordial world. Swirling waters glimpsed in the first verses of Genesis that covered the entire earth until God restrained the chaos creating the heavens above and earth below. The waters always only slightly removed from the annihilation that God loosed in the floods that Noah rode out in his ark. Only the power of God could deliver from the threatening tidal wave of destruction. The prophet Isaiah recalls in our first lesson for today that when we pass through the waters, it is God who is with us. Pass through the waters as Moses did leading the people out of Egypt. Pass through the waters as Joshua did leading the people through the Jordan River into the promised land. Pass through the waters into the promise of a new future--Pass through the waters of baptism.
How you feel about dihydrogen monoxide depends a great deal on what associations you bring to this name. I am married to someone who loves to swim. If I was as relaxed and comfortable in water as she is I would love to be in water too. But every time I jump into a pool or lake I have to fight a memory from my youth when I almost drowned. It was a camp experience when I was first learning to swim and I found myself literally in water over my head. I was unable to keep my head above water. I remember gulping great swallows of lake water and flailing about. I even think my life flashed before my eyes but I was so young it went by so quickly that I can't be sure. What I do know is that from that time onward I have always had one fleeting thought pass thorough my mind every time I enter water--Stay alive. I have difficulty relaxing or enjoying--I just want to stay alive.
Jesus came to the Jordan River--I wonder. Was he out in the country side to relax a bit from the daily routine of working or was there something more. Was there something else going through his mind that day he waded into the waters of the Jordan River? Was he looking for something more? John the Baptist was in the wilderness--and the people came out to him. People came to him seeking the Messiah--the one who would deliver the people. The anointed one of God--a new king and leader. The one who would restore the glory of God to Jerusalem and the people of faith. John made no bones about it--this was going to be a leader with might and power. One who would provide a baptism of the spirit and fire. No soothing water for John--He talked judgment. The casting of the chaff into the fire--Fire as punishment and judgment.
It was fire that had been the instrument of destruction that had ravaged the holy city of Jerusalem. Everyone remembered how fire that had destroyed Solomon's temple after it stood for 350 years—some said in judgment of Israel losing faith in God. It was the fires of the Babylonian armies that made the prophet Isaiah wonder if God could ever deliver the people again. Yet the prophet had promised that the day would come when "you walk through the fire and not be burned." And so it was that the people of Israel returned from exile to rebuilt their cities and eventually even the temple. But under Roman rule—foreign occupation. The dream was of a true messiah who would stand against the might of Rome. John preached a powerful and wrathful God. A God who would come in might and power and judgment.
A God like that described in our Psalm for today. A God whose very voice thundered over the waters. "The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees ...the voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare." This is the description of a God who would strike fear in the hearts of even a Roman legion. This was a God who could bring down an empire. This was the messiah who would judge Rome and all people. But there always seems to be a "but" in the stories of the Bible But—as the crowds gathered to be baptized and await the messiah. Jesus came and was also baptized. The question that always comes up on this day from these lessons is "Why did Jesus have to be baptized?" Clearly John is preaching a baptism of forgiveness from sin, but this was Jesus—God incarnate—the sinless one. Here comes Jesus wading into the waters of the Jordan and John is stunned. The power of God in human form—wading waist deep in the muddy waters.
What about the fire? What about the power and judgment? God's might should divide the waters—not wade into them like any other human being. God walks on water—surely that was the vision that was needed. But Jesus came into the water like any other sinner and knelt before John like any other citizen of Rome and resident of earth. John was looking for the power of God over all creation. The miracle that sets apart—removes from the ordinary and common. But Jesus waded into the waters—like any other human being. And this is where the ministry of Jesus begins. In the moment that he enters fully into the ordinary. When he becomes one with the multitude of people. When he gets wet just like the rest of us.
