You Are Mine

You Are Mine
It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve all been together…A few weeks since we celebrated the birth of Jesus…And last week marked the official end of the Christmas season…It was also the first Sunday of the New Year which we began with prayer to listen to what God had to say to us as individuals and as a church…I am interested to hear what God has spoken to you as I am hopeful to share with you where I heard and still hear God speaking…If you would like to share with me, let’s set up a time to share with one another, or there will be much time to share together as we continue on through the year and prepare for our Lenten series, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church. It will be an exciting time to share in conversation, prayer, and leaning on God’s grace.
As we continue on in sharing our story and following Jesus’ story, we come this morning to the story of Jesus’ baptism. It may seem a little odd that we come from celebrating Jesus’ birth just a few weeks ago to seeing Jesus as an adult coming to be baptized by his cousin John…Well, we have very little information about Jesus’ childhood found in the 4 Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John…Jesus’ childhood seems not to be as important to share as Jesus’ teachings and preachings. Most of the Gospels have a story of Jesus’ baptism in them and usually pretty close to the beginning of the Gospel…The story of Jesus’ baptism for this morning comes from the gospel of Matthew.
It seems like there isn’t much to the passage…It’s four verses, but in those four verses, there is a lot happening! We start the passage with Jesus and & John talking…Can you imagine what John must be thinking? Here comes Jesus, his cousin…Whom he knows is the Messiah…He knows that Jesus is greater than him and he’s been preaching that. And yet, here Jesus is in front of him…And he tried to not do it…He didn’t feel worthy enough…John tells Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you!” It’s an understandable reaction to have…I mean he is Jesus…Maybe some of us have felt some of the same reaction—that we’re not worthy of Jesus…But, it’s not true, because in that passage where John tells Jesus that he’s not worthy, Jesus argues with him and tells him that it’s okay. And John baptizes Jesus…
There are three signs when Jesus is baptized…The heavens opened up, the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove, and God spoke…And we have this amazing story of Jesus and baptism…Full of richness and grace and beauty…So, what? What does it mean for us?
Well, we celebrate the sacrament of baptism…What does baptism actually mean for us? There have been countless conversations over the last hundreds of years about what baptism actually means…Some of the conversations still remain, but the overall idea of baptism is pretty constant…In the United Methodist Church, the General Conference, which is the only body that can speak for the United Methodist Church, approved the document, By Water and the Spirit which is the United Methodist understanding of baptism as a sacrament of the church. A Sacrament is a physical action or response to a spiritual promise or response. In the United Methodist Church, there are two sacraments that are recognized—communion and baptism. These are significant to individuals, but also to the Church as they are sacred moments that have been passed through the ages of the Church.
In baptism, it must also be recognized that there is a confession of faith and a covenant to continue along in that faith journey. Infants are baptized and incorporated into the life of the church and are raised until they are given the opportunity to confirm the vows taken on their behalf at their baptism. There are creeds recited and vows spoken that are gifts from the early Christian church, but are still important today. In addition to the confession of faith either by the candidate for baptism or by the sponsors, there is also an expectation of incorporation into the community. This is also a time for the Church to remember their baptismal vows and engage in renewing their covenant to the Christian community.
Every time there is a baptism, it is not only for the one who is being baptized, but for the entire community to renew their baptismal vows. We as a community of believers take on the responsibility of growing with the newly baptized…To encourage them in their faith, to take responsibility for their journey…And to welcome them into the community…The community of believers, or the Church. When we are baptized, we are welcomed into Christ’s Church. How amazing is that?? That we are welcomed to work with Christ in the world!
In our baptism, we are incorporated into the community of believers, we are initiated into the Christian Church, we are commissioned into ministry, and we are born anew…Born of water and the Spirit…In the waters of baptism, we are reminded of many different waters, as our liturgy reminds us…The water of a womb, the waters of the flood, the waters of the parting of the water…Water was used for many different cleansing rituals throughout the Old Testament…In the United Methodist Church, it doesn’t matter how much water is used…Immersion which is being fully under water and coming up which reminds us of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sprinkling which is the most common method in the United Methodist Church and also invokes images of cleansing from the Old Testament, Pouring which is the pouring of water on the head of the person and evokes images of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit…Each mode of water has rich imagery and symbolism, but it doesn’t matter how much water is used…What matters is that we are born of water and the Spirit…
So much happens in baptism…It’s so amazing to see how God works and how much God invites us to do with God! This morning we’ll have the opportunity to remember our baptism…Now we may have been baptized as infants and don’t necessarily remember the exact moment, but we remember that we have accepted God’s grace…That we have been born of water and the Spirit…That we have been initiated into Christ’s church, that we are incorporated into the community of believers, and we are commissioned into ministry...That we join with God…That have been declared worthy…That we have been declared individuals of sacred worth…That God has claimed us…That God has said, “you are mine and I am well pleased with you.”