The Baptism of Christ
Epiphany 2
January 13, 2013
Fr. Philip Eberhart
The Mark of
Identification
Have you ever noticed
that people who divorce or who are being unfaithful often take their wedding
rings off? Why is that? What is it about a wedding ring that is so
special? I mean it’s not like the ring
of Bilbo Baggins – “one ring, to rule them all” – a ring really doesn’t have
magical powers for evil or for good, for that matter. So what is it about the ring that is so
special?
Obviously I’m fascinated
with rings these days, as is my daughter and her new fiancé. But today is the Sunday when we commemorate
and remember The Baptism of Jesus Christ.
Those words
themselves ought to make you sit up and take notice. Baptism was, in Jesus’ day, a sign of
repentance. His cousin, John the
Baptizer, made it abundantly clear that what he was doing was bringing masses
to repentance as a forerunner to the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world. Baptism was that
cleansing bath from sin – a kind of first-fruit of real repentance and a
transition point into a new life.
So why was Jesus
baptized? He had nothing to repent
of. John even points this fact out to
him as he is coming down into the water!!
“I should be baptized by you!!” John whispered to Jesus. In Matthew’s account we hear the conversation
between Jesus and John: Jesus answer,
“it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Sacramental Power
In our theology as
Anglicans – our Sacramental Theology – we use a phrase in the Prayer Book that
these things that we do are “means of grace.”
We acknowledge that they have actual power, not just attributed
power. But not a power that is like what
we see in the fantasy world – say in the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit,
recently released – this is a different kind of power.
In Sacramental
Theology there is a differentiation between the sign of the sacrament and the
grace of the sacrament, if you will. The
grace of God is the effectual working of God’s power in our lives, that we
access through the means that He has appointed.
In our theology there
are two primary “means” by which grace is communicated to us: through the water of baptism for salvation
and through the elements of bread and wine for “our daily bread.” As Sacramental Christians we seek to have an
understanding of these realities, as points of contact between heaven and
earth.
We access the power
and presence of God by faith. And when
faith meets one of these points of contact, grace is released. Now I have to add the caveat that I don’t
think God the Omnipotent is limited to giving us His powerful grace in only
these ways, but they are commanded by Him and we need to pay more close
attention to why!!
Jesus himself, as I
indicated earlier, was baptized. Was he
accessing grace as we do through baptism?
Probably not. He WAS grace. John knew that and said it to him, but Jesus
pressed him to “fulfill all righteousness.”
Jesus was under
orders! As the baptism of Jesus unfolded
an extraordinary thing happened – The Whole Trinity became visible and audible
and John witnessed this fact in his testimony.
It was in fact, the “sign” he had been told to wait for and it was after
that that he pointed to Jesus on the shore, in the hearing of his disciples and
said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John was sure of it. He was there and saw the dove of the Spirit
and heard the voice of the Almighty Father affirm his love and blessing of His
one and only Son.
Jesus was baptized as
his willful entry into the obedience of full identification with us in our
humanity. He had been born of a virgin
mother, a baby in Bethlehem; he had
grown up in a carpenter’s home and shop, learning the trade of his earthly
father, Joseph; he had learned the scriptures
in the synagogue in Nazareth at the knee of the local rabbi; he engaged the
teachers in the temple in Jerusalem, His Father’s House, when he was 12, the
age of accountability. But here Jesus
comes to his purpose, out and away from that of his earthly family, and owns
his own destiny and ministry as the Lamb.
Here Jesus is, as we
are, filled to the fullness of God with the presence of the Holy Spirit –
“without measure” one writer exclaims.
Jesus entered into the life that we have available to us, by the Power
of the Spirit! Jesus in fact, is now the
baptizer, as John foretold just before His baptism! “One is
coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His
sandals; He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Jesus baptism was one
of IDENTIFICATION. And this is a piece
of the puzzle that I want to explore in my remaining minutes.
In the book of
Revelation we are told of the Mark on those who believe. Likewise we are told of the mark of the beast
– and we love to speculate about its meaning, especially as we encounter
various new technologies for numbering things and people in our culture. But this mark is not one that is visible to
the naked eye, not a tattoo or a chip.
Both marks are sacramental marks -
outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace.
So when do we receive
this mark and what does it mean?
How many here have
been baptized or confirmed in the Anglican / Episcopal church?
Do you remember what
happens right after the baptism?
The Bishop or priest,
standing for the Bishop, takes a bit of holy oil, called Chrism, and marks it
on the head of the newly baptized. Each
of you, who raised your hand a moment ago, had that happen. And with that action, the celebrant says
these words: “N, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s
own for ever. Amen”
Chrism is specially
consecrated oil, by a Bishop, for this act.
It is not the usual anointing oil, and there is a specific prayer of
consecration that goes with this oil:
Eternal Father, whose
blessed Son was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the Savior and servant of
all, we pray you to consecrate this oil, that those who are sealed with it may
share in the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
Amen.
“That those who are
sealed, may share in the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ.”
Here is the power and
the purpose of the sacramental sign. In
Baptism, we come to share – to identify with and take our place in – the actual
position and ministry of Jesus in the world and in the heavens. Paul tells us we are “seated with Him in
heavenly places.” John tells us that we
have been given only one power or right as Christians who believe in
Jesus: the power to become! Paul talks of the great exchange in 2 Cor
5:21: “For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might
become the righteousness of God.”
Baptism, Eucharist
and to a lesser degree the other sacraments identified by the church: Marriage, Reconciliation, Anointing of the
sick or Holy Unction, and finally Confirmation and Ordination – all of these
carry with them a part of this power of identification and they all transfer
the power through simple signs of identification. No magic involved, but the power of God,
granted to be both with us and in us, as partners with Him now, just as He
partnered with us at His baptism by John.
So what’s so special
about a wedding ring, a dob of oil on a forehead, a piece of bread and a drink of
wine?
God is so
special! God is willing to communicate
Himself to us humans in such human terms and in such simple, every day
ways! If nothing else we see in the
sacraments the extent and simplicity of the love of God our Father! We see how God is willing to be “made
available and accessible” to us. At the
death of Jesus the curtain was torn from top to bottom, because His obedience
unto death had finished the work of redemption and opened a way for us to come
back to His Father from our own far country!
Sacraments remind us
of that truth, in every day ways, and invite us to come in. Come into
relationship with the Living and powerful, all knowing and all loving God – the
true God, not made with hands; very God
of very God! Sacraments are for our sake,
not His! Because we are weak and we need
these earthly, earthy signs to remind us of who we are and of whose we are:
So remember: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism
and marked as Christ’s own forever.
Amen.
Let us pray:
I want to pray the
prayer that each of us had prayed over us at our baptism:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you
have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sins, and have raised
them to the new life of grace. Sustain
them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give
them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a
spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your
works.
Amen.
Almighty God, we thank you that by the death and resurrection of your
Son Jesus Christ you have overcome sin and brought us to yourself, and that by
the sealing of your Holy Spirit you have bound us to your service. Renew in these your servants the covenant you
made with them at their Baptism. Send
them forth in the power of that Spirit to perform the service you set before
them; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment