A Scandalous Ride

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15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 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. 17 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."

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 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."

Introductory Story

I remember learning to ride my first bike as a child. It was such an amazing feeling when I would get up some speed riding around—I felt like I was on top of the world when I would fly around here and there in the Ozark mountains. And I was absolutely enamored with that bike. It was a 21 speed bike with original pedal brakes—none of that handle bar brake stuff. It was deep blue in color. Leather seating—or at least I thought it was leather at the time. And I had a few super hero stickers that I had attached to it—likely to give it some additional power.

One day in particular I recall riding my bike alongside my parents as they walked around the big loop of a street that our house was on. I’d ride out in front of them a little ways before looping back around, behind, and beside them. I was having a blast. That was, of course, until my dad decided that it was much too dangerous for me to ride the bike on the last leg of our journey because it ended in a long steep hill that, by happenstance, would make its twisted way down directly into our driveway.

It was too dangerous for me, so my dad choose to walk my bike for me instead. This was fine until about half way down the hill, my dad decided that it might be easier for him to just ride it himself for the last little bit. I was a bit frustrated that it was ok for him to ride the bike… but it wasn’t ok for me to ride it. I didn’t say anything though. I just watched as he got on the seat and then before we knew it was dashing down the hill, around the corner, and out of sight more quickly than I had ever gone. I had never seen my dad ride a bike before—and I was impressed. I didn’t know he could ride a bike like me—and I certainly didn’t know he could go that fast.

What I didn’t know was that as my dad got on the bike and began coasting down the hill he tried to put on the brakes to slow down. But the brakes weren’t handle-bar brakes… they were pedal brakes. You had to push those pedals in reverse to engage the brakes. And it just so happened that his legs were a bit too long for that bike. And when he would try to engage the brakes his knees would hit the handlebars and stop him from actually moving the pedals in reverse!

By the time he got to the bottom of the hill he was moving along at about mach 3.5. And it just so happened that our neighbors were working in their flower garden when my dad flashed by them, flew into our driveway, dashed across the long gravel path, bounced up into the lawn, beside our house and finally came to a very relieved stop in our backyard.

My take away from that was being impressed that my dad would ride a bike just like me. My dad’s take away was being thankful that he survived—even if our neighbors, who were also church members, enjoyed retelling the scandal of seeing their pastor nearly outpacing the Holy Spirit that day.

A Scandalous Baptism

Our Gospel lesson today talks about Jesus in the midst of a scandal, doing something like us. And no… he wasn’t riding a boy’s bicycle in the Ozarks. He was getting baptized. Now, why might Jesus getting baptized be a scandal? Because of what baptism meant.

Baptism was for the repentance of sin. In other words, all of those people who were going down to see John the Baptist were stepping into the water and choosing to live a different kind of life. They were recognizing that sin had been in their lives—that they were some how separated from God—and that they were going to turn things around and vow to live a better life. Forgiveness of sins, promise to live a pure life… THAT was the point of baptism.

So if baptism was only for sinful people… then why in the world would Jesus make his way down to the waters to be baptized? You can appreciate the logic. If baptism is for the forgiveness of sin… and Jesus was sinless… then why was Jesus baptized?

If ___________ is for the forgiveness of sin and Jesus was sinless, then why was Jesus _____________?

Or, worse, are we contradicting ourselves: is baptism not about forgiveness, or was Jesus not sinless? It was truly scandalous—and it was a recorded moment that we even see the gospel writers struggle with.

All the Gospels report John declaring Jesus’ coming in the wilderness—and how John is not even worthy to untie the thongs of Jesus’ sandals. And they all suggest in some way that John is just the person that help with the baptism and that it is the Holy Spirit that actually baptizes Jesus.

John – the Fourth Gospel, that is – goes even further and doesn’t even record John (the Baptist) as baptizing Jesus (or even acknowledging directly that Jesus was baptized) but rather as only having witnessed the Spirit descending upon Jesus.

