First Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7
1Now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 6I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Psalm 29
1Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 3The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is upon the mighty waters. 4The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor. 5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon; 6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox. 7The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire; the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 8The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare. 9And in the temple of the Lord all are crying, “Glory!” 10The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as King forevermore. 11The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.
Second Reading: Romans 6:1-11
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 3:15-22
15As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. 21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Remember Your Baptism
This morning, we did something different, we heard again the promises we received in baptism, and we recommitted ourselves to live by the vows we made when we were confirmed. It’s vitally important that we remember that baptism doesn’t belong to the one who baptizes, or the one who receives baptism. The words of the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to go and baptize, and Jesus’ words in Mark 16, “he who believes and is baptized will be saved” are God’s words, not something commanded by the church. In baptism God speaks, and even though the washing is performed by human hands, it is nevertheless truly God’s own act. In Baptism we have been forgiven, claimed, and named by God. Remember this, in and through Baptism, God knows us by name, and we are His child.
In his book, The Gospel for The Person Who Has Everything, the Rev. Dr. William Willimon tells of a 4-year-old, who was asked what kind of party he wanted for his 5th birthday. He said, “I want everybody to be a king and queen.” So, he and his mother went to work, fashioning silver crowns from cardboard and aluminum foil, purple robes of crepe paper, and royal scepters from sticks painted gold. On the day of the party, each guest was outfitted with these items, so everyone was dressed as a king or a queen. Everyone had a wonderful time. They ate ice cream and cake, they had a procession up and down the block, and then when it was all over, everyone knew it had been a royally wonderful day.
That evening as Clayton was tucked into bed, his mom asked what he wished for when he blew the candles out on the birthday cake. He said, “I wished that everyone, everyone in the whole wide world could be a king and a queen. Not just on my birthday, but every day.” Dr. Willimon closed this story by saying, well Clayton, baptism shows that something very much like that happened one day at a place called Calvary. We, who were nobodies, became somebodies. Those who were no people, became God’s people. The wretched of the earth, became royalty. Keep this image in mind as we consider our baptism this morning.
I firmly believe that each of us, me included, don’t fully consider or appreciate the sacrifices made, nor the gifts given to us, in the waters of Baptism. The Sacrament of Baptism is at the heart of the Christian understanding of life and needs to be constantly remembered. In an unbroken tradition from New Testament days, the church has practiced Baptism. With few exceptions, all churches fundamentally agree that baptism marks the entry into, and the identity of a person within the body of Christ. In baptism, we are crowned a child of God.
We recognize that there are disagreements among Christians about the mode and meaning of baptism, but there’s also some common agreement as well. First, Baptism is God’s work, not ours. I can do nothing to earn it, nor do I deserve it. Second, the water is the sign, alone it does nothing. But when God’s Word is added, it becomes a Sacrament, an outward and visible sign of an inward and a spiritual grace. In the waters of Baptism, we are forgiven and claimed by God. Third, although the scriptures give us few, if any, instructions, all agree that the Sacrament of Baptism is to be taken seriously. Baptism is us dying to the Old Adam and us rising new life in Jesus Christ. It’s the Sacrament of the church that marks the reclaiming of our identity.
In Baptism we were named by God as His child through the church: we who were nobodies in our trespasses, have become reconciled somebodies in Christ: washed, claimed, and named. When Jesus said, “he who believes and is baptized will be saved,” He tells us that Baptism is a means of grace. What do I mean by a means of grace, in the waters of baptism we receive unmerited forgiveness. Now without going into the whole history of the church and the Reformation, the Lutheran reformers agreed that there are three Sacraments, three means of grace, Baptism, Confession, and Communion. In each of these, we receive forgiveness of our sins through faith.
Thus, forgiveness is the first gift we receive in Baptism, we are forgiven. But to fully appreciate what this means, we must now explore the cost of offering and giving that forgiveness. In just seven short weeks, we will begin our annual time of reflection on the extensive cost God and Jesus paid for our salvation. On March 5th, we will begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. We will then spend the next 40 days recalling the life, passion, and death of God’s only Son, Jesus. During Holy Week we will recall the betrayal, the illegal trial, the mocking, the beatings, and finally, the cruel death Jesus endured on the cross. And on Good Friday, we will listen as Jesus breathes His last, is placed in a new tomb, and a stone is rolled across the entrance, and He was sealed in that tomb. God and Jesus suffered all this to pay the price, “once for all,” to redeem us from the result and cost of sin, that is, death. Question, each time we confess our sins, remember our baptism, or eat and drink of the Body and Blood of Christ, do we stop and even, for a moment, consider the very high cost, God and Jesus paid for that forgiveness? We should! Second, God knows us by name.
In the waters of Baptism, we were claimed by God as one of His children. We are no longer orphans without a future, but made inheritors not of only eternal life, but an eternal inheritance. In Baptism, we were given a key to heaven as it were, to the riches of God’s mercy, love, and life. We no longer worry about spending eternity separated from God, but given the promise of living with Him forever. Think about that, in Baptism, we became God’s own. We’re no longer a slave of sin, death, and the devil. In the Baptismal Rite, we renounced the forces of satan, his lies, and the power of evil. This is what St. Paul is telling the Roman Christians.
