Baptism of Our Lord 2008

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.”

So begins the first line of our Offering Hymn this morning, on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.

The words of this hymn were written by Dr. Ruth Duck who is professor of worship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary of the United Methodist Church, located a few miles north of Chicago on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. Professor Duck, ordained in the United Church of Christ, is a widely published author of hymn texts, totaling now about 150. She writes, “I consider the writing of hymn texts to be a gift and call from God, and so I want to do my very best. I also believe that the Holy Spirit works both through inspiration and perspiration--guiding the overall direction and also the hard work of refining a text so that it communicates and sings well.”[2]

What wonderful words she writes to the beautiful and haunting tune BEACH SPRING that comes from the tradition of “Shape Note or Sacred Harp Singing” which began in the South and continues today as a uniquely American tradition, proudly inclusive and democratic part of shared cultural heritage, that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems.[3]

When brought together, these words and this music, much like the very elements of Baptism itself being brought together … the blessed mystery of what happens in this ritual that we enact is itself heightened and enlightened.

The Baptism of Jesus was itself not a Christian event, but a Jewish one; a ritual cleansing as one would do in a mikvah (a pool of water) before entering the Temple in Jerusalem and for various other times of washing. Jesus comes to John the Baptizer on the banks of the Jordan River to be cleansed along with others who had heard the call of John to repentance, not to abandon Judaism, but to be converted to a vision of new life, of new living, of a new kingdom … kingdom of God.

Jesus comes to be baptized, in all three Gospels, in Mark, in Matthew, and in Luke; and he comes for this ritual cleansing and washing just before he goes into the wilderness prior to beginning his public life of teaching and gathering followers for the life of the kingdom.

Jesus will teach his followers to love God and to love each other; and, he will teach them that not to love each other, is not to love God, that the kingdom-life is one of love, complete, unconditional, without payment … a life of love and compassion. It is his blessing, and in the blessing of Jesus, his followers will find and come to understand the blessing of God.

Wash, O God, our sons and daughters,
where your cleansing waters flow.
Number them among your people;
bless as Christ blessed long ago.

In the Story, John refuses, but only in the version told by Matthew. John suggests that Jesus, being holier, being the expected one, should rather wash John, not the other way around. It is Matthew’s slant on the story, but it is useful in helping us put ourselves along the river bank and into the water with Jesus, which is what happens, we believe when we are baptized ourselves.

Can you remember your Baptism? Most of us cannot, it happened to us when we were infants. We were brought by our parents to the font and there we, sons and daughters, were washed, cleansed, anointed and baptized into Christ. For some of us a new garment was placed upon us, for others a garment handed down from one generation to another, used only for baptisms was what we wore, but it was a garment that itself designated newness of life, being placed into the kingdom of God with Jesus, being placed into a life of love and compassion as he taught.

bless as Christ blessed long ago.
Weave them garments bright and sparkling;
compass them with love and light

In each of the Gospels Jesus is immersed into the river, for that is what the word for Baptism means in Greek (baptdzein … to “go under the water and come up again”) and when he comes up out of the water each of the writers describes it as God’s Spirit descending upon Jesus, like a dove, and with the Spirit, a voice, a message, a pronouncement: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”

It is why we followers of Jesus say that one is baptized into God, Father, Son, Spirit or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer or into the presence of God that we see in all things, into the presence of God we find in Jesus, and into the presence of God we cannot see but know and feel as that light which surround us and is with us.

It is, if you will, our anointing; it is our being placed into the community of love and compassion which follows Jesus as Lord; it is our being made a part of the family, being guaranteed a place at the table, being assured of our birthright as children of God; it is our assurance of forgiveness and guidance and hope.

One pastor wrote, “I was a group leader in a recent immersion trip to Mexico. Many times through the first days there, different youth came to me and expressed how overwhelmed they felt. ‘I feel like I’m drowning,’ one student said. In a way, she was experiencing the flood of the world’s pain – that’s why we call it an ‘immersion.’ If we are tempted to close our eyes to the pain and injustice of the world, we are pushed instead to keep them open even as we go under the water. When we feel like we’re drowning, when we experience the flood of the world’s pain, anguish, and loss, we are reminded that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Baptism is daily dying and being raised to new life. We are raised up, gasping for air, and the breath of God fills us.”[4]

[1] Wash, O God, our sons and daughters Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #445

[2] From her personal website: http://www.ruthduckhymnist.net/hymntexts.htm

[3] From the Sacred Harp website: http://fasola.org/

Baptism of Our Lord

Sunday, January 13, 2008