Members and Disciples

First Sunday after Epiphany/The Baptism of Jesus, Yr. C, January 13, 2013

Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.  And our gospel reading is a reminder of the story of his baptism in the account given by Luke.  At our clergy bible study this past week there were several Episcopalians and probably just as many Baptists.  Baptists celebrate a “believer’s baptism”, a baptism that is chosen by the individual when a boy, or girl, is old enough to make that kind of decision for themselves.  Some of their children decide on baptism when they’re adolescents, while others come to baptism as an adult, some not at all.  Their baptism is modeled after the story we heard this morning. 

John had set himself apart in the wilderness.  He was calling people to repent and return to God.  People came to John to be baptized.  Jesus was one of them.  They all made a conscious choice to come to the river.  Episcopalians are among those Christians who baptize infants, even though infants are not mature enough to understand what is being committed for them … even though we have no idea what decisions they may make for themselves in the future.  Why do we do that?  Why do we “seal them as one of Christ’s own forever”, when we have no idea what they may want as adults?

For us, baptism is very much about community.  It’s about membership.  It’s about becoming a full member of the Church, and being accepted fully into the Body of Christ.  For us, it’s about claiming the privilege of belonging.  In our prayer book, baptism is the entry point to our communion, to sharing in the meal with the community.  Baptism is also when we gain the support of a community of faith that will stick with us no matter where our future decisions may take us.  Infants baptized in our church belong; we claim them as ours … sometimes even when they no longer claim us. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone visiting us tell me, “my son was baptized here”, or “my mother was baptized here”.  That is a statement of belonging that many people hold very dear.  It doesn’t matter that they haven’t set foot over the threshold of the church doors since that day.  They were baptized here.  They belong.  Our own Book of Common Prayer affirms the idea that baptism is a sacrament of belonging.  Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into
Christ's Body the Church. (BCP, p. 298)  And no matter what Episcopal Church, (or many, many other Christian churches) you enter from that day forward, you can count on being considered a brother, or sister, in Christ … at least in theory. 

My Baptist friends have a different view of baptism.  They baptize people who have made a choice to follow Jesus.  They baptize disciples.  Those who have made a choice to be followers.  We shouldn’t wonder why some of our Christian brothers and sisters talk so much about Jesus.  For them, that’s the whole point!  Through baptism they’ve chosen to follow Jesus.  That’s what it’s all about.  Don’t get me wrong, they also believe deeply in the community formed through baptism.  Baptism is certainly a mark of membership, but it’s first a choice to pattern your life in line with the teaching and example of Jesus. 

At that Tuesday Bible study, one of my Baptist colleagues asked what the biblical story of Jesus’ baptism meant to us.  Good question, since clearly we Episcopalians do not follow that model.  So let’s look at the story.  John has been walking through the region of the Jordan River, calling people to change their hearts and lives and ask God to forgive their sins.  When they show up, he’s not very encouraging.  He calls them a brood of snakes, and tells them that they better shape up.  He let’s them know in no uncertain terms that they are going to be held accountable for their actions.  That baptism carries with it certain responsibilities.  They cannot expect to jump in and out of the water and believe that everything between them and God will suddenly be hunky dory for more than a moment.  No, the baptized are jumping into a of change.  He’s pretty clear about the kind of behavior God will be looking for … generosity, kindness, compassion.  You probably remember that little speech from a few weeks ago.  The gospel we heard today follows on the heels of this tongue lashing from John.

Everyone is beginning to wonder if John just might be the Messiah that is to come.  John is quick to tell them that he is here to pave the way, but that someone even greater is coming, someone who will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.  That “one” will gather everyone up and the wheat will be harvested and the chaff will be burnt.  Luke called this “good news”.  We don’t know exactly what the crowds were thinking about all this, but the gospel writer does tell us that the crowd is filled with expectation.  They’re excited.  Many are being baptized.  One of them is Jesus.  In Luke, John doesn’t even realize who Jesus is.  John’s just finished talking about “the one who is to come”, and when that “one” shows up at the river, no one recognizes him … until God sends a sign.  As Jesus is praying, the heavens are opened and a dove descends on Jesus.  A voice comes from heaven proclaiming “You are my Son, the beloved; in you I am well pleased.”  God points out what everyone has missed.  There is something different about Jesus.  He is “the one”!

That’s part of what Jesus’ baptism is for us, a sign to the world of his time (and ours) that he is of God.  The baptism of repentance that Jesus has chosen is a precursor of the baptism we celebrate today.  Our baptism is a baptism of fire.   It’s an indwelling baptism that calls down the Holy Spirit upon us.  Look out! 

Our Thursday noontime Bible study has been reading the Acts of the Apostles.  They can tell you that throughout that book, the question asked over and over again of people is … have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit?  Often the people say no, and then the Christian speaking to them begin to relay the story of Jesus, and Pentecost, and tongues of fire.  Often the person asks to be baptized in the Spirit, and that presence is felt or perceived descending on the newly baptized.  For us baptism is not just a choice of re-turning to God.  It is also an act of God sending the Holy Spirit to guide and support us on the journey into discipleship. 

For us, infant baptism is the entry point to full membership, but it is also when discipleship training begins.  If we were baptized as infants, we rely on parents, godparents and our church community to begin our discipleship training, not only in words but in our actions.  Later we claim that calling as our own in confirmation.  Here again God acts through the gathered community, as we affirm and bear witness to the work God has done within the confirmand, the Holy Spirit’s presence is made known in our midst.  You’ve got to be a little crazy to stand in the midst of that fire … to invite God’s burning love to work within you … and burn away the rough edges that keep us from drawing closer to one another and God.  That’s our life from that moment on.  It’s life on fire. 

Discipleship is not a static life.  Disciples are not just followers.  Disciples are learners, and what we learn we try to put into practice … one day at a time.  It’s a life of discerning, a life of looking honestly at ourselves and the world.  It’s a life of seeking and sometimes not finding what we hope to find.  It’s a life in community, always looking outward toward those who are not yet part of us.  Existing for “the other”.   Called to discover “the other”, to welcome “the other”, to befriend “the other”.   

So as we remember and celebrate Jesus’ baptism today.  It would not be a bad idea to remember our own baptism, and confirmation … to remember the promises we made or had made for us.  That’s why we will reaffirm our baptismal vows in a few moments.  We’ll be reminded of what’s at stake and of who we have chosen to follow.  Those expectations are based on Jesus’ life and teachings … compassion, kindness, justice, mercy, generosity … and that comes right out of the stories we have about Jesus’ life in the bible.  We choose to follow him.  That’s the life of a disciple.  It’s a life of both prayer (seeking) and action (ministry).  It’s being called out of comfort into fire with the full knowledge that like Jesus, we are also God’s beloved, understanding that we do not walk the way alone.  We walk it together marked as one of Christ’s own forever. 

That’s what the story of Jesus’ baptism means to me, maybe also to you.  That baptism was a marker, a sign of affirmation.  It focuses our attention on the promise God made to all humanity in Jesus, and the promise we make in return.  Our God is a God who is present to us, even when we don’t recognize it.  Our God is a God who lives in relationship in and through us even when it takes us to uncomfortable places.  Our God is a God who reaches into our very soul and touches us with refining fire.  We are beloved disciples.

Amen.