Baptized, Beloved, Belonging

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

John the Baptist is standing in a river, where he invited, or rather, challenged people to repent from their sinful ways, and to get immersed in water as a sign of their commitment to change. But never before had water been used to remove sins, or as a symbol of cleansing from sin.

The traditionalists – the priests and the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees – were not pleased with John, and they were keeping a close eye on him. They were worried about more than his ritual of baptism; they were worried about what he was saying. John was repeatedly announcing that someone was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, someone who would challenge the way things are now, and bring in a new way of living and being.

One day, Jesus joined the line of those waiting to be baptized. He came out of the water and was praying. In Luke, Jesus prays when important things are about to happen, and this is an important happening! The Holy Spirit appears like a dove and settles on him, and a voice from heaven speaks, “You are my Son, you are the Beloved, and I am pleased with you.”

… Usually, people ask this question: “Why did Jesus need to be baptized?” The focus is on the assumption that Jesus didn’t have sins, so he didn’t need to be forgiven. But, maybe, when we ask the question that way, we put the focus in the wrong place.

What if the focus should be on the words that are spoken and heard? What if the point of the story is so that Jesus could hear God the Father say, “I love you. You are my beloved. And you are mine.”?

And this question is for us: What if we also get in line to be baptized so we can hear these same words, “I love you. You are beloved. And You are mine.”? And what if the pastor occasionally sprinkles you with water to remind you that God loves you?

… Whenever I have talked with someone about baptizing children, I want to be sure that the baptisms are for the right reasons. Some people want baptism to be like fire insurance – so that if the child dies, they will go to heaven and not the fires of hell. That’s baptism against something.

A better way to think about baptism is that it is for something. Baptism tells us that we belong to God and a community, that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and that we are beloved of God and within that community.

Baptism is done in the midst of a group, because baptism makes us part of that community of faith. Promises are made at the time of baptism. We promise, or our parents first promise for us, to be involved in a faith community and participate in activities that lead us to live like Jesus. The faith community helps us live out our promises.

Baptism recognizes that we bear God’s Holy Spirit within us. God says: “I have called you by name and you are mine.” God says, “Before you were born, I knew you.” When we are baptized, a cross is made on our foreheads. Whether it’s made with water or with oil, the words are the same. “You are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit forever.” That cross, that seal, never washes away.

Mostly, in baptism, we get to hear the words Jesus heard from the same God the Father: “I love you. You are beloved. And you are mine.”

And now you’re going to ask the question, “But what about forgiveness being connected to baptism?” Everyone needs to know they are loved and belong to someone. And everyone needs to know they are forgiven.

Think about this: When we love someone, it’s easy to forgive them. In the same way, since God loves us, and forgives us out of that love, we know we are forgiven. When we have done something that leaves us feeling guilty, we often think the person we have hurt can’t forgive us. But where there is love, there is forgiveness. And since we know through our baptism that God loves us, it follows that God forgives us.

… Love and forgiveness are both involved in this story. In the 1970s, one of the most popular TV shows was All in the Family. Archie Bunker was a gruff man with a deep love for his family that he was reluctant to demonstrate. Archie and Edith had a daughter named Gloria. She and her husband Michael had a baby named Joey.

It frustrated Archie that Michael was an avowed atheist and refused to have the baby baptized. But Archie was determined, and one day he took little Joey for a walk to the church. After he insulted the priest in a dozen ways and the priest still refused to do the baptism, Archie took Joey to the font and baptized Joey.  Let’s watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1cp9hZwWZA&ab_channel=novusCatholic

Archie might think that he needs to get Joey baptized because that is what is customary. “We’ve always done it that way.” But I think there is more to it than tradition. Deep in his heart, Archie knows he is loved by God, and he wants that for his grandson, even if he rarely pays attention to God. And Archie trusts that God will forgive him for doing this unauthorized baptism.

This week, I hope you will remember that you are baptized and beloved and forgiven, and filled with God’s Holy Spirit forever. Amen