Sunday Sermon - 12 January

Do you ever wonder why Jesus had to be baptized?

I’ve never really understood the whole point of Jesus’ baptism. We have just received Jesus as our Emmanuel, our God with us. We acknowledge that Jesus is wholly God, and we believe that, as Mary Poppins would say, Jesus is “practically perfect in every way.”  

If this is the case, why does Jesus even need to be baptised? Why does he get baptised by John in the river Jordan?

Luke’s Gospel describes Jesus’ baptism in an interesting way. He doesn’t focus as much on the baptism of John with water and submersed in the river. In fact, he skips right over that and says, “and after Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.”  The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in a physically manifested and visible way, like a dove.  

Luke’s point is that Jesus’ baptism wasn’t a baptism of repentance - the cleansing of sin symbolically washed away with water (as John had been doing throughout his ministry). Jesus’ baptism was a baptism of affirmation - of confirmation and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This point is more definitively expressed in the Gospel when a voice from heaven speaks and says, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."  Thus begins Jesus’ ministry.  

Luke’s depiction of Jesus’ baptism signifies a new order, a new relationship with God. One where God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, is a necessary and active participant in the relationship with us mortals.  

In the Acts of the Apostles passage this point is also made, though a little background history and context is necessary here. This section of Acts speaks about the ministry of Philip to the people of Samaria. Philip himself was a Hellenist, not an original Jewish Jerusalem apostle. He was an early adopter (as we’d say today) of Christianity, yes, but also speaker and follower of Greek ways. The Hellenist followers of Jesus felt that the mission to non-Jews, to those outside of Jerusalem, was vital to the purpose of Jesus and was the real essence of Christianity. However, it is obvious from today’s reading that the Jerusalem Apostles, though supportive of Philip’s mission to the Samaritans, saw him and the Hellenist Christians as ‘less than’, as slightly inferior. Though they followed the same laws as the Jews and worshiped the same God, the Hellenists were seen as more closely resembling Gentiles than Jews. So, although the Samaritans had embraced Philip and his evangelistic mission and had “accepted the Word of God” they were not considered fully baptised until the Jerusalem apostles had come and laid their hands upon their heads, invoking the Holy Spirit to descend upon them.  

This is called Apostolic Confirmation. Luke’s main point in this part of Acts, when he is speaking of Philip’s ministry, is to affirm the authority of the Jerusalem apostles in supervising the mission of the early church. Even in the earliest days of our church, a leadership structure was forming and Luke wants his readers to be well aware of this. In his Gospel, Jesus’ baptism signifies the beginning of a new era and in Acts, he makes this point even stronger by giving the new era structure and defined leadership.

So, that’s the history and the reason behind Luke’s writing of these passages we read today, but I’m still challenged by my question, why did Jesus need to be baptised in the first place?  

I’d like to contend that he didn’t. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized for His sake, Jesus needed to be baptized for our sake. To establish the beginning of the new era of faith, to establish the new or renewed relationship we have with God. Jesus was baptized so that we may know God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ baptism essentially foreshadows and sets the table for Pentecost.

Here’s what I find fascinating. If this is the case, if the Baptism of repentance by John, a baptism that is to cleanse us from sin, is now superseded by the baptism of spiritual renewal by the Holy Spirit, as modeled to us by Jesus, why do many of us believe that we have to baptize our babies to cleanse them from sin?  

We don’t.  

Our baptism, the baptism into the Anglican Communion, is a baptism of belonging. One where we commit to embracing and affirming our relationship with God and our life in a worship community. When we baptize our babies, we make this commitment for them. When we confirm our young adults, they make this commitment for themselves.  

One of the interesting remnants from this historic story that we hear today is the Apostolic tradition of the Bishop coming to lay hands on the young person at their confirmation to signify the descent of the Holy Spirit, just as Peter and John did with the Samaritans. A Bishop isn’t just a church organization leadership position. A Bishop is believed to be ordained through a direct descendancy line going right back to the Apostles, so the laying on of hands at confirmation affirms the supremacy of the Apostolic order among church leaders.

For me, what I most appreciate about the Baptism of Jesus, is a lot simpler than understanding the leadership structure or political order of the early Church. For me, the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus matters because it reminds me of my relationship with God by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit in my life is how I best feel God is active in my life. It is God, the Holy Spirit, who I pray most often to.

Do you remember in Sunday school or Confirmation classes the definition of a Sacrament?  I still remember memorizing that definition to this day, in fact, we had to memorize it in order to pass Confirmation Class.  A sacrament is defined as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

Which leads me to another question.

Do you ever wonder why we do what we do in our services every Sunday? 

This ritual, this service of song, this liturgy of word and table - is it just a repetitive, rote ritual followed by a pleasant social time? As one of my favourite comedians, the late John Pinette, would say, “Nay, Nay.” 

There is a lot more going on here. There are outward and visible acts that are filled with inward invisible spiritual grace - the presence of the Holy Spirit among us.

Every Sunday morning when we gather, there are the obvious visible outward things we do and then there is that “inward and spiritual grace.”  Those precious moments of God with us.  Every Sunday morning - in fact every day of our life - we are graced with the presence of God with us as the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we are never alone.

Throughout this service there are moments, some formally built into the liturgy and some that happen spontaneously, that remind us of the presence of the Holy Spirit among us. For me, these are the moments when I cross myself, when I am reminded of God’s grace, when I know the Holy Spirit is in me and around me, in all of you. Sometimes it is so tangible you can feel it.  

The most obvious intentional moments; like when we say the Creed (our statement of faith as declared in our baptism), when we confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, when we consecrate the bread and wine, or when we ask the Holy Spirit to descend upon our offerings. These are moments of visible grace.

Then there are the spontaneous, unexpected moments when the Holy Spirit just shows up, sometimes during a church service but sometimes in other moments in our daily lives. Maybe when we are deep in prayer or meditation, or when we are listening to or singing a song that just catches us the right way and draws us in. Or when we are talking with a loved one or a friend and the conversation just clicks and goes beyond words and there is a deeper spiritual connection between you and that other person. Or when a child or grandchild spontaneously gives you a hug and a smile, without saying a word, showing their love. These are truly sacred moments. These are holy moments and God is present.

It is in these moments when we give and feel love that we are spiritually and perhaps emotionally moved. These are the sacred moments when we know that God, as the Holy Spirit, is with us, in us and between us. Let me assure you. If you are here sitting in a pew, if you are a member of this parish community, God is here, God is with you, and you are loved.

Today in our Gospel we read that after Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased.”  When God says these words The Almighty isn’t just speaking to Jesus, God is also speaking to us, for as I said earlier, Jesus’ baptism wasn’t for Jesus, it was for us. The Baptism of Jesus reveals the power of the Holy Spirit and the profound depth of our new relationship with God as the living Jesus.

Today, as we remember and celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, we recall our own baptism and renew our commitment to God.  

May the Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus and descends upon us, guide and direct us to love ourselves and others.   

May we always remember, in those special times when we feel and share love, God as the Holy Spirit is alive and present in that sacred moment.

For as we hear today, we are beloved - and with us “God is well pleased.” 

Thanks be to God.

Amen.