Mark 1: 4-11 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)
The build-up and expectation through Advent is done. By the First Sunday of Epiphany the church year is back to Ordinary Time with the eternal color green. But we have this final service with the color white as we remember the baptism of Jesus.
Do you remember your baptism? Baptism is actually about love. It is an entryway to the Church but it is primarily and always an expression of God’s love. Baptism also calls us to a life of compassion and a connection with all of God’s creation.
Since Mark has no narrative of the birth of Jesus, Mark seems to say that Jesus became the Christ at his baptism, when the voice from heaven said, “You are my son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Mark wrote the first and earliest gospel, so I believe it’s fair to assume that Jesus became the Christ after his baptism by John.
But why did Jesus need to be baptized? First it was a moment of decision. John was there baptizing perhaps hundreds of people. Jesus wanted to show his solidarity with them. Second, it was a sign of Identification linking Jesus with God. Third, it showed God’s approval of Jesus as the Christ. And fourth, the correct signs were shown as a dove representing the Holy Spirit. And that was also a symbol of Jesus’ ministry of peace and reconciliation.
Baptism was used by the Jewish people long before the time of John the baptizer. The early practice of baptism by both Jew and Christian was for adults only and it was done by total immersion in water. The sprinkling of water and the baptism of children didn’t begin until about 200-300 years after the time of Jesus.
Mark and his faith community thought of Jesus as being miraculously adopted by God, as opposed to being miraculously conceived as the later gospels of Matthew and Luke portray. This diversity of opinion does not diminish the wondrous mystery of the Incarnation. It shows the power of the Christ working through just one human being.
John the baptizer stated his baptism was for repentance. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia” which means “change of heart,” “change of mind” or “change of life.” Usually, the Jewish religious authorities only baptized Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism. But John advocated a baptism for repentance among the Jewish people as well. The reason was simple. God is coming so be prepared.
At our own baptism, we should remember we are children of God, beloved by God. As children of God it is something someone should remember on their baptismal birth-date.
When parents bring their infant child to a church to be baptized, I’m absolutely sure they do not imagine their child is being baptized for sin. And I agree with them. Most parents are seeking some way to say “thank-you” to the God who is the source of life. And it’s long overdue to reject the doctrine of “Original Sin” and embrace the idea of Original Blessing instead. And many parents have their children baptized, in order to be connected with something larger than themselves. And when parents bring their children to the baptismal font, they are saying they want to be connected with the story of Jesus and the best of the Christian tradition.
Baptism can be a beautiful welcoming moment in which the full potential of love is realized. In the waters of baptism we can see beyond the drops of water to the very elements that nourishes and sustains us in this life.
Without water, life cannot exist. In the search for distant planets, the first thing astronomers and cosmologists look for is water. If there is water, there is life. We continue to search the Universe for evidence of life beyond earth. Our own evolutionary history takes us back millions of years when our primordial ancestors left the oceans that had sustained them for millions of years. It was first the water of the seas that sustained them, then eons later the fresh water of planet earth. Water is Life as created by God. The human body is 60 percent water.
Today we observe another miracle by God. Celebrating the Eucharist is the second sacrament after baptism. Both use very earthly elements that can be found almost everywhere, wheat, water and grapes equals, bread, baptism and wine. Simple yes. Powerful yes, not even the gates of death can withstand it as Matthew chapter 16, verse 18 says.
AMEN
