Baptism of our Lord
On the first Sunday after the feast day of Epiphany we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord Jesus. There was a time when this day was a bigger celebration than Christmas at least in the early Church. And, although any day is a good day for a baptism, this is one of the days when it is particularly appropriate for a baptism and a time for each one of us to consider baptism and what it means.
When you hear this account of Jesus’ baptism from Matthew, the immediate question that
comes to mind is, “Why? Why is Jesus of all people being baptized?” I mean, he is the Son of God, right? And his cousin, John the Baptist, is baptising people as an act of repentance, to wash away their sins. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God is sinless, right? Even John himself is confused. John says, “Hey wait a minute Cousin Jesus, why are you coming to me, you should be baptising me.” But of course Jesus explains it all immediately by saying to John, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Sure, that explains it Jesus. Crystal clear.
As far as sacraments go, I don’t know that there is any way for me to explain baptism to
the point that we understand it, at least in the sense of understanding that the 21st century mind defines understanding. Jesus isn’t explaining anything to John, he’s just saying, “Hey, let’s go along with God’s plan. Let’s cooperate with what God is doing here, ok.” And John, he shrugs his shoulders and says ok.
Actually, John’s baptism for repentance had less to do with washing away sin, and more
to do with the fuller understanding of repentance which is giving oneself the chance for a new start. Leaving one life behind and starting afresh. That’s what Jesus was doing and it’s probably a better understanding of what we’re doing in repentance and baptism as well.
Yeah, understanding, we get it in bits and snatches. If someone offers you understanding
in a complete package, fully consumable right now, for $19.95, it’s probably a lie. I can
remember having it all figured out, and I’m sure there are some of you here today who have it all figured out, and that works pretty good for awhile until life, until enough LIFE comes into play and hits you like a bus out there and you instantaneously know that you don’t understand much; you just thought you did. And if you’re really lucky, while you're lying there on the side of the road, one of us who has been hit by the bus repeatedly will come along and assure you that, yeah, it hurts, but it’s going to be okay. You’re going to survive and life will continue even though you don’t have it all figured out.
So, baptism, whether it’s Jesus’ or your own, I can’t say you’re going to understand it, but you can experience it. Being plunged into the dark, cold waters of death and being raised again to a new life, a new start, you can experience that and it will make a difference, ... in fact, it can make all the difference in your life.
Maybe the most stark, cold depiction of baptism, at least that I can think of, is that scene in the original Godfather movie. The Corleone family is gathered in a private family baptism, probably like on a Tuesday afternoon, in the local parish church and it’s a beautiful scene with the baby and the priests and the family, but then all of that is juxtaposed against the these flashing scenes of these Mafia hit men doing the bidding of Michael Corleone by murdering people. Cold and stark and incredibly effective and it works artistically and dramatically because you’ve got this innocent infant being baptized in the Church at the font, and at the same time you’re witnessing these dark, evil murders. But oddly enough, at a very different level and unintentional to the director’s purpose, the scene works at a theological level because beyond innocent newborn babies, and loving family gatherings, and the beautiful heirloom lace baptismal gown, baptism is as cold and stark as the water one is plunged into which is probably why we should immerse the candidates... and it is about death.
“Oh, for goodness sakes, Father Dennis, just hush.” Can’t we just stick to the pretty scene
with the baby?” “Do you have to bring in the D word?” Of course, whenever I think of baptism, I inevitably remember that story that John Westerhoff tells of witnessing a baptism in rural Argentina many years ago. The congregation is on its knees as the service begins, and they are singing a Good Friday hymn, sort of a funeral dirge. As the procession begins, the father of the child to be baptized comes down the center aisle of the church carrying a child's coffin. His wife is behind him in the procession, carrying a pail of water from the family well. Godparents carry the baby up toward the altar wrapped only in a serape. The father puts the coffin on the altar. The mother pours the water into the coffin. And the godparents hand the child over to the priest. The priest asks the parents and godparents the required questions; puts the same oil used in last rites on the child's skin; takes the baby, holds the baby's nose closed and immerses the child in the coffin. "You are drowned," says the priest, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." As the child begins to cry, the priest holds up the child before the congregation and says, "And you are resurrected that you might live and serve the Lord." At this point the congregation leaps up and begins to sing an Easter hymn.
You really want to live your life fully, one hundred per cent? Face death. Get eyeball to
eyeball with the reality that each one of us will die. Carpe Deum? You want to seize life? Allow yourself to be buried with Jesus in that cold, dark water and then be raised by the power of resurrection. Understand it? No. Experience it? Yes. And trust me, you won’t have any problemletting go, being freed from all the stuff, all that is put on us or we put upon ourselves in this life, that simply doesn’t matter, that keeps us from living fully. Amen.
The Rev. Dennis Campbell
Interim Priest at All Saints’ Episcopal Church
