Sermon Text: Matthew
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
In high schools throughout the country, getting baptized is very popular. Yes!.. Believe it or not. In fact, in parts of the country, baptisms even happen on a daily basis. Groups of upperclassmen gather together during the few minutes between lunch and 5th period to perform the ritual. The candidate for baptism, often a freshman or an unsuspecting junior high kid who wandered down the wrong hallway, is ushered into that sacred chapel known as the boys restroom. The victim—I mean, initiate—is lowered head first into the commode, and the ceremony is completed with the FLUSH of the toilet. Yes, my friends, all over the country, young people are experiencing a special form of baptism known as the Swirlie…
Part 1
There are different forms of baptism. High school students baptize one another in the toilet. In our reading from Matthew’s gospel, John the Baptist is baptizing people in the wilderness. John attracts a crowd—people from Jerusalem, from Judea, from all along the Jordan River. The crowds come—not to gawk at John, wearing clothing of camel’s hair and eating locusts and honey. They come because they need to. They need to confess their sins—to get something off their chests… to acknowledge the wrong they’ve done… to own up to the fact they’ve hurt someone by their actions… to speak of their inactions, the things they’ve failed to do… They need to repent—to turn from their ways… to take a different path… to have a change of heart… to turn back to God.
“YOU BROOD OF VIPERS!” John shouts. He calls out the Pharisees and Sadducees, but he could have said that of anyone coming forward. “WHO WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Then Jesus comes to John. Jesus is among those who come to be baptized. Jesus is among the crowd coming to confess sins. Jesus is among the Pharisees and Sadducees, the brood of vipers called out to repent. For me, this is the most difficult part of the story to understand. Why did Jesus come to be baptized? Not to confess sins… Jesus had no need to acknowledge that he’d done wrong… Why did Jesus come to be baptized? Not to repent… Jesus’ path was straight… he was on the right path… he was headed in the right direction.
Why did Jesus come to be baptized?
John the Baptist asks the same question: “You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! You are more powerful than me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie your sandals. “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” Jesus replies, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Something about Jesus’ submission to baptism seems to be part of the plan for his life. It is proper. It is righteous. It pleases God. It’s the beginning of something big. It’s the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Though it takes place in the Judean wilderness, rather than a school restroom, Jesus’ baptism is an initiation.
This morning we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism from Matthew’s gospel. Matthew begins his gospel with the story of Jesus’ birth, the visit from the Wise Men, the scheming of King Herod, the Flight of the Holy Family to Egypt… and then he continues the story with Jesus’ baptism. Luke’s gospel also begins with the story of Jesus’ birth—Mary sings, Zechariah prophecies, Emperor Augustus decrees, Joseph looks for a place to stay, shepherds watch their flocks by night, angels give glory to God and proclaim peace to mortals. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus visit Simeon, Anna and the Temple. Jesus quickly reaches age 12 and worries his parents when they leave him in Jerusalem. Then, after all of these events, take place, Jesus is baptized.
But in Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ baptism is the first thing we hear about—it is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is baptized, driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, and by Verse 14 of Chapter 1, Jesus is proclaiming the good news and calling disciples. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ baptism is the initial event of Jesus’ life… it’s the beginning of his ministry… Jesus’ baptism is the initiation of Jesus’ mission.
Part 2
What was Jesus’ mission? There are probably many ways to answer that question… But I think Jesus’ mission can be summed up using the words from the service of Affirmation of Baptism, found on page x in your bulletin. Jesus’ mission was to:
to live among God's faithful people…
to hear the word of God…
to proclaim the good news of God through word and deed…
to serve all people…
to strive for justice and peace in all the earth…
Jesus lived among God's faithful people: Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to be at the Temple with God’s people as an infant, as a child, and as an adult. With God’s people he celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the spring and the Festival of Dedication in the winter. Jesus lived and traveled and worked and ate with the faithful followers he called disciples.
Jesus listened to the word of God: he heard the scriptures read in the synagogue. He often went off by himself… to a lonely, quiet place, to listen for God’s word in prayer.
Jesus proclaimed the good news of God through word and deed: Jesus proclaimed the good news by teaching about God’s Kingdom, by sharing stories and parables. Jesus proclaimed the good news of God by works and deeds of healing, feeding the hungry, casting out demons and raising people from the dead.
Jesus served all people: On the night of his Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, tied a towel around himself, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, taking the role of a servant, setting an example for all who follow him.
Jesus strived for peace and justice in all the earth: He spoke to women when it was taboo to do so. Jesus cleansed lepers and he reached out to those who were cast out, to those on the edge of society. He preached a message of non-violence, of turning the other cheek, of praying for one’s enemies.
Part 3
Jesus’ baptism is the beginning of his ministry. Jesus’ baptism is the initiation of Jesus’ mission. When we are baptized in Jesus’ name, we are initiated into the family. God adopts us as his own. Baptized into Christ, we become brothers and sisters of Christ. We inherit a share in the “family business.” Jesus’ mission becomes our mission. What a wonderful initiation baptism is, especially when we think of some of the other initiation rites in our society—the Swirlie, becoming old enough to buy tobacco or alcohol… legally, fraternity hazing, getting your first credit card… In baptism, we are initiated into Jesus’ mission. His mission becomes our mission.
A couple Sundays ago one of our young people, Sami D., was confirmed. She stood in front of the congregation, and professed the faith into which she was baptized. She promised, with God’s help and guidance, to continue to be a part of Jesus’ mission: to live among God's faithful people… to hear the word of God and to share in the Lord’s Supper… to proclaim the good news of God through word and deed… to serve all people following Christ’s example… and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
After working with confirmation students for nearly 15 years, I know there will be times when Sami doesn’t fulfill these promises, and adults like me also fail to do the things we promise to do. Instead of hearing the word of God, we stay out late Saturday night, and instead of coming to church, we sleep in on Sunday morning… (which happens to be where Sami is this morning). Instead of proclaiming the good news of God through word and deed we are shy about sharing our faith and we act in ways that contradict what we say we believe. Instead of serving all people, we serve those who can offer us something in return, or those who look like us or act like us or think like we do. Instead of striving for justice and peace in all the earth, we have good intentions about mailing a check to Haiti relief, but it never gets written and it never gets sent.
Part 4
When we fail to do what we ought, when we do the things we’re not supposed to do, we return to the waters of baptism, the waters in which we are initiated. We remember that we are the initiates, and God is the initiator. Even when we break the promises we make, God keeps the promises he makes to us in Baptism—forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, everlasting salvation to all who believe what God has promised.
When we fail to live as we ought, we can dip our fingers in the water, and re-trace the sign of the cross on our foreheads. When we remember our Baptism, we hear the heavens torn open, and God’s voice speaking to us, as Jesus heard his Father’s voice:
“You are my Son. You are my Daughter. You are My Beloved. I have made you my own by water and the Word. I have called you to myself. I have gifted you with the Spirit. I have given you a community of faith to support and uphold you. I have placed my love in your heart and have given you new birth, in the name of Christ.”
Baptism into Christ is much better than a Swirlie…
