Baptism Our Religious Heritage

Sermon given at Grace UMC 

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus had been 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 and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Good morning and welcome to Baptism Sunday. It is the Sunday when we celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the Christian year. We do this to remember that Jesus went down to the Jordan where John the Baptizer was in order to be baptized. So why did he go? And what does baptism mean? These are the questions that we will try to uncover this morning. No other subject in Christian history has caused more discussion and disagreement than baptism. So often we hear that we are different than other denominations and that those differences are deep and impossible to allow us to come together. Some of them relate to the Sabbath and some relate to the color of the carpet or dimming of lights, but only one differentiates us more than any other. It is the subject of Baptism. Have I been baptized if I have been sprinkled or do I need to be poured over or dunked or do I even need baptism at all.

So what is baptism? As United Methodists, we believe that baptism is a sacrament. In other words, God is the principle player at work in the baptism. That means that as human beings, we simply show up and let God do what God is going to do. Through God’s grace we are incorporated into the Body of Christ through baptism. We are initiated into the Christian church universal and we are commissioned into ministry. And in baptism, the taint of original sin is washed clean from us. Whether that person receives this initiation at a young age or at the age of maturity, it is the gift of God and the work of the Holy Spirit rather than a means of human choice. It is a communal act whereby we the Body of Christ agree to covenant with that individual for life. In the Methodist church we do not baptize individuals individually. We baptize in the community where we covenant together for life. Through the act of baptism we see prevenient grace in action and an exodus from the bondage of original sin. John Wesley wrote that baptism is the act of God who cleanses us of original sin through his divine grace. That our human condition is such that we cannot ourselves be cleansed through our own initiative and it was necessary for God to sacrifice for us in order that we can be cleansed. It is the incorporation into the body of Christ through his church, the universal Christian church in the world. That makes all the baptized of the world our sisters and brothers. In order to receive the blessing of God and enter into heaven, one needs to proclaim their belief in Jesus and begin the transformation process we call Justifying and Sanctifying Grace. This is not the same as baptism. More on that later!

Baptism comes to us from a rich heritage in the Hebrew faith. Baptism comes from the Greek “to cleanse” and is derived from the Hebrew cleansing liturgies that have existed since Moses. When one sins, one must be cleansed of that sin. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament writings, the cleansing or purification process included water or oil. Levites were anointed with oil after having been cleansed with water before entering into the holy of holies. Hebrew's from the time of Moses have cleansed themselves with water to cleanse the taint of sin from them after sacrificing to God. From the earliest days of our knowledge, we have been required by God to sacrifice for our sins and then be cleansed. In the old Testament times we find this reference to anointing in Exodus, the 29^th chapter from the NRSV: “²⁸ These things shall be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons from the Israelites, for this is an offering; and it shall be an offering by the Israelites from their sacrifice of offerings of well-being, their offering to the LORD.  ²⁹ The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be passed on to his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.” We know that when God chose to set aside those whom would serve the people in God’s name, they were anointed. And it might surprise you to know that we are all called to serve. Anointing typically would have been by the sharing of liturgy that included a covenant relationship and the placing, pouring or sprinkling of oil and/ or water over that person. This anointing symbolized as an outward sign of the inward act of the Holy Spirit on this person.

As time continued in the history of the Hebrew people, anointing of all of the chosen people in one form or another took place. Often this would have occurred at the circumcision ceremony for young men and at or about the same time for young women, within the first few years of their birth. And then at the age of maturity they would come to the temple for Bar Mitzvah, or the coming of age, when children are considered to be adults and the covenant relationship with God truly begins. As part of the cleansing rituals before entering into a temple Hebrew people would come and wash themselves. Often this would be in pools located just outside the temple in which they would wash themselves, sometimes immersing themselves in order to be cleansed and purified.

When it comes to baptism, there are two questions that are asked more than any other. “Do I need to be baptized?” And the other is, “I was baptized when I was an infant and so do I need to be immersed to be saved?” The first question is interesting. The answer really depends on where you are in your spiritual journey. Have you given your life to Christ, professing your faith in him as Lord and Savior? If the answer is yes I have, then the answer to the baptism question is that you probably do not need to be baptized. But with a caveat! Even Jesus was baptized as an obedience of faith. Did he need to be baptized? Probably not in the sense that he had committed no sin but some scholars would suggest that being born human meant that he too was born with the taint of original sin. And in that he could be tempted just as we are. In fact we believe Jesus to be fully human, experiencing the sorrows and joys we do, but also the temptations that we experience. John the Baptizer comes onto the scene and most scholars would point to Mark’s belief that he is the “voice in the wilderness” that comes to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. Early drawings of John the Baptist show him standing in the waters of the Jordan River, baptizing those who had come to receive forgiveness as they repented of their sins. Into this picture comes Jesus. Many will ask why Jesus would need to be baptized. The answer may lie in our understanding of obedience more than necessity. That we believe Jesus to be pure of sin goes without saying. So Jesus, out of a sense of obedience to the will of God, comes to be baptized. And in that sets the example for you and me to be baptized. Do you need to be baptized if you have Jesus in your heart, have committed your life to him and are being transformed by the Holy Spirit? Probably not, but to follow Jesus lead is not a bad way to go. 

The second question has divided denominations. It focuses more on an understanding of baptism than on the method even though it is the method of baptism that is at issue. When we look back at the cleansing rituals of the early Hebrew people, they were done a variety of ways, including self-immersion prior to entering into the Temple. But we also know from historical evidence that a shell was used to pour water over the heads of those being Baptized (see By the Water and the Spirit by Gayle Felton). Felton tells us, “Sprinkling expresses both the imagery of cleansing (Ezekiel 36:25-27) and of setting apart for service of God (Exodus 29:21)”[i] We also see evidence in Acts that baptism was for the whole family. Our understanding of infant baptism comes from this scriptural reference and infant baptism was practiced in early Christian circles. In Baptism remember that we believe that God is at work. And because baptism is an act of God, not an act of humans, the method and the age are not relevant to the practice. In fact, it was not until the 1600’s with the Anabaptist that the method of baptism became a dividing issue. So whether you were baptized as an infant, a young adult or an adult and whether you were baptized by immersion, sprinkling or pouring, God did not make a mistake in your baptism and it does not need to be redone a certain way. The second part of the question relates to salvation. Baptism does not provide our salvation. Our profession of faith, whether at the time of baptism or at the time of confirmation in the Methodist church, proclaims for the world that we have accepted Jesus in our life. It is that moment that we accept the gift that God is offering to us and it is only through that grace that we inherit the gift of eternal life. But it is not a single event in our lifetime, but the event begins a lifetime of faith. As United Methodist people we believe at that moment we are justified and we continue to transform through the power of the Holy Spirit towards perfection.

Today we have the opportunity to remember our baptism. What God has done does not need to be redone. Baptism is God’s grace, an outward sign of an inward spiritual change. And so today you may come forward and dip your hands in the water, place water on your forehead of simply remember that God’s grace has prevailed in your life. I asked earlier if you knew that you only had a short time till you stood before Jesus if that would change how you are leading your life. Today is a day of new beginnings, new commitments and renewal of your life.

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[i] Felton, Gayle, 2006, By Water and the Spirit, page 20