January 12, 2003

Mark 1:4-11

 One of my favorite movies is kind of a sleeper called, O Brother, Where Art Thou".  It’s a great movie with great music - old tymey southern music, gospels and spirituals.  It’s set in southern Mississippi sometime in the 40’s and it’s about these three convicts - Ulysses Everett, the brains of the outfit, his two sidekicks Pete and Delmar who have escape from a chain gang to search for buried treasure - 1.2 million dollars that Everett has supposedly  hidden from an earlier robbery.  The entire movie is about their journey searching for their treasure and running from the law at the same time.

 At one point in the movie, the three are hiding out in the woods when through the trees they see dozens of men and women dressed in white robes going down to the river.  Down to the river to pray, down to the river to be baptized.     Delmar gets caught up in all that’s happening around him and he rushes down to the river where the preacher takes him, dips him down deep into the water and baptizes him.

 As Delmar stumbles out of the river, he says, "Well that’s it boys, I’ve been redeemed, the preacher done washed away all my sins and transgressions.  It’s the straight and narrow from here on out and heaven everlasting is my reward.  The preacher said all my sins are washed away even that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo."

 Everett whose been watching all this from the river bank, somewhat skeptically,  says to him, I thought you was innocent of those charges, and Delmar, stops to think about that for a moment then says,  "Well, I was lying and the preacher said that that sins been washed away too, neither God nor man’s got nothing on me now.  Come on in boys, the water is fine."

 Come on in, the water is fine.  On this day, the second Sunday in January the church remembers and celebrates Jesus’ baptism, the day he went down to the river to pray, the day he was baptized by John the Baptist.

 It’s a natural progression for us - on Christmas day we celebrated Jesus birth, the day God bent down to kiss a broken world - as Rich, so beautifully described on Christmas Eve.  His birth signals the beginning of something new and wonderful, the likes of which have never been seen before.

 And now, a few weeks later we celebrate Jesus baptism.  It’s another beginning.  Almost 2000 years ago, the heavens tore open, the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and God spoke, saying, this is my Son, my beloved, with you I am well pleased.
His baptism signals the beginning of his ministry - his ministry of healing, teaching, proclaiming the good news of God and the kingdom of heaven.

 In honor of this day, I’m going to speak to you this morning  about baptism - that wonderful ceremony where we take an infant, a child, a teenager or an adult, sprinkle water on their foreheads in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 First of all,  some things you probably already know - but it’s good to review every once in a while.  Baptism is one of two sacraments in the protestant church;  the catholic church has seven, we have two, the other sacrament being communion.  A sacrament is an outward sign of an invisible gift from God.  These are the hand motions we teach our confirmands - do it with me - an outward sign of an invisible gift from God.

 We baptize infants and children and adults because Jesus was baptized.  It’s biblical.   It’s in all four gospels.  And we use water because that’s what Jesus was baptized with.  Water symbolizes cleansing, forgiveness of sins and new life - all gifts of a gracious and loving God.  We also call upon the Holy Spirit because baptism is not something we do by ourselves.  There’s more than Rich, me, the parents and a baby up here.  God is present as well.  So we call upon the Holy Spirit to bless the one about to be baptized,  giving the one who is baptized all the gifts needed to grow into the Christian faith;  strength, joy, love, courage, conviction, encouragement, forgiveness - all the promises of God, especially God’s presence.

 And while here at First Parish and probably in most congregational churches we sprinkle water on a person’s forehead,  there are other churches, other traditions that baptize by immersion - they take the infant, child or adult and dip them under the water in river or lake or baptismal pool.  Going into the water symbolizes  dying and being buried with Christ.  Coming out of the water symbolizes rising with Christ.  And whether you are dunked or sprinkled - you still get the same amount of blessings from God.  You only get extra blessings by being here on a cold snowy morning like today.

 And we baptize infants and children and adults because Jesus’ last words to his disciples in this gospel of Matthew are these:  go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
which is exactly what they did.

 Which is exactly what we do.  We go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing adults who believe and children whose parents believe on their behalf.  With great joy and gladness we welcome into the church the newest disciples of Christ.  We sprinkle water on their foreheads and we tell them who they are: you are a child of God, a disciple of Christ, and a member of the church.

 And this, I think, is the most important thing that baptism does for us - the most important thing about baptism - if you remember nothing else, remember this...baptism tells us who we are.
When the heavens opened up at Jesus baptism and God said, You are my Son, with you I am well pleased, Jesus was claimed as God’s own Son.  There was no question who he belonged to, he belonged to God.

 When we are baptized the same thing happens.  The heavens open up and God speaks,  claiming us as sons and daughters.  We belong to God.

 Jesse Jackson once said, "I was nobody, but now, thank God, I am somebody."  Being baptized with water and the holy spirit makes us somebody.   We are chosen.   We are holy.  We are Gods own.  Through baptism we are united with God in a unique and special way.  We know who we are.  We know we belong to God.  And that means something.

