Following Jesus into the Water

January 8, 2023 Matthew 3:13-17 Baptism of the Lord Following Jesus into the Water Year A Prelude Welcome Call to Worship L: In the very beginning, God separated the darkness and the light. God called the Light "Day" and the Darkness, God called "Night". P: We were once people who dwelled in darkness, but God has given us the true Light, Jesus Christ. L: God has blessed us and adopted us as God’s own beloved children, through the sacrament of Baptism. P: The water of baptism brings to us healing and reconciliation; it is a symbol of nourishment and cleansing. L: This day is the day of the remembrance of Jesus’ Baptism. P: As we hear the words of his baptism, let us be reminded of our own adoption by God and celebrate the joyous connection to the Almighty God. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Invocation Voice, Body, and Spirit, You make your presence among us. We receive your love and affirmation. We cherish your guidance and direction. We follow your path and example. Remind us of our connection to you and your covenantal relationship with us. Wash us in the baptized life for renewal and revitalization. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsey) Song Fairest Lord Jesus UMH 189 Children’s Sermon Greet the children, and ask a few questions… Hello, children of God! Do you see what I have here? What is this? (Hold up a glass, pitcher, or bottle of water.) That’s right, this is water! Now, what does water do? What can we do with water? (Encourage kids to come up with a variety of water uses, such as drinking, swimming, cooking, and bathing.) So water is powerful and important stuff. And did you know that your body is made up largely of water? That’s why it is essential that you drink it and stay hydrated. But water also makes me think of baptism. Do you know what baptism is?? Baptism helps us remember that God has saved us and washed our sins away! Some people do baptism in different ways… some sprinkle water onto people (feel free to demonstrate with a small toy and your water); some people dip all the way into the water; some baptize people when they are little babies; some when they are older…there are a lot of ways to do it. But it is a wonderful and important thing to be baptized because it shows us that we are new in Christ! We are born sinful, and will likely do a lot of bad things in our lives, whether we mean to or not. But we can rest assured that God will forgive us. He sent Jesus to take our place and die so that we can live with God. He loves us no matter what we do! And did you know that Jesus was baptized, too? Now, that might seem strange, because we know that Jesus never sinned…so why would He need to be baptized? Well, John asked that same question. Remember John, the camel hair-wearing, locust-eating guy? He baptized people in a river. Jesus came to him one day asking to be baptized, and John tried to send Him away. But Jesus insisted, saying He needed to do it. This lets us know that baptism is a blessing and a great thing. And when Jesus was baptized, something remarkable happened. Heaven opened up, and the Holy Spirit came down like a dove (hold picture of dove or toy), and the voice of God was heard, saying “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” So all parts of the Trinity were present at once. And God was announcing who Jesus was, His beloved Son. We can take heart that Jesus was and is who He proclaimed. That is a comforting reminder. He lived and died so that we might have eternal life, and be made clean and new in Him. This is something that we should help us to live joyfully every day. We are made in God’s image and we can live in His presence. We were sinful, but can be cleansed in Christ. So the next time you wash your hands or take a bath, remember how God has washed away our sins. Why don’t we Thank Him for that right now? Children’s Prayer Moment (Have kids repeat each line) Dear God, Thank you for baptism Thank you for washing our sins and making us clean Help us remember that, and live in your presence Thank you for your son Jesus Thank you for your love We love you, God! In Jesus’s name, Amen! By Kristin Schmidt Affirmation of Faith One: Do you believe in the One of Many Names, God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit? Many: We believe in the God of Many Names. One: Do you reject the powers of oppression in this world, the systems that marginalize and degrade human beings and communities created by God, and the norms of the world at odds with the way of the kindom? Many: We do, with the help of God. One: Do you embrace grace as God’s gift, to be freely given and freely received? Many: We do, with the help of God. One: Do you recommit to the covenantal and baptized life, the cost and joy of discipleship, and the community of belonging as a member of the Body of Christ? Many: We do, with the help of God. Through baptism we enter the covenant God has established. Within this covenant God gives us new life, guards us from evil, and nurtures us in love. In embracing that covenant, we choose whom we will serve, by turning from evil and turning to Jesus Christ. (from the Second National Meeting of United Church of Christ Women and the Book of Common Worship) Remember your baptism Scripture Matthew 3:13-17 Sermon Following Jesus into the Water Water plays an important part in