Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3:13-17

Each year the second or third Sunday after Christmas one of the Scripture lessons is about Jesus’ baptism. It is instructive for us to explore meaning of Jesus’ baptism for our lives.

Some form of baptism is an integral part of many religions from antiquity to the present day. In ancient Judaism, baptism was a rite of passage into Judaism for those who were converting to Judaism. Baptism is a rite in every denomination of Christianity.  The meaning and significance of baptism varies in denominations. In some denominations, like the United Church of Christ, it is identified as a sacrament.  John Baille has the best definition of sacrament for me.  A sacrament is an outward, visible sign of the inward, invisible grace of God at work in a person’s life.  Other denominations identify baptism as an ordinance.  But whatever the denomination, baptism is a significant rite of passage.  It serves as a visible, tangible marking of entrance into the reign and rule of God.  There have been those, and perhaps still are those, who claim that a person cannot enter the reign of God, often meaning heaven, without having been baptized.  This is an erroneous teaching both because it postpones the reign of God to some other life and because it suggests that unless some water has been applied to people in a certain way they are unacceptable to God.              

Of course, the reason baptism is so significant in Christianity is because Jesus was baptized. It is instructive to know the context of Jesus’ baptism. Thirty years after the death of Jesus, several people considered it worthwhile to write about some of the events that occurred in Jesus' life.  His baptism is one of those events.  Reporting the baptism of Jesus indicates its importance.  Obviously the event was important to Jesus and perhaps he described the event to his disciples.  If Jesus discussed his baptism with his disciples, this would have underscored the value of the event for those who decided to compile written records of Jesus' life.  It is reasonable to conclude that some of his family and friends witnessed his baptism.  They may have given early followers their impressions and interpretations.  In whatever manner the descriptions of this event were first formu­lated, the church has interpreted and reinterpreted the meaning of Jesus' baptism for two thousand years.          

The primary reason that baptism is a part of Christianity is because Jesus was baptized.  I’m not suggesting that if Jesus had not been baptized that baptism would not be a part of Christianity but it certainly would have much less significance and importance.  Some place more emphasis on Jesus’ baptism than others.  Obviously, it was an important event to Matthew, Mark and Luke because each of them writes about it in his Gospel.  Apparently, Jesus’ baptism was not significant to John because he doesn’t mention it in his Gospel.  Of the three who write about the event, Matthew has the most to say.  All three of them, by the way they order events in their Gospels, identify Jesus’ baptism as the inauguration of his ministry.  The meaning and mystery of Jesus’ baptism have been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout the centuries and we continue doing that.       

Through the centuries the mode or method of baptism has varied from immersion to pouring to sprinkling.  The timing of baptism has also varied from infants to adults and all ages in between.  The meaning attributed to baptism has influenced the method and timing of baptism and vice versa.  For many of us our families of origin probably have influenced our understanding of the meaning and mystery of baptism more than any other single factor. 
           
A couple of years ago a parent of one of our Confirmands told me they were having a discussion about baptism and its meaning and she wondered what my thoughts were about baptism.  I responded, “I’ve been interpreting and reinterpreting the meaning of baptism all my life.”  Perhaps you have too.  You may not have been conscious that was what you were doing, but just think about it for a moment.  What does baptism mean to you?  Is this how you have always understood baptism or has your thinking changed through the years. 
           
Here is how my thinking has changed.  I grew up in the Southern Baptist denomination.  My parents were Southern Baptists, my grandparents were Southern Baptists.  I earned degrees from a college and two seminaries that were supported by mission gifts from congregations that were members of the Southern Baptist Convention. 
           
There are multiple Baptist denominations but they hold in common the conviction of believer’s baptism.  This conviction states that individuals make their own decisions to be baptized and those decisions coincide with a commitment to be a disciple of Christ and the conviction that a person is lost and needs to be saved.  In this line of reasoning salvation is the result of belief in Jesus Christ and that belief is autographed by baptism.  Immersion is the method of baptism in Baptist congregations, although that hasn’t always been the method, and baptism by immersion symbolizes the burying of life when one was not committed as a follower of Christ and the raising of the person to follow Christ.  Baptism by immersion also symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. 
           
Sermons in my home church emphasized the importance, even necessity, of each person making a faith commitment linked with the threat and fear that if a person did not make that commitment and be baptized, then the person would spend eternity in hell.  This emphasis grew out of the Great Awakening and fit well with the frontier mentality of rugged individualism.  Early on in this country, this emphasis was directed toward adults and baptism often was referred to as adult baptism.  Part of this emphasis also was in contrast to and competition with those congregations that practiced infant baptism. During the Great Awakening serious debates were waged by leaders of various Christian denominations.  The debates served as a means to distinguish differences among denominations. 
           