 There’s a story about a little boy who was caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing by  his mother.  And when his mother confronted him with his wrong doing and threatened to punish him, the boy straightened himself up, looked up at his Mom and said, "You can’t touch me.  I’m baptized."

 There’s some truth in that little boy’s words. Being baptized won’t keep us from getting hurt  or knowing our share of pain or sadness.  But knowing who we are and whose we are can bring us strength and comfort as we travel this road called life.  Baptism assures us that no matter how high we soar or how far we fall, God is always there.

 Martin Luther, the great reformer would often go through times of great doubt, times when he would struggle with dark nights of the soul.  And it’s said that during these times he would touch his forehead and say to himself, "Martin, be calm.  You are baptized."

 Baptism binds us with God in a unique and special way.  We have been chosen.  We are holy in God’s sight.  We belong to God.

 Baptism also binds us with the church in a unique and special way.   Christians are not born.  They are made,  Luther said.   Baptism is entrance into the church, the body of Christ. The doors are open.   Come on in.   It is here a child or an adult learns the stories of Jesus, the stories of God,  it is here they learn how to worship, learn the favorite hymns and new songs, it is here they learn how to care for one another, to love one another, to live in relationship with one another. Christianity is communal  -  you don’t do it by yourself.  And it is here - in the church - that they - that we - learn how to be disciples.  By sharing our stories,  our faith, our lives we help the newly baptized and each other - grow into Christians

 If it takes an entire village to raise a child, it takes an entire congregation to raise a Christian.  When we had our boys baptized in a small church in Virginia, our minister asked the 80 members of that congregation if they would love and care for our children and help raise them in the church and together with one voice they said, "we will."  And while we were there, they did.   They cared for them in the nursery, in sunday school, they gave them cookies off the grown up table during coffee hour, held them when they cried, held them when they were making me crazy, in the short time we were there, they helped grow our children into disciples.  Baptism is the one time the vows of the congregation are perhaps as important as the vows of the parents.

 And finally, there’s one more thing about baptism you should know...once you are baptized, once you are sealed with water and Spirit
, once you are bound to God and the church, you are bound for life.   What God has done, no person can undo, says Luther.

 William Willimon, Dean of the chapel at Duke University, tells a story about a young boy in his church who returned home after his first year at college. Willimon had known him about five years, had baptized him a couple of years later.  He had come from a difficult family situation and the church had taken a special interest in him, even helping him go to school.  One day, this boy appeared in Willimon’s office and told him he wouldn’t be seeing him at church over the summer.  When Willimon asked him why not the boy replied, "Well, you see.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about religion while I was at college and I have come to the conclusion that there is not much to this religion thing.  I have found that I don’t need the church to get by," he said.

 "Well, that’s very interesting." Willimon said.

 "That’s it," the boy  asked?  Aren’t you worried? I thought you would go through the roof when I told you."

 No, I’m not worried, Willimon replied.  I’ll be watching, however, to see if you can pull it off."

 What do you mean "pull it off" the boy replied.  I’m nineteen.  I can do anything I want, can’t I?

 Well sure you can, Willimon said.  When I was nineteen I thought I was on my own too.  I’m just saying I’m not sure you can get away with this.

 Why not? the boy asked.

 Well...for one thing. You’re baptized.

 So..what does that have to do with anything?

 Well, Willimon said, for one thing, there are people here who care about you.  They made promises to God when you were baptized.  You try not showing up around here this summer and they’ll be nosing around, asking you what you’re doing with your life, what kind of grades you made last semester and what you’re doing with yourself.

 And then...there’s God.  There's no telling what God might try with you.  From what I’ve seen of God, once he has claimed you, you don’t get off the hook so easily.  God is relentless in claiming what is his.  And in baptism, God says you belong to him."

 The boy shook his head in wonder at this strange, unreasonable brand of thought and more or less stumbled out of Willimon’s study.  In a week or so he was back at his usual place in the second pew.

 Once you are  baptized, you are sealed with water and the Holy Spirit, for life.

The next time you are witness to a baptism, take a moment and remember your own or the vows that were made on your behalf.

 Remember that you are a child of God, a disciple of Christ and a member of the   church.

 Remember that you have been blessed and claimed by God

 Remember that you have been cleansed, forgiven and redeemed by Christ.

 Remember that on that day the heavens opened up, the holy spirit descended  upon you like a dove and God spoke
:  You are my son and daughter, with you  I am well pleased.

  And if you haven’t been baptized, remember that you are never too young or too old, it is never too late.  In the infamous words of Delmar, Come on in, the water’s fine.

 Please join me in prayer giving thanks to God for all of God’s blessings. especially baptism.

 for the many ways you bless us, each and every day, and thank you for claiming us through the gift of baptism;
great are you Lord

Linda B. Hirst