This morning, we hear about the baptism of Jesus. Many of you will know that I really like baptism; it’s a sacrament of initiation and inclusion and involvement. It’s a holy time.
From conversations I’ve had, I know I’m not the only one who enjoys baptisms. The days, the concept, the connection. Baptism is important; it is special; it is deeply spiritual. And it’s significant enough in the spiritual life of the church that we re-visit baptism on a regular basis.
Because in baptism, we are blessed with a beautiful sense that connects time and space, it connects people and communities, it connects earth and heaven.
In baptism, we are finding the comfort of the familiar,
combined with the excitement of something new.
The comfortable, and the exciting.
The familiar, and the new.
It’s wonderful – and wondrous.
Baptism fills us with expectation and anticipation; every time we go to a baptism we engage in the activity and the hope; we return to the joy of our past experiences, and the anticipation of the future.
The promises we make during a baptism are promises for everyone in the community –
They are being made on our own behalf, and on behalf of others.
They are for the people immediately being baptised, but also for those who are baptised where we cannot attend (through time or space or COVID)…
This is the same way people made promises on our behalf.
For in baptism, intentionality is the key: it’s not about the human result (godparents and congregations shift, situations change, etc.). In baptism, we all come together in a spiritual connection that is bigger and better than anything we humans can do alone.
This is why baptisms are not done in secret; they are a divine party that celebrates the strength of God’s family, the breadth of the community of the faithful.
And in the reading this morning from the Acts of the Apostles, we see that the reception of the Holy Spirit is an essential component of the Christian sacrament of baptism;
Not just because the Spirit’s incoming is a blessing, but because it reminds us that the movement of God is not in our control.
And this is a GOOD thing! It is a liberating reality. It is a joyous truth:
We do not dominate the Spirit; rather we dance within her.
We are energised by her presence.
We are blessed by her ethereal existence.
And we are called – invited – inspired! To live the faith-filled ministry to which we are called, and for which we specifically ask the Spirit during our sacramental celebration.
As the Apostles teach, Christian baptism is about coming together. It’s about community.
We are not baptised in the name of one individual, or for one thing.
We are baptised in the name of the Triune God: to (as the psalmist this morning invites us) “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength” and to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
For we know that all that is holy is beautiful!
And all that we see has the potential to be holy.
Even the most simple and accessible of things – like water – can be holy. And IS beautiful. And carries within it the power to convey the grace of God.
All of our sacraments – those tangible things that speak of unimaginable grace and divinity – all of our sacraments involve water.
And they all stem from the first sacrament we receive: the blessing of baptism.
So we who have been baptised: it was a lovely day, I’m sure; there may be photos, and depending on our age we may or may not remember it.
And: the greatness of this good news is that our baptism is not limited to that one day.
We live our baptism as a life-long celebration and commitment to a way of living.
Our vows are like all vows, when we make a covenant with God: they are not restricted, they are not temporary, they are not earthly. They don’t have loopholes, they don’t break, there aren’t re-writes.
For they are holy.
AND: they are not sending us out there alone.
Our vows – our covenant –celebrate our involvement within a community. Not just a community that gathered on one day; not just a community that gathers in one space; but the eternal community of all who gather in the name of God: The God who created all of us, the Christ who redeems all of us, the Spirit who sustains and guides all of us.
We: together, as the beloved of God: we make these vows, and we renew these vows; we declare our intention to do our best, and our honesty in knowing that we cannot do it alone – and, to be frank, we wouldn’t want to!
Our vows are done With God’s Help. We cannot do these things by ourselves, we cannot do them on our own as human; we can only engage in them properly if we do so as the community of faithful and faith-filled people.
And in baptism, we honour that we are a part of such a community.
Bound to each other in prayer, bound to the broader Christian family in faith, bound to the unspeakable majesty of God through our very selves.
So I invite you to think deeply about the sacrament of baptism; your own, those you have attended, those you have participated in.
Consider the simplicity of holiness that comes from the everyday presence of water, of oil, of candle.
Ponder the complexity of holiness that comes from the divine presence of the light of Christ, of receiving the Spirit’s gifts, of the assurance of our everlasting place in the family of God.
If you have a glass of water with you, you can drink some, and drink in the memory of the comfortable and the excitement of the potential.
If you have a bowl of water with you, you can immerse your fingers or hands within it, and immerse yourself in the joyful expectation and faith-fuelled anticipation.
For God is with us.
And we are with God.
And we are with each other. For we are the baptised.
So today: let’s celebrate all baptism. We ARE the baptised.
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