We celebrate the Baptism of Jesus this weekend.
The baptism of Jesus is told in all four of the
Gospels.
That means that it is an important event.
That means that the story of the life death and
resurrection of Jesus could not be taught without
including the baptism.
In fact, baptism has been so important to the life and
growth of the Christian church that down through the
ages many Christians have been in conflict with each
other about how it should be administered.
Many have been conflicted about when baptism should be
given:
As an infant, or only after an adult profession of
faith.
Many have been in conflict about how we should
baptism:
Do we baptize in the name of God? In the name of
Jesus?
Or in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
And some have even been in conflict over how much
water to use!
Do we get sprinkled, do we get poured over, or do we
get dipped?
Whole denominations have split apart over these
questions!
Baptism is an important event.
People do not fight over things that are not important
to them.
The many conflicts and different interpretations
reinforce the fact that the baptism of Jesus was a
defining moment in God's relationship with His people.

Our question today may well be: "How did Jesus treat
Baptism?"
In his commentary on the Bible, Robert Barclay
suggested that our Gospel highlights several defining
moments between God and Jesus.

First, the baptism proclaimed a defining moment of
decision.
Jesus made a deliberate decision to leave Nazareth; to
present Himself to the prophet John, and to be
baptized for repentance, even though Jesus was a man
without sin.
Jesus was fully man.
He possessed free will, like all other men.
Jesus could have refused the mission.
But the Man without sin made a decision to stand at
the seat of judgment. Jesus later took judgment for
all mankind even though He was sinless.
The baptism was a forecast of Jesus' future ministry.

The baptism of Jesus was also a defining moment of
identification.
Although He was all powerful, Jesus did not identify
Himself with the rich and powerful. Although He was
the Messiah, Jesus did not identify with the religious
leaders. Jesus very deliberately identified Himself
with the poor and downtrodden; the over-worked and
underpaid; the folks that the rest of the society had
thrown away.

The baptism of Jesus was a defining moment of
affirmation.
"You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased."
God the Father was affirming the decision of God the
Son.
Notice that the approval message was not a voice for
the crowd to hear, but was a personal voice to Jesus:
"YOU are my Son".
"With YOU I am well pleased." At the baptism, God is
affirming the fact that Jesus used His free will to
make the correct choice.

Lastly, Jesus' baptism of was a defining moment of
empowerment.
Jesus had made a decision, Jesus had identified His
mission, Jesus had been affirmed by God, and now Jesus
was being given the equipment to complete His mission.

The power of the Holy Spirit.
Our text says that the heavens were torn apart, and
the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus.
At His baptism, Jesus was bought into the new
community of God, and He was anointed for ministry.

So what does Jesus say in our text about baptism?
Decision. Identification. Affirmation. Empowerment.
Each of those words are action words!!
I think that what Jesus is saying about baptism is
that whatever the process may be, the result should be
a changed life.
It does not really matter weather Jesus had water
sprinkled or poured over Himself, or if He was dipped
into the water.
The key point of the scripture here is that when Jesus
left the Jordan River that day, His life was never the
same!!

When we make a decision to come to the baptismal
fount, we make a decision to be identified with the
Christian community.
When the Holy Water washes over us, and our foreheads
are anointed with oil, the priest says:
"You are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as
Christ's own forever." That is God's affirmation, and
God's empowerment.
Weather we are baptized at six weeks old or sixty-six
years old; rich or poor, blind crippled or crazy, our
lives will never be the same.

Paul writes in Ephesians that the Holy Spirit is
necessary:
"For Equipping the saints for the work of the
Kingdom."
The Holy Spirit has equipped us for work in the
Kingdom.
And the Kingdom begins in our own household, our own
community.
Particularly because we believe in infant baptism,
when we make a decision to identify our child as a
Christian through baptism, we also have a
responsibility to teach our children the faith, and be
a daily example to them of that faith.
Our job is to prepare our children for the time that
they will identify themselves as Christians by
confirming the vows that we made for them at the time
of their baptism.

We then expand our efforts to our immediate community.
Our daily example to our families, friends, and
co-workers is the primary way that our community will
see Jesus Christ.
Jesus taught first to his immediate community, before
He went out to the masses. That is an example for us.
Because the lives of the people Jesus taught were
never the same!

By our baptism, we have been equipped to do the work
of the Kingdom.
Our lives will never be the same, because we have a
story to share, a blessing to claim, and a job to do
in the Kingdom.
Our job is to share the wonder of Jesus Christ, and
our blessing is that our community will never be the
same.
My prayer for you as we begin this new year is that
you may go out into this community Identified as a
person of God;
I pray that you may be Affirmed by the grace of Jesus
Christ;
I pray that you may be Empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And I pray that your life will never be the same!!
Thanks be to God.

AMEN