Baptismal Life

Just this last week I was standing outside Madi’s dance studio watching her through the glass windows when another mom stopped by me and started getting very emotional and weepy over her child in the same class. I looked over and smiled at her and she apologized and told me that this was her daughters first time in any kind of class. I found out that this was also her oldest daughter at age 4. We got to talking and she found out I was a pastor and she became very curious about what it meant to be Lutheran.

It is always amazing how God works that the very scripture we would be talking about this week was the same topic that this mom was the most interested in learning about. So as you guessed, we talked a lot about baptism. We talked about how Lutherans baptize people of any age. We talked about the reason we baptize at any age is that it is God’s act on the person not the person making the decision. Since it is God’s act we also don’t believe that person has to be re-baptized like some other churches do. We talked about how baptism is the bringing a person into the family of God and how in baptism we are forgiven of our sin but that baptism is a life-long journey because we all know that we continue to sin in our lives and need to ask for forgiveness for those things. That is also why we come to church, is to lift each other up in faith and to help each other continue to keep our lives focused on God instead of everything else this world has to offer which may draw us away from God. We talked about many other things like communion, confession, denominations, etc, but communion and the journey of faith it is, was the primary focus of our conversation.

I feel that the idea of needing to continue to see baptism as the beginning of our journey of faith is an important insight into our text today. The gospel writer Matthew shows us that people were coming from all over the area to come to learn from John and be baptized by him. What we see as the most important part of his teaching is the need for people to change their hearts and lives and then receive the baptism. We see John say that in Matthew 3:2 and what is key to know about that phrase is that in Greek grammar it is a present active imperative. That means that it is not just mean to be a one time action, but it is mean to be followed continually without end. In other words our baptism is meant to be a life-long journey where we continue to change our hearts and lives to focus on God and what God wants this world to be.

There are people that don’t see it that way. There are people who see baptism as something that they have done to themselves or someone else and then feel they are good for the rest of their lives. This seems to be similar to the issue that John the Baptist faces when the Pharisees and Sadducees come to see what is happening at the Jordan. John explains to them that changing their hearts and lives and being baptized means producing good fruit. The fruit is the product of a life that has been changed by God. It isn’t just something to come and observe or to just do becuase the rest of the countryside is doing it and it would be beneficial for them to do it. Baptism is about a way of life that involves following and living into the will of God.

It is at this time that Jesus then appears at the Jordan and wants to be baptized by John. And I love this part of the story. I love this part for so many reasons. First there has been a lot of discussion as to why Jesus was baptized when baptism is often thought of as the forgiveness of sins, and we know Jesus didn’t have sin. So the question does become why? Jesus tells John the reason is to fulfill all righteousness. If righteousness is the doing of God’s will, then Jesus is being baptized as the opening act of his doing God’s will in the world. In other words, the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ baptism was the marking of the beginning of his ministry in and to the world. Jesus’ ministry was to bring about the kingdom of heaven that John mentioned at the opening of this baptismal story. Which also means that the first act of Jesus is to listen to and live into God’s will for him in the world.

The other part of this story that I love so much is the part that comes after Jesus is baptized. After he is baptized we hear that a voice from heaven declares that “this is my son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.” If we take a look at Matthew’s gospel all we see that has happened so far is that Jesus has been born and that he lived in Egypt and then Nazareth until this moment. The only thing that we actually know about Jesus is that he came to be baptized by John. The reason I say that is because Jesus hasn’t done any healings, he hasn’t raised anyone from the dead, he hasn’t taught the crowds or suffered at the cross. He hasn’t done any of those things, yet God loves him and finds happiness in him.

I believe the love and happiness comes from two things: first, he is God’s son. What other reason is there to have love and happiness for a person? Second, he was baptized. He chose the path of baptism to show to God and to us that he fully intends to bring about the kingdom of heaven. He fully intends to fulfill all of God’s will. He intends to live out his baptismal life by doing what is most pleasing to God. It’s not that he has done these things, but that he has chosen to live a life that follows the path of God. To serve, to love and to care for those who are most in need of God’s love.

This is what it means to live the life of a person of faith. This is what it is to live out our baptismal calling. To choose to change our hearts and lives so that they reflect the life of Christ and the love of God. That we too chose the path of God instead of the ways of the world. That we too would care for those who are most in need of our care. That we would tell people of God’s love and grace and forgiveness. We do that because that was given to us in our own baptism. We were claimed by God, we are called child, we are loved, and God finds happiness in us. That is what living into our baptism is like and that’s what it can be for those we have been called to love and serve just as Christ loves and serves us. In this baptismal life may you always know how dearly loved you are and how much happiness God finds in you, child of God. Amen.