+May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our Rock and Redeemer. Amen!
Full-immersion baptism. Has anyone ever seen one? In all the years of my life, I can say that I seem to remember many years ago witnessing one full immersion baptism. What a sight! What a powerful sight and a powerful symbol! Suddenly, the person, clad in a thin white garment, was out of sight and fully under the water. What a sight! What a symbol!
This morning, we began our liturgy by recalling the power of water and the Holy Spirit in our own baptisms. We called out to God to bless our water and to bless us who then received that water. Many of us made the sign of the cross as we were sprinkled with the blessed water, water that reminded us of our own baptisms whether as an infant, a child or an adult.
We, as Christians, value and cherish the symbols that have come down to us over the ages. Certainly, water, a primary symbol of life itself, is one of those powerful religious symbols that enables us to connect directly with the experience of Jesus. It is why we celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism as one of our two primary sacraments right alongside that of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Both in Baptism and the Eucharist, Jesus comes to us in a very special and unique way, pouring grace upon grace on us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In our Gospel today, Jesus went to be baptized by John in the River Jordan. Jesus, then, set out on his course of public ministry through the waters of his own baptism. He also set the example for us that we should do the same, that we, as his follows, should be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit, forever changed, forever bound to him in a very special way, forever his, whether we intentionally exercise our discipleship or not.
I believe that we are here this morning because we are conscious of the role that discipleship plays in our lives. We are here because we continue our response to God’s call to discipleship, a call that is powerful, life giving and life changing. We recognize that deep within us we need to be here, to be connected with one another, to be connected to this faith community and connected to God who nourishes us in a very special way, when two or three of us are gathered in God’s name.
But beyond the walls of this Church, what happens to that connection? What happens to the words we have professed, the Eucharist that we have shared, the beautiful music that we have heard and sung, the signs of the cross that we have made over and over again, claiming ourselves to be disciples of Jesus? Why is it that we oftentimes can’t seem to take this experience into the world to proclaim to the world that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is our Redeemer and Friend, that Jesus is the Son of God who came into the world that we might have life?
The simple answer is that is that we are human beings. We are capable of great good, and we are capable of great evil. You and I celebrate the goodness that is ours in Christ, just as our sisters and brothers in any other Christian denomination celebrate that very same goodness. Jesus is the same for us all. God is the same God for us all, the God who showers grace upon us whether we think we need it or even want it or not. So, why is it that so many grace-filled people can do so much good in the world and yet do so many bad things as well?
One powerful aspect of our Episcopal worship is the element that allows us to acknowledge our sinfulness and our need for God’s healing. Our Services reflect God’s grace of renewal, a renewal that helps us be who we truly want to be as daughters and sons of God.
For all the good things that I think I do in life, the good deeds, the checks I write to organizations to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to minister to the elder, the sick and the dying, I can also see holes in that goodness. I’m not consistently good. I once in a while get of glimpse and perhaps only a glimpse of a taste of what it might mean to be holy, and then, moments later catch myself in thoughts or even spoken words for which I am sorry.
The Rock Singer and deeply spiritual man, Bono of the band U2, spoke at the annual Washington D. C. Prayer Breakfast in 2006. His activism in the world has become legendary, and there are aspects of his life that are amazing. In his speech, he acknowledged that it was almost “unnatural…something unseemly” about a “rock star mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents.” (Bono: On the Move. 2006)
He was primarily at that breakfast to preach the Gospel of Love, a compelling Gospel that he believes requires of us to address the needs of the poor, those dying with aids, those who are the needy of our world. Bono’s message has been heard by millions of people, and he has become a living example of goodness, of someone who truly wants to be the face of God, the hands of God, the feet of God, the goodness of God for others.
What about you and me? I believe that we have been baptized into that same goodness of God, that same call to be good people, to be people of compassion, love and mercy, people who take the message of the Gospel seriously each and every day.
When Jesus was baptized by John, the Scriptures tell us he heard a voice from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mk. 1:11) What do you and I need to do in our lives to be worthy of being called the Beloved of God, for that is who we are by the very nature of our baptisms. We have been claimed for Christ. We are his. We are his Beloved.
Let us be thankful for the blessings that are ours through our baptisms and through the Eucharist. Let us reflect on how we can take those blessings into the world, how we can transform our relationships and our community by being more giving, more hospitable, more charitable, more conscious of God’s Spirit within us. And, let us be amazed at the goodness of who we are and the great good of which we are so very capable because of God’s grace alive and at work with us. Amen!