our lives. We would die in about a week if we were not able to have food or water. But if you have water then you can live about 2 or 3 months. Water is also an important part of our weather. The presence of water can also affect our moods. Perhaps that is why we say things like I am under the water, or deluged with stress. We are all washed up, or caught in the undertow. How often do we have a sinking feeling in our guts, or sometimes we need to come up for air. Everyone can relate to the presence of water and the effect that it can have on our life or death. Water is also an important part of our faith. That is why today we are remembering our baptism. Every Christian denomination has a concept of baptism. Now we don’t all agree on how to baptize, or when to baptize, or even what baptism means. Some sprinkle, some dunk, some baptize babies, others only professing adults. But in some form we all do it. Quakers and the Salvation Army don’t perform baptisms, but they do understand the importance of baptism. Saved Twelve Times Garrison Keillor tells the story of Larry the Sad Boy. Larry the Sad Boy was saved twelve times, which is an all-time record in the Lutheran Church. In the Lutheran Church there is no altar call, no organist playing "Just As I Am," and no minister with shiny hair manipulating the congregation. These are Lutherans, and they repent the same way that they sin -- discreetly and tastefully. Keillor writes, "Granted, we're born in original sin and are worthless and vile, but twelve conversions is too many. God didn't mean us to feel guilty all our lives. There comes a point when you should dry your tears and join the building committee and start grappling with the problems of the church furnace and the church roof and make church coffee and be of use." William B. Kincaid, III And Then Came the Angel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. _____________________ Perhaps it was not the fault of the sad boy that he was baptized 12 times. In the Methodist church, we don’t baptize people who have already been baptized. God doesn’t make mistakes. So whatever the circumstances, it is not necessary to rebaptize, because God was present the first time. The spirit of God was present in the water. When we look in the Bible, Jesus does not help us as Christians to come together in the meaning of baptism. Jesus never baptized anyone. Ironically however, the one thing that all gospel accounts agree on is that Jesus was himself baptized by his cousin John the Baptist. If Jesus is the Son of God, why would be seek out John the Baptist? If Jesus never sinned, then why would he come to repent? Some scholars believe that Jesus sought to be one of John the Baptist’ disciples. Baptism would have been his way of saying that he was a follower. Some scholars think that Jesus being baptized by John was an embarrassment that they can not explain away. In Matthew’s story- even John the Baptist asks Jesus what is going on. This is chapter 3 of the book of Matthew. In chapter 1 we learn about Jesus family. In Chapter 2 he is a baby and the wise men come to find him. By chapter 3 Jesus is 30 years old and speaks for the first time. Jesus tells John the Baptist that his baptism is necessary in order to fulfill all righteousness. What does that mean? The word righteous appears in Matthew 7 times – and each instance has a different meaning. Righteous means to do God’s will. Perhaps he meant that he had to do God’s will. Or perhaps he was saying that the worlds of the old testament had to be fulfilled in his life. By the grace of God, during my sojourn at seminary, I was assigned by one of my professors (although I didn’t consider it a blessing at the time) to read and report on a little book by a German theologian named Oscar Cullmann. The book was entitled Baptism in the New Testament. Now, the writings of German theologians quite often are difficult for me to understand, sometimes because of linguistic problems in the translation, and sometimes just because their logic escapes me. Not so in this circumstance. This little book was a Godsend. In it, Dr. Cullmann not only acknowledges the difficulty in understanding why Jesus submitted to a baptism of repentance. He also offers a simple explanation for it, one that had for some reason eluded me. I had dived deeply into the pool of the intellect searching for an answer that was floating in plain view on the surface. Cullmann says, "It was not a baptism of repentance for HIS sin; it was a baptism of repentance for MY sin, and yours. Just as Jesus died on the cross, not for his own sin, but for yours and mine, so also was he baptized in solidarity with, and on behalf of, you and me." By this act of going to John to be baptized, by this act of joining people who were acknowledging that their lives were totally messed up and empty and uncertain and in need of a fresh start, Jesus publicly demonstrated the meaning of Emmanuel. God is with us; God has come to us; God has joined us in this world, in our human condition, in our human predicament. God understands! God knows what life and death are really like for you and me! Johnny Dean, www.Sermons.com Perhaps Jesus knew that through baptism he was connected to God and to all of us at the same time. Through baptism we can be connected to God and to one another. Perhaps righteousness is fulfilled through all of