Sermons for the Month
Remembering Whose We Are, Remembering Our Baptism
DATE: January 11th, 2004
SERVICE: The Baptism of our Lord
TEXT: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
What must we do because of whose we are? This is the third week that we have considered that question. What must we do because of whose we are?
Today I want to stress that one of the most important things we must do is to remember whose we are, that is to remember our baptisms. Every year we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord and recall how, when he was baptized, the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit appeared and God's voice affirmed that Jesus is God's son, the favored one, who is about to begin his public ministry.
As we retell the story of our Lord's baptism, it's important that we remember and affirm this most important event in our own lives.
We often speak of "once in a lifetime" occurrences. I remember that when I went to Bolivia I commented that "this is a once in a lifetime event", which seemed odd to the friend I was visiting who has traveled all over the world, and will probably visit foreign places multiple times.
Now the fact is that going to that South American country may or may not be a once in a lifetime occurrence for me. And I suppose that's true for many things that we might be inclined to label "once in a life-time", like buying a home, or getting married, or having a knee or a hip replaced. These events may end up occurring in our lives more than once, so I suppose it's true that there is only one thing that a person could say with absolute assurance only occurs once in a life-time, and that is death.
And that's why we can rejoice that baptism is a once-FOR-a lifetime gift. In baptism, we are bound to Jesus Christ for all the unpredictable moments of a life that offers no guarantees other than the promise that is made in our baptism that nothing can separate us from God's love.
It's my favorite part of the baptism service, when I trace the cross on the forehead of the one being baptized and announced, "You are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever." When I say forever, I believe it is forever! And I believe that's a promise we must claim constantly because it's when we forget whose we are that our lives get off track.
This is a point that Martin Luther stressed when he taught people morning and evening prayers. He said that every morning we should, as soon as we get out of bed, make the sign of the cross (reminding us of the cross that was traced on our foreheads and baptism) and say: "Under the care of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen". Then, we should do the same thing at night as we crawl into bed, reminding ourselves that Christ accompanies us every minute of every hour of every day.
Many churches place baptismal fonts in a place where people can see them, and even touch the water, as they enter and leave the worship space, a reminder of our baptismal connection to our Lord as we come and as we go.
Did you know that some congregations present symbolic white garments at baptism? The garment is to symbolize putting on Christ, and living clothed in his mercy, for a lifetime. And, did you know that the pall - the white covering that is placed on the casket for a funeral - symbolizes that baptismal garment? It's a reminder that the one who has put on Christ cannot be separated from him even in death.
I hope you are getting the gist of what I'm saying. Baptism is for a life-time. We are marked with the cross of Christ forever. We belong to the Lord. How well we have internalized that will influence how we feel about ourselves and how we live.
It's when we don't "get it" that we find ourselves being apathetic, addicted, afraid, self-centered, self-righteous, greedy and grasping. And when we do "get it" we are empathetic, free, trusting, concerned, accepting, generous and sacrificial because we know whose we are.
So, one of the most important things we must do because of whose we are is to remember whose we are, to remember our baptisms.
We will be doing just that a little later in the service as we participate in the Affirmation of Baptism service. As we do so we will renounce evil, confess our faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, pray that we will remain strong in our faith and make five promises. These promises are:
To live among God's faithful people, meaning that we will nurture relationships with other believers.
To hear God's Word and share in his supper, meaning that we are faithful in gathering for worship.
To proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, meaning that we talk about our faith and that people can tell we are believers because of how we live.
To serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus, meaning that we live sacrificially, keeping the needs of those around us ever before our eyes.
And to strive for justice and peace throughout the earth, meaning that we do all that we can to bring our world closer to being a place of equality and contentment, as God intended.
As the baptized people of God - forgiven, filled with the Holy Spirit, constantly sustained by our Lord's presence - these are the things that we must do, indeed that we will be empowered to do.
But, it's up to us whether or not we choose to do them, whether or not we will strive to live out our Baptisms. Our choices cannot erase the cross from our foreheads or make the Lord abandon us, but they can negatively impact our lives and the lives of others.
So today we will stand before the Lord and affirm that the life he wants for us is the life we want for ourselves, but we need help.
We will remind ourselves whose we are, and commit ourselves to ministry as a part of this faith community.
We will promise to be faithful, to grow in our relationship with our Creator and Savior, to draw on the Holy Spirit's power and to make a difference in the world.
We will remember that baptism is a once-FOR-a lifetime gift. Retrace that cross which is there, on your forehead, and remember under whose care you live. And then let that cross be seen by the world that will have no doubt whose you are. That's what we must do. AMEN