Today is the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. In a few minutes we will once again renew our own baptismal vows. We will once again make promises that we should take seriously and that we should strive to uphold in every aspect of our personal lives. Will we resist evil? Will we make worship and fellowship a priority? Will we seek and serve Christ in all persons? Will we proclaim the good news? Will we strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being?
If we want to live a life based in the Christian faith, we should use this covenant as a template; because living a Christian-based life is much more than eating cake, attending polite receptions, or telling people who practice yoga they’re going to hell (no, I’m not making that up).
That said, there are two specific things I want to address regarding the baptism of Christ.
The first is to answer the question: Why are we baptized? There are two main reasons for our baptism: 1) to cleanse us from sin, and 2) to become adopted into the household of God. We could argue that the first doesn’t last that long, but the second is an indissoluble bond between us and God.
You may then ask, if baptism cleanses us from sin, why did Jesus need to get baptized? Yes, he was fully human, but he was also fully divine. And as we will affirm later during the Eucharistic Prayer, “he lived as one of us, yet without sin.” So he didn’t need to be cleansed from sin.
And if baptism brings us into the household of God, why did Christ need to get baptized? Because as Son of God, and the Second Person of the Trinity, Christ was already dwelling in the household and community of the Holy Trinity.
Based on these things, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. His baptism, however, is an example to us. Think of it as a, “Do as I do” precedent. Jesus could also very well have said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” after he came up out of the water.
Our baptism doesn’t mean that God loves us more or others less, or that we will never again sin, because he doesn’t and we will. But it does bring us fully into the household of God. It means that we are officially part of a faith community. And as with being part of any other household, it means we have certain rights and responsibilities that we are required to live into. The baptism of Jesus was the point at which he was anointed to live into his responsibilities that we will see later in the gospel.
Our baptism brings us into this household of God where we are raised up as disciples and given responsibilities to fulfill for the mission of God and the Church. At our baptism, we are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of God in Christ in the same way that Jesus was anointed to proclaim the good news.
The second thing about this passage I want to address is what happened when Jesus was baptized: “Just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove . . .”
The Gospel of Matthew pulls and quotes from Hebrew scriptures more than any other gospel. Through dreams and prophets, Matthew recalls the ancient faith. The Slaughter of the Holy Innocents by Herod recalls Pharaoh’s drowning of Hebrew babies. The Holy Family going to Egypt and coming out of Egypt recalls the history of the Israelite people. So this image of the heavens opening and a dove descending isn’t just a pretty picture, it recalls the great flood in Genesis.
There the heavens were opened, water washed away all life, and a dove found a symbol of new life. Here, the heavens were opened, the old life is washed away, and new life is found in the dove of God’s Holy Spirit.
The baptism of Christ recalls events of the ancient faith and sets a precedent for all his disciples moving into the future.
Baptism brings us into the household of God endowing us with rights and responsibilities. Baptism washes away our old life and brings us into a new life with God. Baptism shapes us and changes us. Or it should.
And we are reminded just how much baptism should change us when we recite the baptismal covenant. If we are to resist evil, will we stand against the rise of white nationalism and white supremacy now running rampant? If we are to seek and serve Christ in all persons, will we welcome the stranger, alien, and people of color? If we are to strive for justice, will we speak out against arrests, detainments, and killings of innocent people by those who use the law to justify hateful behavior?
Baptism is more than eating cake, attending polite receptions, and telling people they’re going to hell. Through our baptism we are called to proclaim the good news of God in Christ – even, and especially, when the world doesn’t want to hear it.
Amen.
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