us. Baptism is the foundation of our faith, it is who we are and what we do. Jesus did if for us and with us. Jesus was the son of God, but he was also a human. He was seeking meaning, and guidance. HE Found it, in the voice of a dove – saying This is my beloved Son. Matthew’s story about the dove is unique. The spirit of God says this is my beloved son. – The spirit speaks not just to Jesus – but to all of us. It tells us that we have found the messiah. When we follow Jesus into the waters – we find our meaning too. Welcome To a Journey The story is told of a pastor's words to a baby shortly after he had baptized her. No doubt, the minister was speaking as much to the congregation as to the infant. "Little sister, by this act of baptism, we welcome you to a journey that will take your whole life. This isn't the end. It's the beginning of God's experiment with your life. What God will make of you, we know not. Where God will take you, surprise you, we cannot say. This we do know and this we say -- God is with you." And God will be with us as we live out our baptism. William B. Kincaid, III, And then Came the Angel, CSS Publishing Company We are all God’s children – connected and called into service. Remember your baptism and be thankful. Amen. Song Spirit Song UMH 347 Pastoral Prayer – (if you don’t have room, leave the words to prayer out) Creator God, when everything first began, water became a symbol of refreshing, of washing away, of renewing. Through the waters of creation you brought forth abundant life. We have gathered this day to remember Jesus’ baptism, how your Spirit proclaimed that He was your beloved Son in whom you were very well pleased. Our spirits resound with that proclamation. In His baptism, Jesus’ ministry was initiated. He dedicated his life to you completely and without reservation. Help us to dedicate our lives to you, to offer our best for you, to be of service to you by serving in your world. As we have lifted before you the names of people near and dear to us who need your healing touch and your tender mercies, we have also lifted ourselves up as people in need of your grace. In our world there is war, oppression, hunger, and alienation. We have not been good stewards of the world. We have not cared for one another. Heal us and this world, Lord. Renew us with your life-giving waters and re-affirm our baptisms as your children. Let us go forth to be people of peace and mercy. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment In the book of Acts, Peter meets up with Cornelius, shares the Gospel with him, and sees how God pours out the Spirit on Cornelius. Changed lives for BOTH Cornelius and Peter! Not everyone has such a monumental story of coming into faith in Jesus as the Christ, but we all have been given opportunities to receive God’s loving kindness, forgiveness, and invitation to follow Jesus. For all of us who are baptized, today is a reminder of the power of dying with Christ and being raised up to new life. As we begin this new calendar year, today is a great day to respond to this Good News with a firm commitment to share our time, our talent and our treasure. In grateful answer to God’s love-poured-out, let’s present our gifts. Prayer of Thanksgiving God of all good gifts, thank you for the gift of baptism which marks us for life here and life eternal. Please accept our offerings as signs of our love for you and our desire to share Good News with all who are eager to claim new life. AMEN (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Prayer for the Baptized Voice, Body, Spirit, we give thanks for the gathering of your people into a beloved community of belonging. By our baptism, we accept the invitation to public and faithful witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ in the world and to be instruments to that work. May we live the baptized life in the Spirit as caring companions of one another, with accountability, support, and grace. Shelter us in your love, nourish us in your truth, and uphold us in your word. May it be so. Amen. (United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsey) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Beloveds, remember your baptism. Go from here with the confidence that God sees you, that God calls you, that God delights in you. In you, God is well pleased. In this confidence, let us open hearts to the Spirit that we may work together, with the Holy Spirit, to bring compassionate justice in every aspect of our lives. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Rose Schrott Taylor) Community Time Benediction Go forth joyfully. God is with you. Bring peace and hope to all you meet. And may God’s eternal love shine through you always. