Sidney UMC - Baptism of the Lord Sunday - 01/07/24 - Sermon - “Baptism and the Christian Church!”

                                   Sunday 01/07/24 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Baptism and the Christian Church!”                     

Old Testament Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5                                      

New Testament Scripture: Acts 19:1-7

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:4-11

         How many of us here have ever went to a business, a store, and or an organization, and while we there we tried seeking out someone who worked or served there? Maybe we were in department store and wanted to ask an employee or a manager a question. Common questions could be, “excuse me, what aisle is the candy in?” “Excuse me, can you tell me where the clothing section is?

          Oddly enough, in various stores I have been in, I have literally had people approach me and ask me these questions. I usually just smile politely and say something like, “I am sorry sir, I don’t work here, but the candy aisle is aisle three”. Maybe I look like a guy that works in a store, because sometimes someone will literally just walk up to me and ask me where the bread aisle is!

          You know how I generally know how someone works at Walmart though? They have on a Walmart shirt and or Walmart nametag. So, to the one guy that thought I was a Walmart manager once, I did not have on a Walmart name tag or a Walmart shirt. This is something we often likely don’t think about, but when we go to many restaurants, businesses, and etc., the employes sometimes have on attire and or nametags that tell us that they are part of the business.

          Beyond just businesses, many organizations have distinguishing clothes, pins, nametags, rings, etc. This is how we know who they work for, and what business they are attached to. At the Sidney Fire Department, where I am the Chaplain, many fire fighters wear Sidney Fire Department jackets, shirts, polos, hats, etc. If you come to a Sidney Fire Department event or meeting, you know pretty quickly who the members are! The real question though, is why do businesses and organizations do this? Are they just walking advertisements? Are the folks that work at a department store that wear official store shirts and nametags indirectly stating that they are better than us? No, of course not. They are letting us know who they are. It is the mark, the designation, or the symbol of who the person is, in the place you are in.

          Why do I as your pastor generally were a shirt and tie or clergy collar shirt on Sunday, with a cross? Not because I need to dress fancy, but I want to show all of you that I take my calling very seriously. I am not trying to impress, but I want to look like I am pastor who took the time to be ready to lead worship. Crosses are symbols, as well. I wouldn’t necessarily call then “nametags” though, as you don’t have to be a Christian to wear a cross. I have met some people that wear a cross necklace or a crucifix that have told me that they weren’t really religious, but that they like to wear the cross or the crucifix.

          What then historically is the mark, the symbol, or the nametag of a Christian? In most Christian churches and denominations, the mark of a Christian, of being part of the church on earth, is baptism. Unfortunately, we don’t where a uniform or a nametag around verifying that were where baptized. Yet in some Christian traditions you might where a special outfit like a white robe to be baptized. After the baptism however, you take off that special outfit.

          If as Christians we are walking through a store, a business, or an organization, people cannot always tell we are Christians. I mean, we generally don’t have a Christian uniform on. I know that the Salvation Army pastors have a uniform, and some Christians might where Christian shirts, necklaces or other things that show their faith. In general, though, the thing that sets Christians apart from Jews and people of other faiths is, is our faith in Christ Jesus, and baptism. Only our faith in Jesus Christ saves us, and only through Christ are we offered salvation, but the vast majority of churches require baptism to be a member of the church.

          We can profess our faith in Jesus Christ, we can wear Christian shirts, cross necklaces, and or crucifixes, but generally in most churches this does not make us a member of the church on earth. The criminal on the cross that accepted Christ at Christ’s crucifixion was saved and given eternal salvation, but he was not part of the church on earth. To be fair, the church on earth did not start until the day of Pentecost, but baptism is the way you become part of the universal church on earth. It is the mark, the symbol, and the way by which Christians are brought into the earthly community of faith. Baptism therefore, matters!

          In some Christian traditions there is no water baptism, but instead there is the teaching of being baptized by the Holy Spirit. In these traditions, the baptism a Christian receives is not water, but the Holy Spirit alone. In fact, in Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist says of Jesus:

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11, NRSV).

          Jesus also says in Matthew 28:19-20 however:

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age”        (Mt. 28:19-20, NRSV).

          Due to scriptures like Matthew 28:19-20, and reinforced by our gospel of Mark 1:4-11 scripture for this morning, most Christian churches and denominations have some sort of water baptism. Again, baptism is not essential for salvation in Christ, but it is the way by which we become part of the Christian Church, and further receive the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit. Like some other Christian churches and denominations, in the United Methodist Church, we believe that baptism is a sacrament and God’s grace and love is poured out on us through the baptism. God’s grace moves in a special way, and in our tradition, we make a covenant to teach, love, and care for a child until they accept Christ for themselves, or during a believer baptism we covenant to love and care for the person, as well.

          Maybe I am wrong then, but I can’t think of any Christian Church that will let you join outside of water baptism, except churches like the Quakers or Society of Friends, and the Salvation Army. As Jewish baby boys are often circumcised at eight days old as a sign of God’s covenant with Moses, Christians are baptized. Or to put it another way, in the Christian faith, generally speaking, baptism is the new circumcision. It is the mark, the symbol, and way by which we are brought into the church on earth.

