Ministry of the Baptised

Baptism of Our Lord: Jan. 9, 2011

I.       Introductory Prayer

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be always acceptable in your sight, O God our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

II.      Baptism of Our Lord:  The Relationship of Faith

Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. Which of course leads us to consider our own experiences with baptism.  Baptism is about many things.  Over the years and across the globe, the rituals of the Church have varied considerably.  At the Eucharist we often find grape juice rather than wine, bread of all kinds, not just wafers.   In services of morning and evening prayer, we find silent prayer and rock and roll.  And so it is with Baptism – some get a touch of water, others get dunked (as a wise teacher of mine once said, whatever happens, in the end you have to get wet). 

One reason for this of course is the essential role of water in the ancient regions of Palestine. Of course we all know water is precious and we all can appreciate its importance in supporting life on our earth.  But in the time and place of ancient Israel, water was particularly precious.  No de-salinization plants, very little in the way of irrigation canals and aqueducts (although the Romans did a bit in this regard).  It’s all desert out there.  I mean, have you seen the Jordan River?   When compared with our experience with the mighty Fraser or the other great rivers of North America, the Columbia, the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, the Jordan is barely a trickle.  Yes, water was precious – hence the constant references in the Psalms and in the Gospels to paradise involving streams of living water.

And so ritual cleansing, a feature in both the Judaic and Islamic traditions, finds its way into our Christian lives. In some unguarded moments, I can imagine a time and place (perhaps rooted in science fiction) where water is so abundant that baptism involves anointing with dirt (the ritual cleansing of the Hindus comes to mind) or smoke – as in the smudge ceremonies of our first nations peoples).  But our baptisms involve water.  Washing clean the sins of our lives just as we would wash off the dust of the world before entering someone’s home or entering our places of worship. And so we have placed our own Baptismal font near the entrance to the sanctuary and keep it filled.

But is water all there is to it?  Perhaps we might appreciate that at root, baptisms are (like so much else in our faith) about relationships.

“I baptize you?  You should baptize me!”  John protests, but Jesus says, ‘go ahead, for the moment anyway.’  Jesus affirms his submission to God’s will (‘it is fitting, for us to fulfill all righteousness’).    For us to fulfill all righteousness.  In saying this, Jesus underscores how all faith operates in partnership. Jesus knows the issue is not about one but about many, not about you or me, but about us, together.  Jesus and John - who is the leader and who the follower, who the prophet and who the Christ.  This is not so much about individual status as about the mutuality, the sharing of righteousness – it takes two to tango so to speak.  It takes two (or more) to make a relationship of faith - remember that great prayer of St. Chrysostum, ‘when two or three are gathered.’  Indeed after Jesus submits to the authority of John the Baptiser, we hear about another relationship.  We hear God’s affirmation of love for the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased. A relationship of faith that will sustain Jesus throughout his ministry – in the wilderness, in the temple, in the garden of Gethsemene.  On the Cross.

And so through his acceptance of baptism by one who is his subordinate (“not fit to carry the sandals, etc.”), Jesus affirms a relationship with humanity and also a relationship with God through which all those human hierarchies that characterized Jesus’ world  (and out own) are rendered meaningless. 

III.    Human or Divine: Preparation for Ministry

The Baptism of Jesus is as historically certain as any event in scripture. But it leaves us with many puzzles. First, it underscored the dilemma of Jesus’ identity – was he fully human or fully divine. As with so many other aspects of his life and ministry, Jesus’ baptism exploded the boundaries separating the human and the divine.  This is one of the great puzzles about Jesus – he was both human and divine. How can that be?? Hard for us to understand, and equally hard for early Christians to understand. The early Christians were divided on this question and it took the vigorous debates of the Arian controversy (and Athanasius) to resolve it (??) at the Council of Nicaea in 325AD – and so we have our Nicene Creed (“of one substance with the Father . . . and was made man”).

So on the one hand, Jesus showed his human nature - he walked to the Jordan and he got wet. From a human point of view Jesus submitted to baptism by John just like all the rest who trekked out through the desert to the Jordan. From a divine perspective Jesus’ acceptance of baptism was submission to God’s will that in turn affirmed Jesus holy stature as the Son of God.  The heavens opened and the voice of God rang through the wilderness.

But there is yet another puzzle.  If Jesus was divine, how could he have had sin in need of forgiveness through Baptism?  Perhaps then the focus of Baptism is not only about cleansing of sin (for Christians have an ongoing rite of confession and absolution).  Maybe Jesus sought Baptism in order to emphasize its importance in affirming the relationship between humanity and God.  To affirm all righteousness, to affirm right relationship with God, in partnership with all humanity.

III.    The Ministry of the Baptised

Ever wonder why we read the passage from Isaiah that is the opening to the famous “Servant Songs” in connection with the Baptism of Jesus? Isaiah affirms the blessed role of the One in whom the Lord delights, who brings justice to the nations, sight to the blind, freedom for prisoners, and light for those in darkness. Isaiah affirms the role of ministry in service to God and creation. So we are invited to see Jesus’ Baptism as part of his preparation to be a servant of God – note that in the Gospels Jesus’ ministry begins just after his Baptism and his temptation in the desert.

