To begin with, I’m always reluctant to preach on the day of The Baptism of the Lord. Somehow the Gospel always takes second place to those who quibble about Baptism’s “correct” form. As a United Methodist, I believe that Baptism is a sacrament, thus initiated by God’s Grace. It’s form is irrelevant, since we’re speaking of a holy in-breaking and not of a human faith-response.
We need to remember that Old Testament (Jewish) people didn’t much like water. They had many cleanliness rituals, of course, and groups like the Essenes were pretty obsessive about washing away the dust of a sinful world. But these were people of the highlands and the plains, and they were suspicious of the seafaring life. Many Psalms show this hydro- phobia in reference to Leviathan the Sea-Monster and storms at sea. Jonah went to sea (away from God’s dry land) and was brought back only by Divine Intervention….is this a baptismal story?
Isaiah 43:1-2 is a message to the exiles (aren’t we all?) at Babylon: “I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” The holy-history tells about crossing the sea and the Jordan on the way to the Promised Land; why not expect it again? There’s new life on the Other Side….
Luke’s account of the early church (Acts 8:14-17) gives a minimal reference to the giving of the Holy Spirit through laying on hands–interestingly enough, AFTER Baptism! This was Samaria, of course, and indicates that the Gospel was for the whole world. (If God can love those Samaritans, God must love EVERYbody! Even me?)
John the Baptizer — the ultimate forerunner of the Christ — acknowledges that his water baptism isn’t the last word: “[Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16) To me, the importance here is that Jesus is living out his humanity by being baptized just as you and I have been. “When the line of downtrodden and sin-sick people formed in hopes of new beginnings through a return to God, Jesus joined them. At his baptism, he identified with the damaged and broken people who needed God.” (Robert M. Brearley, in Feasting on the Word)
So we observe the metaphor of Water on Sunday with many reminders: maybe a filled font just inside the sanctuary doors, or a loudly-trickling fountain…. this last could be counter-productive… Though water can drown us, it can also buoy and support us! And there’s Life on the Other Side.
God Bless Us, Every One H B King
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