St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
January 10, 2016
Year C: The First
Sunday after Epiphany – The Baptism of Our Lord
Isaiah 43:1-7
Psalm 29
Acts 8:14-17
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
We Belong to God
“Thus
says the Lord…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name,
you are mine.”
“I
have called you by name, you are mine.”
Back
during the summer I had the honor of officiating at the wedding of a former
student and his fiancée.
They’re
a great couple and the wedding was a lot of fun. As I was leaving they thanked
me for officiating and I told them, “And, you know, I do a nice baptism, too.”
Well,
sure enough, a week or two ago I saw the Facebook post announcing that they’re
expecting a child. I couldn’t resist writing to them, “Remember, I do a nice
baptism!”
They
both liked the post so I guess we’ll see!
I
know it’s kind of a goofy thing to say, and I don’t know if I do a nice baptism
or not – I hope so - but I can tell you that baptizing is just about my favorite
part of being a priest.
It’s
such an honor to help parents prepare to have their children baptized. That’s
really great - but it’s even better to prepare adults for their own baptism –
when they get to make their own baptismal promises – when they get to promise
to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship – when they get to promise
to persevere in resisting evil and when they fail to repent and return to the
Lord – when they get to promise to proclaim the Good News by word and example –
when they get to promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons – when they
get to promise to respect the dignity of every human being.
It’s
such an honor to help adults prepare for their own baptism – when they get to
make their baptismal promises – promising to do all these incredibly
challenging and difficult but so essential tasks – promising to do them all, with God’s help.
And,
that’s the most important thing.
Because
whether I do a nice baptism or not or if I enjoy baptizing or not, baptism has
nothing much to do with me or anybody else who pours the water or does the
dunking.
In
Baptism, God makes an unbreakable bond with us – a bond that can never be
dissolved no matter what we do or don’t do.
In
Baptism, we discover that we belong to God.
In
Baptism, God says to us what God said to the people of Israel through the
Prophet Isaiah long ago:
“Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
In
Baptism, God calls us by name – and tells us that we belong to God.
We
belong to God.
We
probably don’t need to hear that on the day of our Baptism or on the day of our
child’s baptism.
We
don’t need to hear that on that special day when we feel so close to God, when
the Holy Water is still making the baby’s hair damp or is still running down
our own collar.
But,
we do need to hear it – we need to remember it – during those times we don’t
feel so close to God.
That’s
one of the reasons why we don’t baptize off in private or on a Sunday but we
baptize right here during a Sunday service. Whenever we have a baptism, I’m
sure there are plenty of people right here who are having a tough time and need
to be reminded that God has made an unbreakable bond with us – plenty of people
who are feeling a little lost who need to be reminded that they – we – belong
to God.
Today’s
passage from the Prophet Isaiah was written during a tough time for the people
of Israel – Jerusalem, including the Temple of Solomon, had been destroyed and
many were living in exile in Babylon, far from home, trying to hold onto their
identity, trying to remember who they really were, trying to remember to whom
they belonged.
During
that time of exile and fear, God offers a powerful and beautiful reminder
through Isaiah:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you
walk through fire, you shall not be burned, the flame shall not consume you.”
“Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
On
this First Sunday after Epiphany we always remember Jesus’ baptism – we
remember that our brother Jesus was baptized – which is always a little awkward
because, as Luke takes pains to remind us, Jesus is far greater than John the
Baptist – it’s a little awkward because Jesus the Son of God was without sin,
so why the need for Baptism?
But,
maybe, like us, our brother Jesus needed to learn who he was – and to whom he
belonged.
Luke
tells us that after Jesus’ baptism, he heard a voice from heaven say, “You are
my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
You
know, Christmas has just passed but we’re already into planning for Lent and
Good Friday when we’ll once again follow Jesus walking the Way of the Cross
through some of the places of bloodshed here in Jersey City.
And,
I imagine that as Jesus lived his ministry, as we was misunderstood by his
often thickheaded disciples, as we was rejected by so many people, as he was
betrayed by own of his own, as he was beaten and left hanging on the cross
abandoned by nearly everybody, during all of those hard times, our brother
Jesus could hold onto his baptism - could remember his own baptism – remember and
know who he was – and to whom he belonged.
“You
are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
I
know right now there are a lot of us going through tough times, who feel hurt,
lost, frightened, maybe even exiled. And, I know there are a lot of us who
struggle with our baptismal promises to worship together, to proclaim the Good
News, to love one another and to respect every single person.
I
wish we had a baptism today to remind us – I wish we could hear and see the
splash of water through which God says:
“Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
But,
today the words will have to be enough for us to remember that we are baptized.
In
Baptism, God calls us by name – and makes an unbreakable, indissoluble, bond
with us.
We
belong to God.
No
matter what.
Amen.
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