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Scripture Reading:
NRS John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a
leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him,
"Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one
can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3
Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of
God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him,
"How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second
time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered,
"Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being
born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and
what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I
said to you, 'You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where
it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes
from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9
Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus
answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand
these things?
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
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 29th
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
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
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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