          Further, baptism is not just a ritual or a right of passage. It is a deeply spiritual experience. For those who are baptized by immersion, you go into the water with Christ, die to your old self, as Christ died, and you arise from the water as a new creation in Christ. Baptism is an invitation for the movement of the Holy Spirit, God’s grace being bestowed, and someone entering the Christian community on earth.

          I say all of this, on this our Baptism of the Lord Sunday, as this morning Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is baptized by his cousin John the Baptist, in the Jordan River. Why is this significant? It is significant in part, because until Jesus gets baptized, he does not begin his three-year public ministry on earth. Or to put it another way, for the first thirty-years of Jesus’ life he was not publicly spreading his gospel. After getting baptized, depending on the gospel account, Jesus goes right into preaching, healing, loving, forgiving, and calling his disciples, or he first goes through his forty-days of fasting and temptation by the devil in the wilderness. Any way you look at it, the point at which Jesus goes forth publicly as the Messiah is after his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.

In our Book of Genesis 1:1-5 reading for this morning, we hear part of the creation story of darkness and light being separated (Gen. 1:1-5, NRSV). In a similar the gospel of John starts by saying in 1:1-5:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it                    (Jn. 1:1-5, NRSV).

In the creation story in Genesis, and in the beginning of the gospel of John, we hear in both about darkness and light. Further, Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 1 is referred to as the “Word”. In the Greek the “Word” is translated as “Logos,” which is the plural of “Logo”. Many business, stores, and institutions have logos. The United Methodist Church’s logo is the cross and flame. Jesus is not the logo of God, but is God, as he is the plural of logo, “Logos.” Jesus isn’t just a representative of God, not just a worker at the store, but Jesus is the fullness of God. As one source I read talking about Jesus being the word of God, or “logos” in the Greek, it says this:

In Christianity, the Logos (Greek: Λόγος, lit. 'word, discourse, or reason') is a name or title of Jesus Christ, seen as the pre-existent second person of the Trinity. In the Douay–Rheims, King James, New International, and other versions of the Bible, the first verse of the Gospel of John reads:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logos_(Christianity).

          For all of these reasons, some churches and some Christian denominations celebrate Baptism of the Lord Sunday, which is this morning. For it is about Jesus, and our faith in him. For example, in our reading from Acts 19:1-7 for this morning, once again, the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus, with the Ephesians. In this scripture once again, the Apostle Paul finds some of the disciples of Jesus in Ephesus, and he asked them if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized with water. They replied that they didn’t even know what the Holy Spirit was. Further, they said that they were baptized in the baptism of John the Baptist. They repented of there sins and were baptized, but the Baptism of John the Baptist was in preparation for baptism through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-4, NRSV).

          Essentially then, what the Apostle Paul realized was that these disciples in Ephesus were not baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As a result, they did not receive the full spiritual power and blessing of baptism.  Due to this, the Apostle Paul baptized these disciples in Ephesus in the name of the Lord Jesus. The scripture then says that these disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and prophesied. There were about twelve people there all together (Acts 19:5-7, NSRV).

          One way to look at the Book of Acts 19:1-7 reading for this morning, is like this church building. We have three floors, and suppose each floor of this church is a person of God. The disciples in our Book of Acts reading for this morning were baptized in the basement of the church, but they never went to or experienced the first or second floors of this church. As a result, the Book of Acts 19:1-7 for this morning is saying that we need a trinitarian baptism of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, so we can receive the fullness of what God has to offer us, not just one level of three levels of a building.

          This then leads us to our gospel of Mark 1:4-11 reading for this morning, where have one of the accounts of John the Baptist baptizing his cousin Jesus. The gospel lesson begins in Mark 1:1 saying, once again:

⁴ so John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:4-8, NRSV).

          John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus Christ. John the Baptist’s baptism was not a Christian baptism then, but was a baptism to prepare for the baptism Jesus asked us to receive. As it turns out, John the Baptist then baptizes Jesus himself. This is one in whom John the Baptist said he was unworthy to untie the sandals of. So, what happens in our gospel of Mark reading, when John the Baptist baptizes Jesus. It says in Mark 1:9-11 once again this:

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. ¹¹ And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased”    (Mk. 1:9-11, NRSV).

          As Jesus is baptized by John the Baptism, and as he comes up out of the water after being baptized by full immersion, something miraculous happens. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove, and God speaks down that Jesus is his son, and that in him he is well pleased. In this moment the fullness of God the Father, the creator, Christ our redeemer and savior, and the Holy Spirit is present. All three persons of God, all showing the power and the fullness of God.

          The reason therefore that I baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is because not only did Jesus tell us to do this, but because in doing so, we are called to receive the fullness of God, and we are offered sacramental grace. Instead of just being in the basement of the church, we are invited through baptism, to experience all three levels, or all three persons of God. One in three persons, three persons in one God. To receive the fullness of God, is to be changed by the fullness of God.

          This morning, as Jesus comes out of the waters of baptism the power and the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are on full display, and when we get baptized, we call upon all that God is to fill us and change us. This is why “Baptism and the Christian Church” are interconnected and is important. Amen.