In our Epistle reading, Paul asks that very probing question, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:1b-5).
In Baptism the Old Adam was drown, and we became new creatures in Christ. The question then becomes, what does it mean that we were baptized into His death, and in turn united to Him in a resurrection like His? St. Paul answers this question a few verses later in this same chapter: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace (vs. 11-14). To be a new creature in Christ is to serve a new master.
Down in verse 16, Paul continued, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (vs. 16-18). In Baptism we were freed from slavery to sin, and we became willing servants of God. But the old nature, our longing to serve our sinful desires is strong, it wrestles with us each day for control. This is why Baptism, and its remembrance, is so important. One person said, “the Old Adam may have been drowned in Baptism, but he is a mighty swimmer.”
The daily struggles we face between sin and righteousness is powerful, and we need to constantly remember our baptism, as Luther said, “each time we wash our face.” But this is where the next gift given to us in Baptism becomes important, in Baptism we were sealed with the Cross of Christ forever and given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because of God’s Spirit dwelling in us, we have the promised comforter. Jesus promised to send the One who would lead us in all truth.
Last week we talked about seeking God’s wisdom. And we said that wisdom is the ability to not only know the rules, but how to follow those rules in each circumstance. God’s Holy Spirit is the One who gives this wisdom. Satan’s lies are oftentimes subtle, half-truths, twisted facts and arguments, that make it difficult at times to know where that line is between right and wrong. Satan’s lies manipulate God’s commands and statutes in ways that seem pleasing and before we know it, we’re caught in his web of deceit and don’t know which way to turn. But with the gift of God’s Spirit, we can see through the deceitfulness of satan and can choose righteousness, even when that choice is difficult. With God’s Spirit in us, we have been regenerated, reborn.
In Titus chapter 3, St. Paul wrote, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (vs. 5b-7). In Baptism, there is a change in the human heart under the promptings of God’s grace, and that God, through the Holy Spirit, is working in us, each day, to perform that grace. But this change must gradually take place each and every day. We don’t rise from the waters of Baptism fully sanctified. Yes, we receive the righteousness of the risen Christ, but the journey of sanctification is a life-long struggle.
Each day we must struggle against the Old Adam, the forces of sin and satan, but God doesn’t abandon us to our own devices, He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us. And this of course brings us back to why we remember our Baptism each day, we must be aware of, and acknowledge, our sin. To acknowledge our sin is to first, accept responsibility for our ungodly actions, second, to refuse to justify what we’ve done as “not our fault” and three, accept responsibility for the result of our sinful actions. We must recognize the feeling of guilt.
One of the problems we have in our society is that we’re taught that it’s always someone or something else’s fault, there is little to no accountability. We justify sinful behavior as, “everyone is doing it.” Or, “it’s legal so therefore, it isn’t wrong.” Or, “I’m a product of my raising.” Or, …and you can insert your own excuse here. We’re taught and have become good at justifying our sinful desires and behaviors under the heading of, it’s a victimless crime, or it isn’t hurting anyone, or if you don’t get caught, it isn’t wrong. But the Holy Spirit, given in Baptism, is whispering in our ears, yes, it is wrong, all we have to do is acknowledge it, confess, and turn from satan’s deceitful lies. What’s interesting is this feeling of guilt is part of God’s gift of grace. It prompts us to acknowledge our sins and to turn again to God’s amazing forgiveness and love.
True repentance is the turning away from our waywardness, our estrangement, our declared independence of God, and turning to Him for forgiveness. In repentance, we once again become fully justified, made as though we were without sin. In Colossians 2:12 St. Paul reminds us, “You were buried with Him in baptism, and which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you who were dead, God has made alive altogether in Him.” Being buried with Christ is not only the language of baptism, it’s the fact of baptism.
One of the doors on St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome is called the death door. On this door the artist depicted a series of death scenes. There was death by falling, death in war, the martyred death of Peter upside down on the cross, and others. Death by drowning is there, death by water. This is how we enter into the Church, death by water. In Baptism, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” To walk in newness of life: how do we do this?
Again, we look to the words of St. Paul later in this chapter, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness (vs. 12-13). To walk in newness of life is to walk with Jesus as our guide and example. To do this we must die daily to sin with the help of God’s Spirit.
Luther, whenever he was depressed and undergoing strong attack from the devil, or sensed his courage and spiritual strength failing, he would lay his hands on his head and say aloud to himself, I am baptized. One final gift given to us in Baptism, that gives us courage and hope, is that right before the child or person is presented to the congregation, the pastor placed oil on their finger and traced the sign of the cross of the person’s forehead and said, “You have been sealed with the Cross of Christ forever.”
The sign of the cross upon a person’s forehead is like a brand to show ownership. We have been claimed and named by God. We belong to Him. Christians are marked by baptism to show satan, and the world, who owns us, and to what flock we belong. In Baptism, we were forgiven, named, claimed and sealed as God’s children forever. So, I bid you, remember your baptism daily, and remember the cost, as well as the many blessings you received.
Amen