READING FROM THE GOSPEL Matthew 3:13-17
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SERMON What’s the Big Deal About Baptism?
Rev. Tom Hagood
Jesus’ cousin . . . John the Baptist . . .
the wild and wooly guy who dressed himself
in local animal skins and feasted
on sweet honey and dried locust . . .
has been waiting for this moment all of his life.
This is his destiny . . . to be the Master of Ceremonies
for the coming of his cousin . . .
Jesus of Nazareth . . . who will soon be hailed
as the king of the Jews . . . the king of the world . . .
and crowned in a mighty coronation
as spotlights of light stream from heaven . . .
as an angelic choir sings hymns of jubilation . . .
he is the one to come . . .
the one who John has been sent to pave the way . .
. to prepare the way for the Lord!
But it doesn’t quite happen that way.
Listen with your heart to our gospel reading
from the third chapter of Matthew . . .
and as you do . . . if you have been baptized . . .
remember your own baptism . . . or . . .
if that’s too far back to remember . . .
just remember what you might have been told
about your baptism.
I will be reading from the Common English Version.
At that time Jesus came from Galilee
to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him.
John tried to stop him and said, "I need to be baptized
by you, yet you come to me?"
Jesus answered, "Allow me to be baptized now.
This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.
So John agreed to baptize Jesus.
When Jesus was baptized,
he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven
was opened to him,
and he saw the Spirit of God coming down
like a dove and resting on him.
A voice from heaven said, "This is my Son
whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him."
This is the word of our Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
all of our hearts, be acceptable in Thy Sight, O Lord, our
Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
There are no spotlights . . . no choirs of angels . . .
no pomp and circumstance . . . none of that . . .
Jesus comes walking out of the wilderness . . .
he’s just another face in the crowd . . .
strolling along with the others who have come . . .
who have come to the Jordan River
to be baptized by John.
I wonder what John thinks when he spots Jesus
there on the shore . . .
in line with the rest of all those ordinary people.
Can you imagine what’s going through his mind?
“What’s he doing here like that?
He looks like everyone else.
Shouldn’t he be glowing or something?
Shouldn’t he at least have an angel honor guard?
What’s he up to?”
And before he knows it . . . Jesus’ falls in line . . .
and he eases himself down
into the water of the Jordan
and slowly makes his way toward John . . ..
. . until he stands before John . . . his cousin . . .
who just looks at him
with an astonished look on his face.
“What are you doing, Jesus.
I can’t baptize you . . . you’re the son of God . . .
you need to baptize me.
You’re not like the rest of us . . . you’re sinless . . .
you don’t need to be baptized.
I’m ready to put you in charge of this show”
But Jesus . . . humbly standing before John . . .
tells him . . . “I need to be baptized . . .
I have to be baptized . . .
if I am to fulfill what I am here to do.”
I’m not really sure John understands
what his cousin is telling him . . . but he complies . . .
and reaching out, he places his hands
on Jesus’ shoulders, and gently pushes him
beneath the waters of the Jordan River.
And as he comes up from the water . . . a dove . . .
the spirit of God lands upon Jesus . . .
and the heavens proclaim . . .
"This is my Son whom I dearly love;
I find happiness in him."
But it appears that only Jesus hears those words . . . there is
no reaction from the crowd or from John. And just like that . . .
as quietly as he came . . .
Jesus moves away toward the shore . . .
climbs out of the river . . . and begins his long journey.
Somehow, I can’t help but believe that John
is greatly disappointed at this moment.
Jesus gets baptized just like everyone else . . .
there is no fanfare . . . no harps and angels . . .
no acceptance speech . . .
Jesus . . . as human as he is . . . and as divine as he is . ..
has chosen to be just like the rest of us . . .
and quietly heads off to face the world.
So what difference did his baptism make?
What difference does being baptized make for anyone?
What difference did your baptism make for you?
There are many good Christians who believe
that you have to be baptized
if you’re going to “be saved” . . . you know . . .
make it to heaven . . .
if you’re going to have any chance at salvation.
Now it’s true that you can’t become a “full-fledged”
member of our church unless you are willing
to be baptized . . .
or if you’ve already been baptized . . .
but we don’t believe that your salvation
is dependent upon being baptized.
Though baptism is a powerful sacrament
that symbolically demonstrates
God’s unconditional love for us . . .
you don’t have to be baptized to be accepted
into God’s kingdom.
So with that understanding . . .
I believe we can begin to make a little sense
out of what was going on that day at the Jordan . . .
and what was going on when you were once baptized.
On that day at the Jordan River . . .
