January 8, 2023
Matthew  3:1-17

I was a member of the freshmen orientation committee at the beginning of my final year of college.

The committee helped incoming first-year students become oriented with life at the college and the expectations that will be placed on them.

At the end of the weeklong process, the committee put on a brief variety show that concluded with all the committee members sharing a song and doing some Rockette-style high kicks … keep in mind, I was a lot younger then.

The veteran members of the committee spent an evening teaching the newbies the song and the steps. We’d rehearse for awhile and then we enjoyed a barbecued meal.

The song and dance were part of a tradition at the time … they were intended to foster a sense of continuity and community among the committee members and among the new students.

At larger universities, students are taken into the arena or the stadium and taught the school chants … songs and in some cases even movements … for use during games. This too fosters a sense of community among thousands of students … and nurtures a sense of belonging to something larger than oneself.

When you think about it, there are similar rituals in church settings that serve to foster a sense of community … to tie us to those who came before us and to serve as a link to future generations. Think of the effect of singing a familiar hymn has on you.

If we didn’t practise these rituals, then the form and feeling of the faith community would be different.

Baptism is one such ritual.

This morning, we hear about John the baptizer at the River Jordan. John is preparing the way for the Lord. Through his teaching and baptisms, John is opening people’s hearts for the one who is to come into the life of the world.

John is like one of those Old Testament prophets … he’s off in the wilderness … preaching a call to repentance because of the nearness of the kingdom of heaven … and baptizing those who take his message to heart.

To John, baptism is an act of salvation.

John’s message is so compelling and unique that it attracts people from across Judea … even from as far away as Jerusalem.

The message draws the religious authorities to be baptized. Their appearance doesn’t thrill John … the baptizer calls them out as a “brood of vipers.”

John knows that the Pharisees and Sadducees are showing up to be seen, he believes that they are not bearing fruit for the people. Their repentance is simply for appearance’s sake … they don’t truly embrace John’s message. Their status and sense of entitlement gains them nothing with John.

There is a great disconnect between the religious leaders and the people.

When Jesus comes before John to be baptized, John argues that he isn’t worthy to conduct the ritual. But Jesus tells John that in order to fulfill all righteousness … in order for the prophets’ words to be true … this is what needs to happen.

If God is truly with the people, then Jesus needs to be baptized with the others who have gathered at the river.

Professor and pastor John Yieh once wrote about this passage. In his commentary, he wrote:

“Jesus is showing his followers how they should take seriously the ritual of baptism, the life of repentance, and the pursuit of righteousness as he did through his humble baptism by John in the Jordan. … He asked for John’s baptism to make this point and set an example for his disciples.”

Jesus’ baptism is a transcendent moment … one that marks a transition in his life … his identification with God’s mission of peace and reconciliation in the world and a transformation in the life of the world.

It’s when he first publicly stands with the people.

Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, we can hear that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and then later that the magi called him “king of the Jews.” Now, a voice reveals Jesus to be the beloved Son. Jesus’ identity is affirmed in the waters of the Jordan. God’s promises voiced by Isaiah and by Elijah are being kept.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the act of baptizing Jesus marks the true beginning of his ministry. From this point on, he sets out to teach and minister to the marginalized of the community.

Because it marks the start of his ministry, baptism is linked to being a servant … and our baptism links us to Jesus’ story and ministry and links us to a life of service to others.

Epiphany is a time when Jesus’ nature is revealed.

Epiphany is also a time when we can consider our relationship to God and how well we have claimed our baptismal identity.

It is a time when we can reaffirm Jesus’ nature … it’s when we can recall our baptism and live into its promise … and into the promises we made to others as they entered into a life of faith.

The same Spirit that landed upon Jesus landed upon each of us when we were baptized. That same Spirit imbues our hearts toward righteousness … leading us into a life of service.

We were not called just to show up to be seen … we are called to take our baptismal promises seriously.

Theologian Stanley Saunders says that baptism “trains our bodies and ‘the body’ for discipleship, and transforms us from bondage to the life of this world into participants in the life of God’s world.

On the banks of the Jordan … through our baptisms … Jesus enters our story and frees us.

Through our worship practices … through our baptism … through our journey to the table … our time in communion … we form a community and are reminded of God’s promise to be present with us and to love us unconditionally … promises that have been kept.

That’s’ one of the problems created by the pandemic, people have gotten out of practice … the reminders offered through rituals and worship aren’t effective if a person isn’t taking part in them.

When we give thanks for our baptism as part of our service it serves as a reminder of our relationship to Jesus’ ministry and to our call to serve. … it’s a reminder about birth and rebirth … both ours and the world’s. It is a reminder of the new life that God’s promises brings us.

It is a reminder that through God’s gift of grace … we too are beloved.

When Jesus walked out of the Jordan River, he began a journey of love and ministry … one we have been called to join.

The waters of baptism have joined us as a community … a community where we are each called to continue on with this journey … to minister … to provide comfort and help heal the wounds inflicted by the world … and to help bring reconciliation into the lives of others.

In other words, to love.

And by sharing this gift … we provide a reminder of baptism … a reminder of a welcoming, inclusive community … both to ourselves and to others … as certain a reminder as a drop of water whisked from the font or placed on a forehead.

AMEN