In this moment Jesus is fully human—he has taken on the sin of all humanity. He is one with humanity—And now his ministry begins. For the next three years he would speak as one with the people—all people When our sons were very young—before they had learned to swim, Chris and I would visit her parents and we would go to the pool in their clubhouse. And we did what so many parents do. We stood in the pool waist deep or more and the boys would stand on the side of the pool and we would tell them to jump. Some children are fearless about such things. But one of the boys must have caught some of my genes and would resist. Resist while we told him again and again that it was all right.
We were already in the water—we would be with him. Wet in the water with him we could assure him that we would support him, lift him up. So Jesus entered into the full stream of humanity immersed himself in the daily struggles—daily doubts—daily joys and sorrows. I don't believe that when Jesus went into those waters to be baptized he had any idea that he was about to enter a new chapter in his life, that he was about to begin his ministry. That understanding was to come in the sign that was given to him as he came out of the waters. The descending dove and the very voice of God (some say it was thunder.) The power of the Holy Spirit that was poured out on and through Jesus comes after the decision to act by faith. It is the seal of the covenant. But the force that leads us is the belief in something more—something beyond ourselves. The belief that we are called to this moment—to leap in faith into the waters and if we perceive it correctly we will be blessed by God's grace and this moment transform us or others.
On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks did something she was not supposed to do: she sat down at the front of a bus in one of the seats reserved for whites. A dangerous, daring and provocative act in a racist society. Legend has it that years later a graduate student came to Rosa Parks and asked, "Why did you sit down at the front of the bus that day?" Rosa Parks did not say that she sat down to launch a movement. Her motive was more elementary than that. She said, "I sat down because I was tired..." Of course there were many forces aiding and abetting that decision besides her fatigue. She had studied the theory and tactics of nonviolence at the Highlander Folk School where Martin Luther King, Jr. was also a student. She was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, whose members had been discussing civil disobedience. But at the moment she sat down at the front of the bus on that December day, she had no guarantee that the theory of nonviolence would work or that her community would back her up. It was a moment where in her weariness all she could do was act by faith, believing that she could no longer live as less than what she knew she was. Act as fully human as God had created her. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the chaotic and racist society that swirled around her. And a solid foundation for the civil rights movement was established.
God's grace is like that. Wet and dripping with water Jesus comes up out of the river and his ministry begins. Anointed by water and the spirit the true messiah steps forth. Each of us who have been baptized were once likewise anointed by the water and the spirit. This morning we stand again in the midst of the swirling stream of history. We are swept up in the busy-ness of our lives. Our minds are distracted by day dreams and worries. But flowing through the wholeness of this moment is God's creative and grace filled spirit. Calling us to faith—inviting us to discover how spirit filled our callings really are. Water is present throughout our world—dihydrogen monoxide is all around us in quantities that exceed our wildest expectations.
A potato is composed of 80% water—A cow is 74% water. A tomato is almost nothing but water—95% water. Each of us—the average human being is 65% water. But more than water is the spirit of God—the Holy Spirit—filling the world. The power of God that conquered empires not by sword but in prayer filled service. The power of God that lifted up not the few elite but the multitudes who gathered in worship and praise. The power of God that lifted Jesus from the crucifying cross to the crown of glory and eternal life. More than water—the Spirit of God fills us—calls us to be more. The baptism of our Lord is a bold invitation to recognize. That God's presence in the world takes form not in a Christmas proclamation but in the baptismal affirmation. We are the spirit drenched anointed, we are the ones called to begin our ministry—this day. To step out in faith and await the Spirit's affirmation. Step out in our witness to Christ by inviting a friend or neighbor to meet this Jesus. Step out in service by pausing to give of our time and resources as stewards of God's blessings.
The Spirit calls us to remember those in need. Pray for those who seek wholeness, comfort those who mourn. Rejoice with those who have heard God's voice. Watch for the Spirit—listen for God's voice. God spoke through the prophets of old. God's voice echoed across the waters of the Jordan. God speaks to us again—and we will walk with God, pass through the waters, walk through the fire secure that it will not burn. For through baptism we have become one with God's Son—with whom God is well pleased.
Amen.