BAPTIMATUS SUM

      The Baptist burst onto the world's stage as a bizarre character, wearing clothes of camel's hair and eating wild honey. His message was direct and compelling. It was directed to the common people of the land... and to others who were ready to claim a new beginning for themselves and to prepare their hearts for God. Come to the river, John cried, and undergo a baptism of repentance... for the forgiveness of sins. And the people came! Not every single one of them- some weren't ready to give up their sins, some were unwilling to live a different life, and more that a few must have thought that John was out of his mind- but the historian, Josephus, makes it clear that John's crowds were big. People showed up in big numbers, and this number included Jesus, who didn't need a baptism of repentance, or forgiveness for his sins. John was standing in the river... when Jesus made his first Biblical appearance as a adult. It was an awkward moment because Jesus wanted to be baptized, and John demurred, saying that he had no business baptizing Jesus. But Jesus persisted... because baptism was part of his Father's plan. He couldn't skip it anymore than he could skip the temptation in the wilderness or the agony at Gethsemane. It had to be done, so John dunked him in the Jordan River, and as he came up out of the water, his Father affirmed him. "This is my son," he said, "with whom I am well pleased." Well pleased, it would seem, because Jesus had embraced his purpose on earth and committed himself entirely to his Father's will. For Jesus, baptism was an act of obedience to his Father and a way of identifying with those whom he would save!
     But it's our baptisms and not Jesus' that we're called to live out, and it's my prayer that we will embrace our own baptism in the coming year. This is my prayer, and I'm not particularly interested in the way or at what age we get baptized. In the PCUSA, we baptize infants as a way of recognizing that God has called them into his family. Believing that God always acts first and we respond, that God opens doors and we walk through, that God invites us to the banquet and we attend, we baptize infants as a way of celebrating God's claim on their lives. But there are many theologians, including some in our own tradition, who believe that baptism, especially a baptism of repentance, requires an informed decision to live for Christ. Thus, if your emphasis in on God's invitation, you may want to baptize infants and children, but if your emphasis in on human response to God's invitation, you'll be more comfortable with adult baptism. In the PCUSA, we sprinkle water when we baptize, and I'm quite okay with that, although I suspect that most, if not all, of the early baptisms were by immersion. According to the Didache- a "how-to" manual for the early church- baptisms should occur in running water (in rivers preferably), but if there were no rivers around, it was permissible to pour water on someone's head. Thus, it seems that the baptism itself, rather than the means, was what really mattered. Personally, I like adult baptisms because there's something powerful when the confession, the decision, and the water... come together around God's Spirit...but it also gives me great joy when God calls a young child into his fold, even as he bid the children to come to him when he walked on this earth.
      Well, you can worry about when and how baptisms are done, if you must, but I'm more worried about the integrity of the baptism, which is thrown away in infant baptism if the parents and the church do not teach the children to embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior, and violated just as badly in adult baptism... if the person involved is not reborn in the Holy Spirit, where being reborn in the Spirit is akin to complete surrender and trust. It is letting go and letting God, no matter where that may lead, and it is allowing (even encouraging) the Holy Spirit to turn our values and our point of view upside-down and inside-out. I am convinced that real issue is whether or not we live out our baptisms in our lives. Did we die to self when we went under the water and did we come up.. as God's child, man or woman? Was our baptism more than a picture taking event and a family gathering? Was it a defining moment in our lives? That's the important point. Was that child or that adult... God's kid, woman, or man... when the dunking, pouring, or sprinkling was done?
       I am persuaded that, for baptism to matter... it must define us! I am baptized. I am baptized. Baptimatus Sum! This was Martin Luther's mantra and it strenghened him. He said that, throughout his life, whenever he was frightened, tempted, weary, discouraged... he would begin to repeat to himself, "I am baptized! I am baptized!" Indeed, within a month of his own death in 1531, Luther noted that, "I am baptized... and since I am baptized... despair, doubt, fear, worries may show their teeth, but they cannot bite. I am baptized and since I'm baptized...temptation, disappointment, weakness may show their teeth, but they cannot bite. Because I am baptized, I know who I am and I know whose I am. I'm on the narrow path, along with my new friends, and I'm committed to the one who called me to baptism in the first place. Baptize them, he said, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and so it was with me and a billion others. God reached out to us in baptism. Our journey began there. We respond by carrying our crosses for him. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen. There is power in our baptisms- life-changing power, Let us resolve in 2019 to live as a baptized people! Let us resolve to be very intentional about our Christianity. Let us start each day asking, "How can I serve Christ, today?" and each night, let us lay our heads to rest asking, "How did I serve Christ today?" And when the road gets narrow and the lights dim, let us whisper to ourselves, "I am baptized. I am baptized." Amen.