St. Charles' Episcopal Church – St. Charles, IL

The First Sunday after the Epiphany – The Baptism of our Lord – Year C

Sunday January 7, 2007 – Baptism of Annie Tate Gibson & Lily Rae DuJardin

Isaiah 42:1-9 -- Psalm 89:20-29 -- Acts 10:34-38 -- Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Today is the feast of the baptism of our Lord. It is one of the four days that it is highly appropriate to have a baptism. (The other three are: The Great Vigil of Easter; The Feast of Pentecost; and All Saints Day.) Today at the 10:45 service we will be baptizing Lily Rae DuJardin and Annie Tate Gibson.

Much has been debated about the baptism of Jesus. Different interpretations of this event have lead to some of the greatest heresies of the church. It is dangerous water to navigate. Dangerous, but most beneficial. You may be wondering why I’m getting into this on Lily and Annie’s special day. Why don’t I just say something nice like “be good, and don’t forget to come to church regularly”? Why do I have to start out with the messy stuff? Well you two, the truth is that being a Christian is a messy business. It isn’t easy and it’s probably best that you figure that out early. Don’t worry though, you’re not in this alone.

Now where was I?? This Baptism comes in the wake of the feast of Epiphany, the arrival of the Wise men from the east, and the revelation of Christ to the Gentile world, indeed the whole world. Two weeks ago we were waiting for the impending birth. Yesterday the Wise men arrived from the East, bearing gifts for the Christ child. Today, Jesus is an adult. The kids grow up so fast now-a-days!!

This is year C in our lectionary, the year of Luke, so this week we heard the story of Jesus' baptism as told by Luke. As often happens with the great stories in Gospels, we tend to remember a conglomerated version that is made up of bits and pieces from all the different versions. In general this is a bad thing because the different writers wrote for different reasons and relate their specific versions differently because they speak out of different experiences. We all bring different experiences to our understanding of who God is. They color our perceptions of God just as they color our perceptions of each other. Luke was writing his Gospel principally to the Gentiles, the Greek and Roman Christians of the first century, a wider audience than just the Christian Jews of Jerusalem, the audience that Matthew writes to.

Luke’s Gospel is one of inclusion; "The Gospel of the nations, full of mercy and hope, assured to the world by the love of a suffering Savior." His vision is no more correct than John's or Mark's or Matthew's, just different. It is important to see the differences. They are different for a reason. To try and combine them all into one inclusive story would be like smoothing over the facets in a diamond. It is the different facets and edges that give the diamond it's fire. So too with the Gospels.

In the version of Jesus' baptism that we heard this morning there are two principal differences from the other versions. They are subtle.....but clear. The first is that Jesus is not baptized alone, but in a group of people, and not even at the head of the group. For Luke it was important that we remember that Jesus was both one of us and one with us. In the midst of that mob of people in the Jordan receiving their baptism of repentance and cleansing from sin, stood the very son of God. The reality of the incarnation and the Christmas story, Emmanuel – God with us, is further reinforced in Luke's story of baptism. It is almost as if Luke is reminding us, look around. God is still with us. The second difference is that the Spirit descends upon Jesus, not at his baptism, but while he was praying after his baptism. Did you notice? Luke is reminding us that the Spirit of God fills our lives, not because of who we are, but because of what we do. It isn't enough for us to be Jew or Gentile or even Christian for that matter. For Luke, the Holy Spirit descends upon us energizing and enlivening our ministry when we are doing God’s will.

Throughout his life Jesus models a life of prayer. It is central to his understanding of his calling. Looking back, Luke saw how important prayer was to Jesus' entire ministry. Lest we miss the point, Luke calls our attention to this reality by having the Spirit descend on him during prayer. So which was more important, the baptism or the prayer? And I'm sure there's another question that may have crossed your mind as well, though I doubt anyone would have the guts to ask it out loud. Why in the world does God need to pray to God? The quick answer is that Jesus is a teacher. Teaching his disciples; And teaching us.

In modeling a life of prayer Jesus is modeling the ideal of human life. Luke reminds us throughout his Gospel that Jesus prays for us on many different levels, and that is the long answer. Jesus prays to his Father in heaven for us. Prays for us because we can't or won't or don't know how to do it ourselves. Prays for us to show us how. And Jesus also prays for us because he knows us, and cares for us, and loves us, as his Father loves him.

As we celebrate the baptism of Lily and Annie today, and remember today the baptism of our Lord, I invite you to think back and reflect on your own baptism and what it has meant to you over the years. Most of us, I suspect, were infants at the time and have very few direct memories of the actual event. Some of us may have heard stories, told by parents, or grandparents, or Godparents. Either way, we can look back with our mind’s eye, with the added perspective of our own history and see the importance of that day. Much like Luke, who was not a direct observer of the Gospel story, but collected the reflections and stories of those who had, we can remember that day when we were held in the arms of a man, or perhaps in more recent time a woman, of God and our voices cried out at the shock of the water being poured over our heads. When we heard our names spoken, perhaps the only words we could understand at the time, followed by the incomprehensible words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." When our noses experienced for the very first time the sweet smell of chrism as our foreheads were marked and our souls were sealed as Christ's own forever. Think of all those eyes shining at you as a whole church full of people beamed love at you. Or maybe it was a private ceremony and it was only the eyes of priest, parents, and Godparents. Either way, the love in those eyes couldn’t help but leave a lasting impression.

Though I have no way of proving it, I know that a voice, heard and known by that child alone, says, "You are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased!" The tragedy is that we forget, that we always forget. Why is it always so hard to remember? Well today is our day to remember. To remember again that the Lord loves each and every one of us as a cherished and beloved child; Forgives our faults, takes delight and joy in all that we have been, and all that we are, and all that we will be. Even if it is only for today, remember this truth and treasure it! Treasure it always! Amen.