You and Me...and Jesus too

Once a month, every month, I get to do one of my favorite things here at the church. I get to wait here in the sanctuary until 9am hits on a Thursday morning and then I get to open the doors and say “hi” to a whole bunch of amazing and excited 3 and 4 year olds. You see every month I get to hang out with the kids here in the sanctuary and we have chapel together. This last week I got to hang out with those kids again. I let the 4 year olds into the building and they walked in and sat down and as we waited for the 3 year olds to come up from the daycare I began to ask the kids how they were doing and how Christmas break was and if they got anything good for Christmas. As the kids were answering one of them asked me what something was behind me.

I turned around and looked behind me and asked the boy what exactly it was he was talking about and with the help of one of the teachers we were able to understand that he was talking about the gold fabric hanging on the cross. I told them that we were in the season of Epiphany and that in that season we celebrate light. Then we talked about how Jesus was the light of the world and that all of the banners in the church remind us of that. And that one of the ways that we experience Jesus as our light is to remember his baptism and our own as well. I then told them that this coming Sunday we were celebrating the baptism of Jesus. So then someone asked about baptism and why Jesus was baptized. I then ran over to the font and told the kids to follow me. It took some convincing but the kids finally followed me over and we talked about baptism and how even Jesus was baptized.

We talked about how because Jesus was baptized and he told us to baptize other people that is what we do. We do it because it connects us to God, to Jesus and to one another. It makes us a part of the family of God. It was absolutely incredible to see the listen to what I was telling them as they stared down into the water thinking about what it all meant. After we finished up we then went back to the pews and let the 3 year olds into the church and had our chapel time about the life of Jesus which I made sure to include Jesus baptism and his command for us to baptize people in this world.

The rest of the chapel went fine, but I have to tell you that running over to the font and talking to the 4 year olds about the incredible gift of baptism and how we are baptized just like Jesus was, was probably one of my absolute favorite moments for me right now. You see, we gave this children an opportunity to experience God in this place and we gave them the freedom and permission to ask any question they want to ask and this last week one kid wanted to know about a gold cloth which then let another kid to want to know more about baptism. This is how we connect what we do here out into the world. We provide opportunities and safe spaces to let people know and experience the blessings that come from God and to also know that we are connected to God who created this world and everything in it.

Which is also what I believe is the main focus of today’s text when we hear about Jesus’ baptism. One of the tools that I employ when looking at texts when I am going to preach is I sometimes look for things that are often glossed over and overlooked as unimportant to the text. I honestly believe that it is those parts of the text that we overlook that can sometimes be the most important parts that we need to look at and there is a big one here today. The reason why I like to look at those parts of the text is that our authors put them in there for a very specific reason.

Think about it. Papyrus wasn’t cheap or widespread so they didn’t have a lot to spare when they were writing the life of Jesus. Plus they weren’t writing an essay that they needed to have be at least 10,000 words in it, so there was no need to add parts to the story that weren’t absolutely necessary to the story. The gospel writers were writing to share a message with everyone and they wanted to make sure that every single part of what they wrote had a meaning and a purpose for being in there.

So when we keep that in mind and when we read today’s story especially the part about Jesus baptism it is important to not gloss over any part of it but to look at all of it and wonder why it is in there. The part that really jumps out when you read it is the part that talks about the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove and the voice from heaven talking to Jesus. This is the big part and the part that does deserve a lot of attention normally, but we see how important and significant it is that Jesus receives the Spirit and is called upon by God.

The part that I don’t think that we ever really pay attention to is the part that starts out this section of his baptism. I think we see that everyone was baptized, and that Jesus was too and then we get ready for this big part we just talked about. But Luke put that in there for a reason. Luke specifically mentions that everyone who was with Jesus that day were also baptized. That day wasn’t some event set aside specifically for Jesus, but Jesus was one of many people that were baptized that day. He was baptized just like everyone else was.

Not only does Luke specifically mention that everyone was baptized along with Jesus that day, but Luke also does something else very important. Matthew and Mark both talk about how John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and the focus is on the actual baptism that happens. Look again at Luke. Luke tells us simply that everyone had been baptized, as in the past, and Jesus had been baptized too. Luke doesn’t actually tell the story of Jesus actual baptism but what happens after. His baptism gets as much screen time as all the other people who were baptized that day.

That’s big. That’s huge! When you think about how little Luke actually talks about the actual baptism combined with the fact that he does tell us that all the people and Jesus were baptized that day says a lot to me and it has great meaning for us. Luke’s primary focus is about you and me and our connection with Jesus through baptism. We oftentimes place Jesus in the divine realm of life and we don’t always focus on the parts where he was also human, and today we get to see how Jesus takes the time to directly connect us to him through the waters of baptism.

Jesus welcomes you and me to be a part of his family and he welcomes all those 4 year olds too knowing that they are welcome to the family as well. If we wanted to get into the deep theological discussion about whether or not Jesus needed to be baptized we could, but for Luke that isn’t important. What is important is that Jesus was baptized just like the rest of us and because of that we are all connected through the waters of baptism to him and thus to the family of God. No matter if you are 4 and you have a hundred questions about what baptism is and why Jesus was baptized or if you are 40 and you have a hundred questions about baptism or even 100 and you still have questions about it, simply know that through the waters of baptism we are all connected to Jesus and to one another. Through the waters of baptism we are offered repentance and forgiveness of sins. Through the water and the word God is made alive in us for us to shine out into this world no matter how young or old we may be.

That is the gift of baptism given to all the people. Given to you and me and Jesus too.

Amen.