Baptism of Our Lord
Matthew 3: 13-17
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
I doubt that what is occurring today has ever happened previously at Faith Lutheran Church in Fairlawn, Ohio on this particular day. In fact, I’m sure that it has not taken place in the past 24 years. We certainly have, on the church festival called “Baptism of Our Lord” baptized people. And for many years we have begun worship with the Remembrance of Baptism, as we did today. The congregation may even have participated in the “Affirmation of Baptism” liturgy a time or two. What we have not done, which we doing (did) today is include the Affirmation of Baptism rite, once known as Confirmation, for young people who have been preparing for this day.
That has usually happened on Reformation or Pentecost Sunday, but 2026 will be a year for doing things differently than they have usually been done, and, actually, the day when we remember the baptism of Jesus, and our own baptisms, is a good day for this important event.
This is the day when young people who have been nurtured in their faith by parents, sponsors and their church family are publicly affirming, or confirming, their faith. They are, along with all of us, confessing their belief in God as creator, in Jesus Christ as Savior, and in the Holy Spirit as the One who gives us the gift of faith and empowers us. Then, individually, they will express their desire to maintain an active, living faith, that is, to be disciples of Jesus, to support other disciples, and to make disciples. It’s a significant commitment.
Not to get too far off track, but hopefully to make a point, let me note that today is the 11th day since 2026 began, and as it did, some people made New Year’s resolutions. They commit themselves to healthy eating, or consistent exercise, or reading more books, or nurturing their relationships. The hope is to improve their lives and the world. If you’re on Facebook, perhaps you’ve noticed the multitude of postings on these topics. “If you do this exercise 100 times a day on an empty stomach, all belly fat will disappear.” Yeah, right!
Did you know that only 8 percent of New Year’s resolutions stick? (Which is why I do not bother with making them.) In any case, if you’ve already broken the ones you made, know that you are in good company.
Well…the fact of the manner is that our spiritual lives and commitments can be like well-intended New Year’s resolutions … generations of saints and sinners have had fluctuating relationships with God and with a faith community.
As Pastor Timothy E. Schenck points out, “We get out of the habit (of attending worship or living out our faith) or something happens in our lives that we can’t make sense of, and we decide it is just not worth it, that it’s easier to give up on God and drown out that still, small voice within our souls that gently invites us back into relationship. And it’s easy enough to do. Just turn up the volume on your life: avoid silence. Shun introspection. Over-schedule yourself. Stay on-line. Keep the TV on. That’s pretty much the formula.” (1)
And, yet, unlike a resolution made at the beginning of the year, which fades into the mist, the promises we make - like the ones these youth are making today - are not forgotten, at least not by the One to whom we make them. The Holy Spirit will continue to pursue us because baptism, and then affirmation of baptism, involves an indelible relationship with Jesus Christ; we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And, as I’ve been saying seemingly forever, forever is forever, which means that we may at times lose track of God, but God will not lose track of us.
St. Benedict of the 6th century wrote a simple but wise piece of truth. “Even when we fail, always we begin again.” Each stumble is an opportunity to begin again, which is why Martin Luther spoke of daily baptism. I am confident that as Treader, Cyrus, Adam and Celia promise today to continue living out their faith, that is what they will strive to do, with God’s help. But I also am confident that if they ever fall short of that intention, the Holy Spirit will help them get back on track. That’s because they know … as we all should know … not only who they are, but whose they are.
In her commentary on this week’s texts, Christine Chakoian shares a story that was told by retired Presbyterian pastor Jim Lowry. “Each Saturday evening in his youth, just before he left the house to pick up his date, his father would look him squarely in the eye and say to him, ‘Child, remember who you are.’” She goes on to explain that, “Jim grew up in the heart of the South at a time when the notion of who you were meant something - not just about money, education or race, but about character. Jim had a responsibility to bear the Lowry name with honor.” (2)
While that exact scenario may not be as widespread in society as it once was, it is still true that we know who and whose we are - God’s loved and forgiven children - which then guides our lives and decisions. Did you notice that the central feature at Jesus’ baptism is an announcement by God about who Jesus is: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
It’s difficult to discern who exactly heard that proclamation; did the crowd watching, or John the Baptist, hear God’s affirmation of Jesus? Or was it just Jesus? Perhaps he needed a reminder of who he was before his public ministry began, so that he could claim it and live it through temptations, battles, betrayals and, ultimately, death on the cross. Perhaps, in the midst of all that, he remembered his baptism, affirmed his identity, and was able to continue the mission God had set before him.
I believe I have shared this before, but decided to do so again. I was confirmed in April of 1972, on Palm Sunday. Part of the reason I remember the month and year is that just two months later my 16-year-old brother was killed in a bicycle-vehicle accident. Over the years, as I have considered that trauma and those that followed, it has become clear to me that I was able to look over my shoulder at that day in April 1972 and remember who and whose I was, and that helped me face the difficulty that was before me. Certainly I did not walk the path of faith perfectly, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I never forgot the indelible relationship I had with Jesus.
So it is for us all; we remember who and whose we are, God’s beloved ones … forever. Then, we strive to live in ways that honor our family name: Christians…followers of Jesus in word and deed…. We join our young friends in affirming that today, and every day. AMEN
(1) “Baptism of Our Lord 2018” by the Rev. Timothy E. Schenck, January 7, 2018, www.frtimsermons.wordpress.com
(2) “In the Lectionary”, January 11, Baptism of the Lord, by Christine Chakoian, The Christian Century, January 2026, pg. 27