Baptism: You Are My Beloved
Isaiah 43:1-2, Luke 3:16--22
January 12, 2025
Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, First Presbyterian Church, San Rafael, CA
1 But now thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 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, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:1-2 NRSV
16 But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. 17 He's going to clean house - make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned." 18 There was a lot more of this - words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! 19 But Herod, the ruler, stung by John's rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 20 capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail.
21 After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up 22 and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Luke 3:16—22 The Message
What is a baptism anyway? It is the moment when God announces a claim on us through water and the Word. God announces that we are citizens in a new dominion before we even know it. God gathers us in a love that precedes all human relationships, a love that comes before every family tie. Baptism announces that we belong to God.
The baptism of Jesus really happened. All four gospel writers tell us it was accompanied by astonishing signs. When Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and saw the heavens had been ripped open. Then the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, came down like a dove and landed upon him. And then a great Voice spoke the coronation words from the second Psalm: "This is my beloved Son. I am pleased with him." The actual baptism of Jesus is not described in elaborate detail. But the signs confirm that it truly took place.
As Rev. Bill Carter writes - What's more, there is no way that the church would have ever dreamed up a story about the baptism of Jesus. Frankly, it is too embarrassing. John was in the Jordan River, baptizing people as a sign of repentance. Then Jesus appeared. We don't know if Jesus came to the river to repent. We don't think so, but it's hard to explain. Jesus took his place among sinners. As people were baptized by John in anticipation of the Messiah, Jesus appeared, apparently to join them. The church couldn't have invented a tale like that. Every New Testament scholar agrees: the baptism of Jesus was a historical event. It really happened.
And when we hear the of a day when the heavens open, a dove descends, and a Voice calls out, there is no question that God has broken into human history in a profound and significant way.
The baptism of every child of God and every person finds its meaning from the baptism of Jesus. For Jesus and for us, the evidence of baptism is found in what we do with our lives. Baptism is more than knowing that that baby’s head is wet. It is an event that guides the way we live. What matters most is how we live after the water has dried.
What happened when Jesus came out of the water? Suddenly he is hurled into the wilderness to battle the devils and demons. He goes into their own turf to take them on. And he comes out of the wilderness triumphant.
Then he goes back home to Nazareth to teach and preach. The folks who knew him growing up are not so sure they want to hear the prophetic words he is preaching. They reject him. He keeps talking with and eating with people considered unacceptable. And he heals on the sabbath. And he calls disciples, ordinary fisherman.
Remember how it got started? When Jesus got baptized. Baptism is the moment when God says, “You belong to me – and I am sending you into the world to make a difference.” To make a constructive difference. To make a holy difference. The heavens have been ripped open, and there’s no word that they have sewn shut. The Spirit comes down, lands on Jesus, and is refracted now through everybody who loves Jesus – all to the end of making a constructive difference in the world.
Looking over some of the history of our congregation. And what Robert Dollar and others wanted to plant here in San Rafael in the late 1800’s. There were other churches starting. But these Presbyterians, including some from Scotland, wanted a church with a democratic government that would make a difference in the world. You see, for them it was not a matter of merely singing some hymns, praying a bit, and calling it a day. They wanted God’s work to get done.
It’s the same work that Jesus is still doing: teaching, healing, mending the world one person at a time. And I have to say it is a wonderful thing to serve a church that understands his ministry. This is not a congregation that sits around and does nothing. There are Christians here. Baptized people. They take on Christ’s ministry as their own.
On any given day, the people in this church are looking in on one another. They are making phone calls and offering rides. They deliver meals and welcome strangers. They rejoice with those rejoicing, they offer a firm shoulder to those who feel broken down. They offer grace and forgiveness. They contribute to human needs out of their own resources. And a lot of this is done without any fanfare, because people know: if you are baptized, you are sent to do Christ’s ministry. We are the community of the baptized. And if you have not been baptized and would like to be, come to the upcoming class and let’s talk.
The good news in our text is that God does not abandon the world to its own inclinations. God does not ignore a world that is prone to its own selfishness. God opens the sky and comes to us, lives in us, holds us in love and grace. And in the curious power of Jesus, lives are healed. Compassion is enlarged. Wisdom is deepened. The world is healed and transformed.
That is the promise of Christ’s baptism and ours. Heaven touches earth, and earth is changed. It happens through our ministry, the ministry we share. And that leads me to say, don’t ever abandon the work of the Gospel to the professionals. It doesn't matter if you spend your time building houses or cleaning them. God has something for you to do with your life. It doesn't matter if you are retired or looking for your next job. What matters is you serve God, full-time, every hour of every day. What matters is that you see your life as a ministry. And what you do with your life matters more than you can ever know.
It has been that way ever since Jesus went down into the Jordan River and came up to see that the world has changed. Ever since, those of us who are baptized in his name are called to live as if Jesus offers ways of abundant life, deep life, forever. There are forces that hurt and destroy human life. There is much on our hearts. We cannot do it all. It can be overwhelming. But we seek to embody this love, this hope, this grace, the vision of shalom. There are a lot of people who need a lot of love. And it matters what we do with the time God has given us.
It has always been that way. We are not called to withdraw from the world to say, "I've been washed in the waters of baptism; now I'm going to sit back in my Easy Chair." Rather we are called. After God claims us in the water, God says, “Here is how I want you to live. Here is how I want you to love. Now go together.”
Author and poet Madeline L'Engle writes, "We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it." (Walking on Water)
We live for the light, and we let it shine brightly. When we do, the heavens open, the Spirit flows through us, and we may hear a voice or a whisper, “With you, I am well pleased.” Amen.
Rev. Bill Carter, “With Water and Fire,” 1/8/12
https://billcartersermons.blogspot.com/2012/01/with-water-and-fire.html