Epiphany 1 (Baptism of the Lord)

Preparation

    Please begin by reading Luke 3:15-17 and 21-22  in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--Baptism, New Beginnings
   
    I remember being baptized as a child. I had a sense that something important was going on and that it was somehow a time of new beginning, but I am not sure that I really had much understanding of what was being done and why. Perhaps you had a similar experience. So what then is this business of baptism about?

     Baptism’s origins are lost in the mists of time, but we know that it long predates the scene described in today’s reading from Luke. There is a long association between ritual washing and being in the presence of the Holy. An important part of the culture in Jesus’ world was the use of a ritual bathing pool known as a mikveh. If you visit the temple mount at Jerusalem, you can still see remnants of ancient mikvehs where men and women washed before they entered God's holy temple.

    It was more a matter of spiritual elevation than physical cleanliness. An eighteenth century Jewish teacher, Baal Shem Tov, explained that the appropriate mindset for mikveh is to enter the waters, mentally nullify oneself, and emerge as though reborn -- a new beginning as a human being.

    There are more than 80 verses in the New Testament in which some form of the word baptism appears. Even Jesus, whom Christians understand to be to Son of God and a part of the Trinitarian Godhead, thought it proper to be baptized by John the Baptist. It marked a new beginning; coming out of a somewhat obscure life into the limelight of his public ministry.

    It is also likely that Jesus baptized people himself (John 3:22) and he passed on instructions about baptism to his disciples who would carry on after his ascension. Near the close of Jesus' ministry, he would give his disciples “the great commission.”  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

          The ancient link between baptism and newness of life is central to the meaning of baptism for Christians.  John the Baptist called people to repentance; that is, to adopting a new way of thinking and turning to God. He sealed that change with baptism. The strong connection between baptism and Christian conversion has been with us ever since.

    A part of that process is receiving God’s gift of the Holy Sprit. The Apostle Peter said to an audience listening to his preaching on the day of Pentecost “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

   Baptism is a also a sign of becoming part of the human family of faith; of a unity with other believers.  It is a hallmark of a mystical change that marks God’s people as somehow different from the rest of the world. “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13) Somehow after our baptism we are never really the same, and never really separate from other believers, no matter what their station is in life. We are bonded together in Christ.

    The heart of the thing is described at Galatians 3:27: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” This business of baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit is really about the process of Jesus becoming a part of the fiber of who we are. As baptized people, our call is to be more and more “clothed … with Christ” as we journey through life.

   As you remember Jesus' baptism, also remember your baptism and rejoice in your own newness of life in Christ!  If you have not been baptized, it is never too late.  Renewal awaits only your acceptance of Jesus invitation, the same invitation he has extended to disciples down through the ages:  "Follow me."

revclay

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Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (NRSV)
   
   As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

    Now when all the people were baptized, and 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."