The foundation of baptism: a talk based on Mark 1:4-11

            Last week was our first worship service of 2015. We heard the story of the wise men, their journey of discovery, and how they offered their gifts as an act of worship to a king who wasn’t going to be their king, at least in a worldly sense, for we believe that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We reflected on their experience which led to the asking of those five questions. [see previous post for the questions] I hope you took up my invitation to sit with those questions. I don’t know about you but those were some hard questions I came up with. I sat with them for awhile and I couldn’t think of anything to write. I’m going to have to keep those questions in front of me. Hope you are too.

            Another aspect of taking stock and looking ahead is to remember where you came from. What is your foundation? What do you stand on? Here I think about the family name I carry. Even though I was adopted, I am an Orr. I am partly the product of my parents who raised me. It’s the same for you. The family in which you were raised serves as a foundation for who you are. Of course, there are a lot of other people that have influenced you to help make you who you are, but it begins with the family.
            However, as Christians we have another foundation. This foundation is our baptism. On this second Sunday of the year, we are going to reflect on the meaning and significance of our baptism, the foundation on which we all stand.
            According to the gospel of Mark, Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of his earthly ministry. Immediately after he came up out of the water, the skies ripped open, the Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove, and the Father said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” And then Jesus is immediately driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for a time of testing. Having gone through that test, Jesus then begins his ministry of proclaiming the gospel, he selects his disciples, and off they go.
            In the same way, we consider baptism to mark the beginning of our ministry, facing times of testing, proclaiming the gospel, gathering with fellow disciples, and being on our way. But what is it about baptism that starts us on our journey of Christian discipleship? What happens when we are baptized?
            Baptism is a source of discussion, even contention, among us Christians. There are different views on what baptism is for and what it does. Eric Folkerth breaks down the different views into two main views: baptism is something you do or baptism is something done to you. That first view is common among Baptists and many independent churches. This is the view that baptism is something that you do as a public sign of your commitment to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. It’s often called believers baptism. We in the United Methodist church and most other churches don’t have any problem with that. But we hold the second view, that baptism is something done to us. For us, baptism is a public act that recognizes what God is doing in the life of the one being baptized. It’s not so much about what you are doing, but what God has already started doing in your life. This is why we baptize babies. We understand that even before someone is aware of God’s love, or who God is, that God is already at work, wooing this child, drawing the child toward His love. In other words, God claims us before we claim God, as an act of sheer grace. And we acknowledge this grace by baptizing infants, acknowledging that God has already claimed them as his own children.
            The introduction of our baptismal covenant goes like this: “Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are initiated into Christ’s holy church, we are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.” This statement hits on our initiation into the church. Just as Jewish boys are circumcised on the eighth day of their life, marking them as a part of the Jewish people, so we are marked as members of the people of God through baptism. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation, meaning that we are included in the saving grace that comes from God’s eternal love. And we are given new birth, we are born again through water and we receive the Holy Spirit. But the main point is that last line. “All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.” Baptism is God’s gift to us, his beloved children. If baptism means anything, it means that God loves you and God claims you.
            In my home church, when there was a baptism, we used to sing this song. “Daniel, Daniel, God claims you. God helps you, protects you, and loves you too. We this day do all agree a child of God you’ll always be. Daniel, Daniel, God claims you. God helps you, protects you, and loves you too.” That little song captures what we hold to be true about baptism. Whether you receive it as an adult or as a child, by your own decision or by the decision of your parents, baptism is an occasion to affirm that God claims you as one of his children.
            Many of us were baptized as infants or little children, so we don’t remember our baptism. As a consequence, many wish they could get re-baptized so that there can be a memory of this special experience. I’ve wondered what it would be like to experience a full immersion baptism, fully embracing all the symbolism of that. Perhaps it would seem more real, more true, if we could go through the baptismal experience and remember what it was like so that we can go back to that memory as a source of encouragement. Or when we are asked to remember our baptism, we actually can remember it. There is something to be said to wait and be baptized when you have some awareness of what is happening.
            However, if we don’t remember our baptism, it doesn’t make it any less real. It still happened. It still took. After all, baptism is simply acknowledging what God is already doing. We don’t have to remember things that still shape us, make us who we are. None of us remember being born, but that doesn’t make it any less real!
            Whether we remember that day we were baptized or we don’t, it doesn’t change the fact that God has claimed you as one of his children. Just after Jesus rose out of the water, God said, “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Just so, after you were baptized, God said, “This is my daughter, this is my son, with whom I am well pleased.” And that’s the foundation that we all stand on as Christians entering into 2015. It is the foundation that you are claimed by God. God claims you. God helps you, protects you, and loves you too. God always has and God always will.
            So as we continue, now into our second full week of the new year, let us remember that we are baptized, and be thankful.