Luke, in today’s passage, takes a middle road. The text doesn’t say, “John then baptized Jesus. No. It says John was baptizing people and then it also says that Jesus was baptized, but it all feels rather passive: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,….”

So we can get the feeling that the early church folks weren’t quite sure what to make of baptism and found what we call “the Baptism of our Lord” at the very least uncomfortable, perhaps confusing, and possibly quite scandalous.

Getting it Backwards

But I wonder if we’re all getting this a little bit backwards. Theologian, Pastor, Professor, and Author David Lose picks up on this. He says: But I wonder if they – and by extension we – have it all a bit backwards. But what strikes him is that rather than be shocked that Jesus is baptized like we are, maybe we should be surprised, shocked, scandalized, and even stunned by the fact that we are baptized like Jesus is!

Rather than be shocked that Jesus is baptized like ______ ________. maybe we should be surprised that we are baptized ________ _________!

He goes on to talk about the relationship between forgiveness and baptism. You see, when we think of baptism we often think of it as a transnational sort of business with forgiveness. We have a debt of sin, we get some water sprinkled on us, that debt is removed. But when Jesus, who was sinless, gets baptized—it throws all of that into disarray. Because if baptism is just about forgiveness, then there is little to no point for the sinless son of God to be wading in the water.

And so while forgiveness is certainly an important part of baptism—that there is something even more important occuring both when Jesus is baptized and when we are baptized like Jesus. The purpose of Baptism, first and foremost, is that God is calling and claiming us as God’s children.

The purpose of Baptism, first and foremost, is that God is ________ and __________ us as God’s children.

So we aren’t forgiven of our sins so that God can then lay claim to us. But rather it is because we are God’s Children that our sins are forgiven.

That also means that baptism has much less to do with who we are and a whole lot more to do with who God is. You see, baptism doesn’t rely on some decision we have made—although, yes, we can make the decision to be baptized. But at the same time it isn’t about that decision. Baptism doesn’t rely us being good enough. Baptism doesn’t even rely on the pastor who baptizes us as being ‘good enough.’ Because, ultimately, the who calls and claims us is not ourselves, not our pastor… but our God.

The one who calls and claims us in baptism is not ourselves, not our pastor, but our __________.

Illustration

A pastor by the name of Karoline Lewis told a story about preaching on this text about Baptism some years ago. She recalls, “After the service, a long time member of the church, 90-year-old Dott (not her name), came up to me and said, “Karoline, is that really true?” “What?” I responded. “That GOD baptizes you?” “Well, yes. This is what we believe, Dott.”

She then told Pastor Karoline why she struggled with that. Dott had a sister, born too early and not expected to live, about three years before Dott was even born. The only option was to bring her home for her two-to-three month lifespan. During that time, the grandmother baptized her. Then, when Dott’s sister died, of course her parents set up a meeting with the pastor for the funeral. The pastor told them that he would do the funeral, but not in the sanctuary because he had not baptized the baby. The funeral was held in the basement of the church.

Dott then asked Pastor Karoline, “Do you mean my sister is okay?” The sister she never met. The sister she had mourned for her entire 90 years. The sister for whom she wondered, “is God really for her?” “Oh, yes” Karoline said. “The calling and claiming that your sister heard, God meant. And God did not, and will never, let her go.”

Conclusion

You know, I think Baptism is a bit like riding a bike. Try as we might, we will n

Remember in Baptism you are also called and claimed… not just by a pastor or a church family… but by the Lord your God. And as scandalous as is it is to hear of this Baptism of Christ, and we rejoice in that which was even more scandalous—when were baptized like him—and named as beloved child just as Jesus was.

When the water touched your skin you were on the receiving end of the same baptism that Christ had received. And even a mach 3.5 bike ride down a hillside won’t let you outpace the love and grace that you were called and claimed by in those baptismal waters. God has not and will never let you go.

God’s peace be with you.

Amen.