Jesus chose to identify with us . . . all of us . . .
 as our Lord and Savior . . .
to fully immerse himself into the world in which we live . . .
to walk barefoot on a rocky road . . .
to feel the heat of the burning sun . . .
to work and sweat with other day laborers . . .
to feel the pain of hitting your hand with a hammer
and experiencing the flow of blood from a wound . . .
to know what it’s like to like to shiver in bed
with a burning fever . . .
to grieve when a loved one dies . . .
to feel anger when someone
is holding a whip over you . . .
to know the pains of hunger deep in your gut
when there is nothing to eat . . .
to cry out for water when there is no water.
On that day at the Jordan River . . .
Jesus chose to fully identify with us . . . all of us . . .
as our Lord and Savior . . .
to fully immerse himself into the world in which we live . . .
by standing with us
against the powers of life and death . . .
by standing with us
against the power of corrupt religious leaders . . .
by standing with us
against the oppressive powers of any evil Empire . . .
but not doing it with a sword or a gun . . .
not by donning a super hero costume . . .
and not by leading a mighty army . . .
but in the most upside down . . .
unexplainable way that has ever been imagined
in the world . . .
simply with the love of God
breathed into a broken world.
The baptism of Jesus didn’t provide him with invincibility
against the oppressive powers of this world . . .
or the pain and suffering that we all experience.
No . . . the baptism of Jesus was God
entering our lives by becoming one of us . . .
and then reaching out to us . . . saying come . . .
come into these same waters of baptism . . .
and experience new life . . . new hope . . .
come into these same waters of baptism
and know how much I love you . . .
completely and unconditionally . . .
come into these same waters of baptism
and know that I am with you always . . .
forever and ever . . .
because in these waters . . .
you begin your journey . . . with your Savior.
Now it would be nice if these waters
did have some sort of protective quality to them,
wouldn’t it?
It would be nice if once you were baptized
you would never experience a cold or the flu again . . .
it would prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s disease . . . it would be
nice if your baptism would shield you from the pain of losing
a loved one
or even losing your job.
So . . . let’s ask that question one more time . . .
What difference does being baptized make for you?
Here’s what I believe it means to be baptized . . .
Baptism is all about grace . . . God’s grace . . .
it is a reminder of what God . . . Jesus Christ . . .
has already done for us . . .
it’s a vivid reminder of what we cannot do for ourselves
when we don’t feel we are worthy of forgiveness . . .
The waters of baptism symbolize cleansing from sin through
Jesus Christ, because we can't cleanse ourselves,
but Christ's sacrificial love and grace do cleanse us,
the water is just a powerful symbol
of that cleansing.
Our baptism is a reminder that there are no strings
attached to God’s love and forgiveness . . .
and a reminder of whose we really are.
Our baptism reminds us that no matter
what we will face in this world . . .
no matter how hard or desperate life may be at times . .
we are never left alone . . .
we are always surrounded by God’s love.
Baptism is also a reminder
that we are a community of Christians . . .
who by God’s grace and love . . .
reach out and serve each other and our neighbors . . .
no matter who our neighbors are
or where they live or what they look like
or what they believe . . .
our baptism in the living waters call us up and out
into the world to support each other . . .
to share our lives with each other . . .
it is a reminder that in the church
we are united with Christ and with each other . . .
and together . . . we respond
to God’s love with acts of compassion and mercy
in our shared work and ministry.
And . . . our baptism fills our lives
with hope for the future of our world.
We baptize in the name of the Father, Son,
and the Holy Spirit . . .
because we believe that God, who created this world . . .
continues to actively transform our lives
far beyond what we can see . . . or touch . . .
or smell . . . or taste . . . or even hear.
Through God’s grace . . .
everything is possible in Jesus Christ . . .
because . . . in our baptism . . .
the words of God are also proclaimed to us . . .
"This is my child whom I dearly love;
. I find happiness in him . . . I find happiness in her."
Henri Nouwen was adamant
about us hearing those words . . .
he believed with all of his heart
that the words God spoke at the moment of baptism
of Jesus Christ . . .
were meant for all of God’s children . . .
Listen to what Nouwen writes:
“I want you to hear that voice, too.
It is a very important voice that says,
"You are my beloved son;
you are my beloved daughter.
I love you with an everlasting love.
I have molded you together
in the depths of the earth.
I have knitted you in your mother's womb.
I've written your name in the palm of my hand
and I hold you safe in the shade of my embrace.
I hold you. You belong to Me and I belong to you.
You are safe where I am. Don't be afraid.
Trust that you are the beloved.
 That is who you truly are." (Henri Nouwen, "The Life of the Beloved")

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