St. Paul's On-The-Hill Episcopal Church

The Rev. Stephen C. Holton, Rector

January 10, 2010;

The Baptism of Christ

Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

LIFE – THIS MIGHT HURT A BIT

Jesus Baptism – of Us – for Others

Jesus comes out of the crowd. We have not seen him before. He has been in private life, raised by Mary and Joseph, perhaps learning a task, and learning the faith.

He comes out of the crowd to be baptized by John and we wonder – why? Why does Jesus need to be baptized if he is so pure?

Perhaps Baptism is not about purity if Jesus is to be baptized, or perhaps it is not just about purity. Perhaps it is not just about being good – for Jesus is already good, already pure.

Perhaps it is about being good – for others; helpful – for others; pure – in service; and not just pure – in soul. For before this we did not see Jesus at all. He was a private purpose. Then suddenly we see him, because he has decided to become a public person, to dedicate himself to public minister. After this we see Jesus helping, loving, teaching, serving, healing, living for – others; dying for – others. In this act of Baptism he has ended his private life and begun his public life.

In our baptism we decide to end our private life and begin our public life. We forswear and end our private life. We say it is not enough any more. We begin our public life. We say – that is what we want.

In his Baptism, his self-commissioning to this public life, Jesus receives something he did not have. He receives the Holy Spirit when “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove” when he gave himself to this life of service for God.

This is the extra help we get when we commission ourselves to this life of service. This is the extra help we need – for we cannot do it alone.

We go with Jesus in this life of service, with his help for us, and with the Holy Spirit he shares with us.

What is this Baptism of Jesus? We see the Baptism of John. It is the Baptism that happens when we step out of the crowd and give up our anonymity and our desire for personal, private purity, and enter into a life for others.

But what is the Baptism of Jesus? When does he put water, or fire, on anyone's head?

We see the fire – at another point. It is the fire of Pentecost that alights on the disciples' heads when they all get anointed with the Holy Spirit.

When does Jesus give this Baptism of fire and power and ability if he does not ladle water over our heads at any particular point?

Perhaps it is all his life, at no particular point. Perhaps it begins when we step forward like him, out of the crowd, and sign up for service when we submit to John's Baptism.

Perhaps it then continues, all his life and ours, when he ladles out teaching and healing and guidance, and condemnation when we've done it wrong and congratulations when we've done it right – separating our good and life-giving wheat from our bad and suffocating chaff – all in the interest of purifying and sanctifying us until we've become worthy servants of the Most High God, and worthy companions and disciples of Jesus – until that moment at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit does come down on us in fire and anoints us with the power we need to go forward alone – not just as disciples who follow Christ but as apostles who go forth and witness to him on their own, but with his Holy Spirit.

But this Life – this Christian Life – it might hurt a bit! It might take Jesus a while to turn us into worthy servants of his. It might take a bit of coaching by him to turn us into good players on his team.

Goodness knows, this was true of the first disciples. They were called, and taught, and got it wrong, and lost their faith, and were forgiven, and taught again, and got it wrong again, and were taught again, and suffered for their faith, and taught it to others, and often died.

This is the faith we sign up for. This is the faith we follow, and suffer at least ridicule for, and at most rejection for. It is not easy. It looks stupid. But it is effective in bringing people's hearts to God and to goodness and wholeness, and in bringing the world to peace.

So it is a faith worth signing up for. But it is not a faith that is easy.

This Christian Life – It Might Hurt a Bit. But Jesus will stick with us, and teach us; but sometimes we might wish he wouldn't, because that is one reason why this Christian Life might hurt a bit. It hurts because Jesus will not give up on us, even when we want him to, even when we give up on ourselves.

When we give up on ourselves Jesus does not necessarily say: you poor thing. He might get in our face and say: try harder, work harder, and I'll help!

These words: 'and I'll help,' is how we'll know its Jesus and not some sadistic imagining of God.

Jesus is like some crazy football coach. We sign up for the team. We want to win the big game. We want to look good in the outfit. So we sign up to work with him – and Jesus is the one who works with us. He doesn't sign us over to some lesser angel.

We sign up, and he says: fine, practice begins tomorrow at 6 am. We say, 6 am? I just wanted to look good on the team and play and win the big game. And he says – yes, and practice begins tomorrow at 6 am.

And we say – well I'm not too sure. And he says: too late, you signed up. And we say, I'd rather stay in bed, I won't even be up yet. And he says: well you'd better, because its going to be awfully cold if I have to haul you out of bed and you have to practice in your pajamas.

Well, we say, I'm not ready to be a Christian, I'm not good enough even for practice. Thanks for wanting to work with me, but I'm not sure I'm ready even for that.

Fine, Jesus says. Practice begins for you at 4 am. We'll get you ready for when the rest of the team shows up at 6.

And Jesus – that crazy coach – stays with us every step of the way, from the first practice to the last game; from that moment early in our Christian life when we're learning all the new moves, to that moment toward the end of our Christian lives, when we've forgotten most of them. Every moment of every day, in the ups and the downs and the successes and the failures, Jesus is with us, baptizing us with the Spirit of power and knowledge, separating our wheat from our chaff.

We signed up for this, and so did he, and so he is with us every step of the way until he, and we, together, have made a difference in this world.

So the Word is made flesh – in us. We get a chance to follow Jesus all the Way to the Cross; and the Crown. We get a chance to be purified, if we want it; to leave behind our selfish desires, our protective desires; to become little Jesuses, blessed with some of his power; little Christ's, Christ-ians, sent by him, sent with him, to all the other beloved and needy persons in this world.