Some of you may remember that a little more than a month ago we were talking about how John the Baptist was like the Christmas cookies of religious leaders. He was a bit different from what people heard all year round. He offered something unique, a sense of hope and wonder, that helped to point them, and us, to the hope of Christmas, the coming of the Messiah. Inspired by that hope, people came to him to be baptised. They wanted to experience what he had to offer.
What do you think? How is the baptism we will have today like the baptism John offered back then?
- Sense of community
- Repentance
- Water
There are some similarities, and yet, the baptism we offer has been transformed by the One who comes for baptism in our story today.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.
Jesus showed up on the shore to participate in the community that was building through the baptism John offered. Even though John knew Jesus should be the One to lead the community, he followed Jesus’ lead and baptised him. This allowed John to use the authority he had to help the community understand that Jesus is one of them, he is part of the growing family of faith.
This belonging doesn’t stop with Jesus though. Notice what happens when Jesus is baptised, when Jesus is symbolically welcomed into the community – the Holy Spirit arrives as a dove and the voice of God proclaims: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are involved in the baptism of Jesus. Consequently, God is fully revealed as part of John’s baptismal community through the baptism of Jesus. Everyone who has been baptised by John can now understand that, through Jesus, their family of faith directly connects to God whose love is great enough that God has come to dwell among them. Out of this recognition should come a desire to follow Jesus, learn from him, and allow his presence to further transform their lives. In this way, Jesus’ baptism becomes a fulfillment of the righteousness he suggests to John when he says: "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness."
Building on this foundation, when we baptise in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit using water as John once did, we too are honouring the way in which God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Creator, Redeemer, and Life-Giving Spirit is part of our community, our family of faith. We know that God continually shows up in our lives and challenges us to live and love differently because of what we have seen and heard in the life, death, and resurrection of the One who participated in the baptism of John so long ago. We continue to read the stories and reflect on the messages in ways that should further transform our lives. We meet God in baptism, just as the community so long ago did, and, as such, we experience the wonder and grace of knowing that God continues to embrace each of us saying to us in turn: "You are my child, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
In today’s Gospel we were reminded that the water once washed over Jesus and revealed God’s participation in the family of faith built by John. Inspired by that story, the water will wash over Kennley and Kyleigh as they are baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and we will formally welcome them into the Christian community. As we do so, may we also be reminded that God continues to be part of our family of faith embracing us, challenging us, and loving us in ways that more than we can ask or imagine. This we pray as we sing: Here I am, Lord.