The Waters of Baptism....

Today in the Church's calendar we recall the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, and consequently we review our own Baptismal promises (see page 312 paragraph 1 & 4). So what? What does all that mean?

 Listen carefully to what Jesus hears in "a voice from heaven:" "You are my son, my beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Lk 3:22). That is the same thing that the Lord God said to us when we were Baptized, even as an infant! "You are beloved of God!"

In our society today, we hear so many conflicting voices, voices that tell us again and again - every ten minutes in the television commercials - that we are not okay, that we are not good enough, that there is something wrong with us. That usually means we do not possess whatever is being sold. These voices are very loud. They become a tape recording playing in the back of our heads like the background music we begin to hear in a store or on an elevator when all is quiet. Those voices say we are not "beloved," not lovable and sometimes even that we are not loved!

The message of Baptism runs deep and counter to that. The waters of Baptism symbolically wash away the stains from the culture and the world around us that would harm us, which we call sin. "Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?" We answer: "I renounce them. (BCP p. 302). We need to be disciplined disciples, persons who have become tuned into the true melody of the universe, and that is what our Baptism opens us up to becoming, disciples that hear the true word! You are God's beloved! What a great word to hear.

You and I are loved, called into life by a loving Creator out of the act of love of our parents. We are created in the image and likeness of God! We are totally unique, one of a kind, of infinite value! This is the melody we need to hear in the back of our head playing whenever we are quiet! I have shared with you before, and it is worth sharing again because of the loud volume of the world's message, the beautiful verse in our Prayer Book from Psalm 139: "I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well" (BCP p. 795).

After the waters of Baptism was poured over our heads washing away the stain of the world's corrupting and destroying message about our worth, the priest anointed us with oil of chrism, a sweet scented oil which tells us we are loved, called to wholeness and health is body, mind and spirit - truly beloved of God! So today when we renew our Baptismal promises, let this melody play in the back of your head. Open you ears to hear the Lord God say to you in the depths of your soul: "You are my Daughter/My Son, the Beloved, and in you I am well pleased!"

When we have heard and allowed that to sink into the depths of our being, then the Baptismal promises we make next are readily understood for we know that others are also beloved of God. We can then seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. We can strive for justice and peace among all people. We can dance to the Lord's melody rather than the world's! Note in Luke's account we do not actually hear that John baptized Jesus as we do in Matthew and Mark's accounts. And right after Luke's account of the baptism, we have given to us a genealogy of Jesus tracing his ancestry back to Adam! Try that with your computer. It is Luke's way of saying Jesus is fully human and his mission and ministry are for all people, not just the sons (and daughters) of Abraham, which is what Matthew's genealogy emphasizes. That's part of the mystery of Baptism and why we celebrate Jesus' Baptism: He is like us. He had to hear as we do that we are beloved of God. He heard it perfectly, while we grow into hearing it.

Joseph+