If the Baptism of Jesus may be seen as part of his preparation for ministry, so too might we see our own Baptism affirming our own commitment to ministry and service to God’s work in our world today. And while we might be ready to bear what Bonhoeffer termed the costs of discipleship (later on in the servant songs of Isaiah we get a picture of these costs – rejection, pain and the rest), we also hope for the prize of salvation that awaits God’s servants. This, my friends, is what we might call the risk of faith.  For we are called through Baptism to be servants of the Lord and builders of the Kingdom of God.  Not passive vessels for God’s grace, but activists.   We are all ministers!!

Just as our fellowship activities within the Church and our outreach activities outside are more than simply the initiatives of a social club, our joining the community of faith is more than simply an initiation ritual.  Unlike the kids in their backyard clubhouse where initiation might involve all sorts of unpleasantness – touching a worm or knocking on a neighbor’s door and running away - our initiation into the community of faith requires something simple – we need only get wet – and something more profound.

For through our Baptism we join the Club of God.  Of course Jesus didn’t need Baptism to do this – he was already a member. But he submitted to Baptism by John to fulfill all righteousness – to offer an example for the rest of us about humble service that exemplifies our submission to God’s will  Baptism allows us to put aside all those earthly hierarchies that characterize (‘bedevil’?) our world, it affirms our submission to God’s will through worship and service. 

And so it is no wonder that there have been many historical debates around such issues as whether one baptism is sufficient (recall Augustine and the Donatist controversy of the early 5th century over whether apostate Christians who had repudiated their faith in the face of Roman persecution needed to be baptized again in order to rejoin the Christian community) or infant baptism (how can an infant make a conscious decision to join the community of faith). But remember, as we know from the prophets and the Gospels, God chooses us, we didn’t choose God.  So our Baptism is not simply about us saying ‘OK we’re in’ – like the kids in the clubhouse - but rather affirms something more important.  It affirms our commitment to ministry.

The Sacrament of Baptism is a collective effort of bringing a new member into the community of faith. So the community participates in service of Baptism. And especially in our Baptismal vows. Through the Baptismal Covenant (BAS, p. 158-159) Christians testify to the importance of continuing in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers; resisting evil and confessing sin; proclaiming by work and example the good news of God in Christ; seeking and serving Christ in all persons; loving our neighbors; and striving for justice and peace among all people. These aspects of the Baptismal Covenant clarify our commitment to carry out faith in action. Through Baptism, we all become ministers!

But what sort of ministry are we to pursue.  We are used perhaps to a model of the Church that is more organized – an institution rather than a movement. But we are not in the age of Christendom anymore.  We don’t have powerful organizations to protect us, large budgets to fund our work, hierarchies of leaders to tell us what to do. So it’s up to us – the Baptized, to carry out ministry.

For the meaning of the word used in Scripture for ‘Church’ (ecclesia) really means community. In the early days of the Church, it meant the community of all believers (recall Peter’s comments from today’s reading in Acts – everyone who believes and does what is right is acceptable to God). Paul tells us of the Body of Christ in which every individual is an important member.  We are called not to join the Church, not to be associated with the Church, but to be the Church.  To be the Church in the world.

IV.           Ministry in the World

But what does this mean in practical terms? I recall a tale about a young woman who wanted to be a minister (this was in the days when ordination of female clergy was not permitted).  Everyone told her, ‘don’t be silly.’ So she stopped talking about it and just went about her days, helping out at the local hospital, remembering people’s names in Church, offering a kind word (and sometimes money or food) to people in the neighborhood. And you know what? She became a minister anyway. How many folks do we know like this (I can think of many right here in our parish).

In our time of formal institutions, and hierarchies, and badges of rank, we are tempted to think that uniforms and titles are what matters. But do these really matter to God? When Jesus sought baptism by John, he dispelled our preoccupation with badges of rank.  “Let us do this, to fulfill all righteousness.”  And so let us today work together regardless of position, to bring about the Kingdom of God.

And if we do away with badges of rank and status, what sort of Church do we get?  Will you bear with my while I repeat the orchestra metaphor? Perhaps we might think of Symphony Orchestra – a large group of people making wonderful music guided by the writings of the composer and led by a conductor.  Is this really what we want from our church? Or perhaps instead we might think of the Chamber Orchestra, where we still have a score – an authoritative text, but there is no conductor. Just people, listening to each other, respecting each other’s creativity and initiative, and working in harmony.  So let our Church be like a Chamber Orchestra – a community of ministers. 

Well, what are we waiting for??  As we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord let us re-dedicate ourselves to ministry, as a community of faith, as the whole people of God. The Spirit is with us!!  We are all ministers.

V.              Closing Prayer

Holy and loving God, we thank you for the opportunity to be ministers in your Church. We ask for grace and strength to do your will, as a community of faith always submissive to your will and strengthened by your love.  In Christ’s name we pray.

Amen