During the Great Awakening my Baptist forbearers in this country continued to reinterpret the meaning and importance of baptism as a sign of one’s faith commitment of being a disciple of Christ and a child of God.  It was interpreted that anybody who knew right from wrong had arrived at the age of accountability, was responsible for his or her actions, was guilty of having done wrong, sinned, and needed to be forgiven and to be baptized to wash away their sins.  By that time baptism was being interpreted to mean being forgiven, loved, and accepted by God.  Not to be baptized was interpreted as rejecting God’s love and forgiveness and being defiant to God.   
           
The result of this emphasis was that those who were baptized in Baptist churches got younger every year.  I was a part of that movement when in 1955 at the age of eight I made an individual faith decision and was baptized. By the time I left the Southern Baptist denomination near the end of the last century, there were some congregations and some ministers who were claiming that children as young as four years old were making this adult faith decision and they were baptizing them. 
           
Obviously, I am at a very different place in my interpretation of baptism today, so are a lot of others as well.  My understanding has evolved.  As I reflected on the meaning of baptism I grew up with, I discovered that it was infected with flaws, inconsistent with the earliest meaning of baptism, and erroneous about what was being communicated about God.  As a result of that discovery, I have been interpreting and reinterpreting baptism most of my life. 
           
As I moved from the Baptist denomination to the United Church of Christ, some colleagues, friends, and family wondered how I would be able to deal with the different interpretation and meaning of baptism.  Actually, I had arrived at my current understanding of baptism much earlier as I talked with people in Baptist congregations who wanted to be baptized and as I talked with parents of infants who wanted some type of worship rite of passage for their newborn children. 
           
Jesus' baptism was a beginning. The church clearly has seen Jesus' baptism as his inauguration, commissioning, and ordination to ministry.  In this regard Jesus' baptism was a beginning.  It was not an ending nor was it an end in itself.  Jesus' baptism was an outward expression of his inner commitment.
           
Baptism has become a symbolic way of saying, "I am ready to grow.  I willingly entrust myself to God's creative power to grow me beyond where I am."  Thus baptism has become the signal of the dawning of a person's faith in God which completes the covenant relationship.
           
Jesus' baptism signaled his commitment of faith in his relationship with God which was a consummation of the covenant relationship.  His baptism pointed in the direction in which Jesus was marching.  He was setting sail on a course of life.  It was a course that turned out to be very difficult and disturbing but a course on which he was willing to remain in spite of the many offers he was given to live differently.
           
One of the joys of my work is meeting with parents to plan for the baptism of their child.  Invariably, in some form, the parents state the reason they want their children to be baptized is to introduce them to a faith community where they can learn about God and where they can grow in their understanding of who God is and how they can live their lives loving and caring for others.  We also discuss that baptism is something we are doing for the children but there will come a time when the children must make their own decisions about the direction of their lives, whether they will continue on a journey of faith and service to God or decide not to travel that path. 
           
From the very beginning of a child’s life when we are baptizing that child we are pointing to a time when that child will be confronted with a decision similar to the decision that Jesus made when he was baptized.  Jesus’ baptism signified the course of life on which he was embarking.  At some point every child confirms or rejects his baptism because it is a decision that each person must make for himself or herself. 
           
What about your baptism?  What does is mean to you?  How have you interpreted and reinterpreted your baptism?  What has been the course of life on which you set sail by interpreting and reinterpreting your baptism?  What course corrections have you made as a result of reflection and reexamination of the meaning of baptism?
           
At this point in our lives it really is not important when we were baptized, why we were baptized or how we were baptized.  What is important is the interpretation we give to our baptisms.
           
I will go even a step further and say that it really is not important if you have not been baptized.  What is important is the direction you are living, the course of life on which you have set sail.  And if that course is tied directly to your relationship with God and you want a specific way to mark the direction your journey is taking, baptism is a powerful symbol and sacrament.  We use water.  Water is essential for life.  Baptism is a way to act out that God’s presence is living water that nourishes our lives.  Water is used for cleansing. Using water in baptism is a way of acting out that God’s love is continually cleansing our lives.
           
For me there is meaning and mystery in baptism, in my baptism, in the baptism of children that I baptize, and in your baptism.  What about you?  What is the meaning and mystery of baptism to you? How is the meaning and mystery of baptism reflected in what you do, how you live, and how you relate to people around you?
           
Baptism is a way to act out that we are never cleaner and fresher than when we are in the presence of God.  Baptism is a way to act out that there is absolutely nothing we have done or ever can do that will separate us from the love of God or from being loved and cared for by God. May the meaning and mystery of baptism continue to inform our lives. As we interpret and reinterpret the meaning of baptism may we grow in our faith and in our wisdom and knowledge of God and God’s abiding love and care for us.