Sermon by Stephen Ricketts
Damascus United Methodist Church
Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
Baptism of the Lord - January 11, 2009
I have a question for you: “What do you consider the most important day of your life?” How many would say the day you were born? How about the day you graduated from school? Or the day you were married? Or the day your children were born? I will admit that all of these days are important days, but I would like to offer my own candidate for most important date in your life: The day you were baptized. Now, to be honest, Hallmark does not sell baptism anniversary cards and many people cannot remember the exact date of their baptism (it is still something I have to look up to be sure). But even if we cannot remember the date, baptism is important because baptism can set the direction for our lives more than any other event.
If we look at Jesus’ life and ask the same question, I think the answer for the most important day in his life has to be Easter – the day of his Glorious Resurrection and triumph over death. But, if we look at the rest of his life, I believe that I can make a good case for ranking his baptism very near the top, because it was at his baptism that Jesus received the affirmation and power that made the rest of his ministry possible.
To understand why I think baptism is so important, I want to look closely at what happens when someone is baptized. If you would, please turn to page 37 in the hymnal and look at rubric 11 – after the initial questions and the blessing of the water, this is the point in the liturgy when someone is actually baptized. As you can see, the pastor performs two specific and distinct actions at this point – baptism is a two-act play if you will.
The first act of baptism is what most people usually think about when they talk about baptism – this is when the pastor takes the water and pours it over the head of the person being baptized (or immerses the person if the person is being baptized by immersion), and says these words: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This is the most important moment in a person’s life because this is the moment when they receive God’s cleansing and saving grace – this is the moment when all their sins are washed away – this is the moment they become a new and spotless creature before God.
Then, immediately after the water has been applied, the pastor and others gather around and they lay their hands on the person for the second act of baptism. This is when the pastor offers this prayer: “The Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.” Some may not consider this prayer as part of baptism, but I believe it is an indispensible part of the liturgy. In fact, if we look at the lessons for today, I believe that it is clear that both the washing with water and the laying on of hands are essential parts of baptism.
In the reading from Acts, Paul encountered a group of disciples who had not been baptized in the name of Jesus – their baptism was John’s baptism – a baptism that represented their desire to repent from their sins, but it did not wash away their sins. Neither did these disciples know about baptism by the Holy Spirit. Paul immediately directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and then he laid hands on them so they might receive the Holy Spirit. When we look at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, we find it follows this two act formula as well. First Jesus was baptized in water by John and immediately the Holy Spirit descended like a dove on him signifying his baptism by the Spirit. So, this two-act baptism – water and Spirit – is part of the church’s scriptural heritage from the beginning.
Most of us are familiar with the first act of baptism – the washing with water, but we might not have thought too much about the second act of baptism. So, today, I want to spend some time with this second act of baptism – this prayer for the Holy Spirit – and see how this contributes to making the day of our baptism one of the most important days in our life.
Baptism’s second act begins when the pastor (and others) lay hands on the person being baptized and the pastor speaks these words: “The Holy Spirit work within you.” Now, this is not directed to the person being baptized – this is a prayer to God asking that the Holy Spirit come upon and dwell in the person being baptized. The Holy Spirit is often overlooked when we talk about the Triune God. We speak about God the Father who is the Creator of all that is. And, we speak about God the Son who is Jesus Christ the Redeemer of all humanity. But the person and work of the Holy Spirit is less clear and less celebrated (except during the Festival of Pentecost). We sometimes refer to the Holy Spirit as the Sustainer or the Advocate, but I like to think of the Holy Spirit as that of God that gives us the power and resources we need to accomplish God’s will in the world. If we think of ourselves as an engine, then the Holy Spirit is the fuel that makes us go. So, when we ask the Holy Spirit to work within someone, we are asking for divine fuel to fill them up and get them moving.
Now, from a purely human perspective this can be very dangerous. When we ask God to fill us up with divine power we are asking that we be filled with something that is powerful, explosive, and unpredictable. This divine power could very well take us to new or unexpected places. But, this divine power can also be very exciting. We will never move faster than when we let the Holy Spirit move us at full throttle – when the Holy Spirit takes control we will see wonders beyond our wildest dreams and perform miracles we never thought possible. So, when we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up, we are letting go of our will and turning ourselves over to God’s will.
The next part of the prayer is “that being born through water and the Spirit.” Here we are asking that God to turn this person into a new creature. We are no longer a creature of flesh and blood made by human will – God births us anew as a child of God! When God’s Spirit fills our hearts, we become true children of God – children who cry, “Abba, Daddy.” And as children of God, Jesus is truly our brother and we are full heirs with Christ of Life eternal.
The final part of the prayer is “you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.” This is possibly the most important part of the prayer because we are asking that the Holy Spirit come upon them with a purpose – we are asking that the Holy Spirit form us into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. When someone becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ they are guided and directed by Jesus in all that they do. When the Holy Spirit forms us into disciples, our actions are no longer our own – they are modeled after Jesus actions. When the Holy Spirit forms us into disciples, it is so we can be Christ’s hands in action in the world. It means we are called to feed the hungry as Christ fed the hungry; we are called to heal the sick as Christ healed the sick. It means we are called to bring the Good News to the downtrodden as Christ brought the Good News to us. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us we are filled with power, we are born again as a child of God, and we are formed into a faithful disciple of Christ.
This means that baptism must be approached with great seriousness because baptism is a powerful and life changing experience. At our baptism our sins are washed away. At our baptism we ask for and accept the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. At our baptism we surrender our will to God’s will. At our baptism we ask God to form us into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. At our baptism we truly become children of God.
So what is possible after our baptism – what is possible once our sins have been washed away and we are filled with the Holy Spirit? Filled with the power of his baptism, Jesus went on to redeem all humanity. Filled with the power of his baptism, the apostle Paul went on to evangelize the entire world for Christ. What will we do when we claim the power of our baptism and allow God to use us to transform the world?
Today, I have place the baptismal font in the center of the church to remind us of the central importance of baptism in our lives. Everything we do in ministry for Christ flows from the waters of baptism. In a few moments we are going to participate in a service of renewal of our baptism. As you feel the water on your face and hands, allow the Holy Spirit to rekindle the flame in your heart. Allow God to take control of you for the transformation and redemption of the world.
Amen.
