December for our family is a month of birthdays. My wife, two of my sons and of course
Jesus. Birthday celebrations of all
sorts dominate the calendar for the month of December. Now it’s January. The pace is a little slower. The weather is colder, the roads are harder
to travel, the schedule is lighter.
January is a good month for reflection and reassessment. How did I do?
How well did I handle the challenge of the holidays? Where did I fall
down and where did I succeed? How can I correct my path? How can I repair the damage? How can I grow from what I have learned? How
can I use my life in the coming year to Honor God?
I wrote a couple paragraphs on Facebook this past week
reflecting on my baptism. I wrote a
letter to Dr. Neil Bintz, the pastor that baptized me. I explained in the letter that I posted it on
line because, well, Dr. Bintz passed away some years ago and I have never met
him outside of my baptism as 5 month old baby.
I have no what he looks like and I have only talked to one person that
knew him personally. And unfortunately
that person has passed away as well. I
would have liked to meet him but the fact is that it wasn’t him that did the
baptizing it was the Holy Spirit. It’s just that Dr. Bintz was the one who was
the willing servant of God who stood in that place and said those words in
front of that congregation. It was my parents who took vows on my behalf. It is God who loves me, who poured out his
blessing on me but it was the loving arms of that congregation and many more
people throughout my life who have acted out that love. For that I thanked Dr. Bintz a man I have
never had a conversation with. A man
whose understanding of the scriptures I have never been exposed to. A man who’s
life I know nothing about.
What if I find out he lived out a life of Christ like perfection
in love? What if I found out that he was
a complete fraud? Does that change the
love of God for me? Does that change my
response to God’s love? Absolutely not.
Think about your own baptism. Who baptized you? Does the character of the one who baptized
you shape your spirituality today? Were you baptized as an infant or later in
life? Was it by sprinkling, pouring or
emersion, and does that matter to you?
Where did it happen? Was it here
in this place? Was in another church or at a camp or at a lake or a river? I want you to ponder your baptism story
because it is your beginning. Your baptism
is your initiation into the family of God.
Mine happened at Mt. Pleasant
First United Methodist. I have been back
to that sanctuary many times. The large
glass windows on one side and the brick wall on the other side. The large chancel area. The Narthex. Even the
entryway and the parking lot, all these places hold many memories for me, both
joyous and painful ones. That place is part of my spiritual journey. That place is a part of my walk with Jesus.
In today’s scripture we read about the place and events of
Jesus’ baptism. It was at a river. There were probably a lot of people around.
John was teaching and baptizing. He was
preparing people for the coming of the messiah.
Then one day Jesus showed up. They knew each other, probably. Their mothers were cousins. Mary stayed with Johns mom Elizabeth shortly
after she found out she was pregnant. And Elizabeth was already about 6 months
pregnant with John, so Jesus and John were about the same age.
Jesus gave himself to be baptized. It doesn’t seem like the
whole conversation was recorded.
Elizabeth was quite advanced in age when she had John so it is likely
that she was gone at this point. But
this was a gathering of faithful people right?
Like a church? If I know anything about church folk they like to chat
and get caught up. So I imagine John was
asking how Mary was doing. How are Jesus
younger brothers doing now that Jesus left the family business, all the while
knowing that Jesus is the son of God, that his younger cousin is the savior of
the world? It was a very special place
that God put John. To know Christ intimately
as both family and as savior.
Jesus went to the
Jordan to be baptized by John. John,
knowing who Jesus is through and through protested, he thought that Jesus ought
to baptize him. I would do the same. With the knowledge that John had of Jesus
wouldn’t you have the same resistance? Jesus
didn’t need to be baptized; there was no old nature to cast off. There was no sin that needed to be forgiven. But Jesus made the public statement that day that
he belonged to God. Not only was he making a statement but he was sanctifying
his earthly existence. He gave himself
over to God and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
Then came those words.
“This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
What did that sound like? Was it booming from the clouds?
Was it as if someone was yelling from a distance?
Have you ever heard from God? Have you ever been aware of God’s will in a
specific way? Have you ever noticed God’s
action and working in the world? How did
it come to you? Was it a booming voice
from the clouds? Or was it knowledge
that came to you? Or a feeling or an…epiphany?
However it happened. It was clear that Jesus was God’s son
and God is well pleased.
Do you know that God says the same about you?
You have been adopted and a child of God and our Lord Jesus
Christ gives his righteousness to you. When God sees you sees the holiness of
Jesus Christ. Whatever sin you may have
committed, he is willing and eager to forgive that sin when you come to Him in
confession. God will dwell in you by the Holy Spirit when you become his child.
Baptism is the door we walk through to have this wonderful relationship with
God. So today we reaffirm our
baptism. If you have never been baptized
I invite you to come and receive the free gift of God’s grace. If you have been
baptized you need never be baptized again.
God’s grace has been poured out on you and you are a child of God. Paul says in the book of Romans that nothing
can separate you from God’s love. So why
would we reaffirm our baptism? God remains faithful to God’s half of the covenant; we are
not always faithful to our promises. Our half of the covenant is to confess
Christ as our Savior, trust in his grace, serve him as Lord in the church, and
carry out his mission against evil, injustice, and oppression.
The breath of life is in us. When we were born and we drew our first breath,
we have the life in us that God had granted.
That breath is a daily reality. Every day we celebrate that first breath
with each successive breath. We celebrate
that first breath yearly on our birthday. We blow out the candles on the cake
to show the breath of life is in us. We appreciate
life on a daily basis but that day is special.
On the day we were baptized we put to death our old nature;
we share in Jesus death to the body new life as a child of God. Every day we celebrate being a child of
God. But on this day the day of the
Lords baptism we should celebrate our baptism as sort of our Spiritual birthday
party since our life is in Him.
The vows that we took at baptism reflect the work that Jesus
did on earth and calls us to carry on on his behalf. When you read the words
try to envision what they will mean for you in the year to come. How can you
live into these vows in a more intentional way?
So how is it with you today?
May you always know that you are God’s beloved child and that in you he
is well pleased?
 |
| Today marks the 2-year anniversary of our little man coming to live with us. I am so full of gratitude to God for this blessing. |
No comments:
Post a Comment