A Communion Meditation
Presented by Rev. Merlin T. Batt,
Interim Pastor
Of
St. Matthew’s United Church of Christ
At Maiden,
On
The First Sunday in Ordinary Time,
The Baptism of the Lord
Scripture Lesson: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
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In his book, Remember Who You Are, Bishop William Willimon tells the story of a little boy who was caught by his father misbehaving. When the father confronted his son about the misbehavior and threatened to punish him for it, the young boy drew himself up to his full four-foot height and said to his father proudly, “Daddy, you can’t touch me. I’m baptized!”
There’s a sense in which the young lad got it right. He apparently assumed that something had happened to him in his baptism, something which made a real difference to who he was and, therefore, to how he should be treated. But in thinking that his baptism should excuse him from being responsible or from being disciplined by his father, well, the boy got it wrong. But, think of it this way: one out of two “ain’t” bad!
In the brief time I have this morning for preaching – made brief by our having Communion and, before that, engaging in a ritual to re-affirm our baptism – I want to talk with you about your baptism. I want to explore with you it means for your life today that you are baptized. I want to do this in the spirit of the great German Reformer, Martin Luther, who said, “There is no greater comfort on earth than baptism.” Now, what on earth did he mean?
The opportunity to focus on baptism presents itself because today is the day in the Christian calendar when we focus on the baptism of Jesus. Every year on the Sunday following Epiphany (which, by the way, was yesterday), churches in the Western tradition observe what is called Baptism of the Lord Sunday.
Jesus was baptized by his kinsman John in the water of the Jordan River, just a short distance north of the place where the
Luke wants us to focus on what happened immediately afterward, not on the baptism itself. These are Luke’s words. Listen again: …when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well-pleased.” What’s important about this event according to Luke is the revelation of God which took place after the baptism happened. We learn thereby that Jesus is God’s Son, the Messiah; that Jesus is loved by God; and that Jesus is now empowered by God’s Spirit for his ministry.
Thinking about Jesus’ baptism by John gives us an opportunity to reflect on our baptism in Jesus’ name, that which prompted Martin Luther to say, “There is no greater comfort on earth….”
So what does it mean that you are baptized? Well, let me suggest three things briefly. First, it means that you and I are bound to God. Because you are baptized, you don’t need to search for your identity, or be confused about it, or agonize over it. Your identity is given to you, and it is given to you as a gift – an unearned, unmerited, undeserved gift. By virtue of your baptism, you are, before anything else, a child of God. And because you are baptized, you don’t ever need to wonder about your value. Simply put, your being baptized means: you are a beloved child of God. You are loved by God, by the Holy One who spoke creation into being! Imagine that!
Second, by your baptism, you and I are bound to one another in the church. When you were baptized, you became part of the family, God’s family, the Church. In this congregation, unlike others I have known and served, most folks are related to each other by kinship. But what being baptized means is that you are part of a family which is defined not by the blood of kinship, but by the blood of Christ. That means you and I are sister or brother not only to one another, and others like us, but also to Christians of other families, races, nations, customs, and politics. You and I are part of the biggest family in the world, the family created by baptism.
Bound to God, bound to one another, we are, finally, by our baptism bound to God’s future. At your baptism, God’s Spirit entered into your life, whether you knew it or not. And the Holy Spirit has been at work in you ever since, and even now is working at transforming you to be more like Jesus. And what’s more, the Holy Spirit has work for you to do, kingdom work, new creation work, being agents of God’s transforming love and justice in the world. And, you guessed it, the Holy Spirit not only has work for you to do, but also gives you the power and guidance to do what God wants to get done.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, remember your baptism today. And in so doing, be reminded that you are, therefore, bound to God, bound to each other, and bound to God’s future. So, come with me now to the font, and let us re-affirm our baptism.