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations Jesus' Consecration Some years ago, a Scottish minister told his congregation about dreaming he had died. When he came to the pearly gates, to his dismay, he would be denied entrance until he presented his credentials. Proudly the Pastor articulated the number of sermons preached and the prominent pulpits occupied. But Saint Peter said no one had heard them in heaven. The discouraged servant enumerated his community involvement. He was told they were not recorded. Sorrowfully, the pastor turned to leave, when Peter said, "Stay a moment, and tell me, are you the man who fed the sparrows?" "Yes," the Scotsman replied, "but what does that have to do with it?" "Come in," said Saint Peter, "the Master of the sparrows wants to thank you." Here is the pertinent, though often overlooked, point: great and prominent positions indicate skill and capacity, but small services suggest the depth of one's consecration. And so it is with Jesus' Baptism. He submits to John's baptism of repentance even though he himself was perfect and had no need to repent. Jesus identified with our sins by being baptized. He joined in the popular movement of his day. It was a grass roots movement started by a desert monk named John the Baptist. John was calling for the repentance of Israel. Jesus chose to be baptized because he wanted to participate with the people in their desires to be close to God. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com. Adapted from G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, Nashville: Broadman, p. 241. We Draw the Circle Too Small Roy Lloyd, a Lutheran minister, once interviewed Mother Teresa. He said that one of his questions and one of her answers stands out in his mind as "a bright sun burning in my mind." He asked her, "What's the biggest problem in the world today?" And she answered, without hesitation, "The biggest problem in the world today is that we draw the circle of our family too small. We need to draw it larger every day." With all that is evil and wrong in this world today it would be easy to answer that question with a hundred different events. That's what makes Mother Teresa's response so jilting. She is saying that the problem is not so much with the world as it is with us. We need to see more people as our neighbor than we are currently doing. I see Jesus doing this in his baptism. In his baptism he included us in his righteousness. He identified with humanity, with our need to be cleansed, and our need to be made pure. If you have been baptized you have been drawn, by Jesus' baptism, into the circle of God's family. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com. The Puzzle Began to Fit About 2000 years ago (give or take a few) a small group of Jewish people, living under the tyranny of Roman rule, began to listen to the words of an itinerant preacher. They saw him reach out in love to the hurting people, the broken people, to comfort them and heal them. They heard him give radically new interpretations of the ancient Scripture. Then they watched in horror as he was arrested, tried on trumped-up charges, beaten, mocked, spat upon, and finally nailed to a cross to die between two thieves. They experienced the incredible pain of seeing him dead and buried on Friday, and the equally incredible joy of seeing him alive again on Sunday morning. They heard his promise that his spirit would remain with them all the days of their lives and beyond. And as they remembered what he had said and done, maybe they remembered the day of his baptism by John in the Jordan River. Maybe they remembered that a voice from heaven had declared, "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And maybe the pieces of the puzzle began to fit a little better for them. Johnny Dean, www.Sermons.com The Restaurant in Downtown Jericho The way it happened in my mind is that he walked into this little restaurant in downtown Jericho, took a deep breath and hollered, "Repent!" Folks stopped eating mid-bite. It got so quiet you could hear the motor running in that tall machine over in the corner that kept slices of pie turning around behind the glass all day. Every eye in the place was on him, and that was what he was waiting for. He started talking, and shouting, and waving his arms, and every time someone would try to laugh at him and go back to their coconut cream pie, he would walk right over and slam a fist on their table, or just stand and stare at the pie eater until their appetite simply disappeared. All this without missing a beat of his sermon. And what a sermon it was. He started out, "Some of you folks are from around here, aren't you? Born and raised right here? Well, that don't count for one blasted thing in God's book. Your ancestral tree might take you all the way back to Abraham himself, but as far as God is concerned, that won't pay for that cup of coffee you got sitting in front of you." He went on for quite some time, made his way from one table to the next, even the big round one in the back where the Pharisees sat at their weekly noon-time alliance meeting. People couldn't help but smile when he walked around that big round table and called them all a bunch of hissing old women who couldn't spell salvation if they had a dictionary in their hands. Then he was done. He walked out of the door just as he had come in. Except on the way out he was not alone. Several from the restaurant walked out with him, and followed him straight to the river. From there on it was history. More and more people came, and more and more went back home to tell their friends they had better go, too. By the time they got there, the crowds were huge. At one point in his baptizing, John looked up to see who was next in line, and when he did he froze in his tracks. There standing before him was Jesus. He recognized him immediately. This is where the story gets a bit hard for me to follow. Jesus steps up to be baptized like everyone else, but John shakes his head and says, "How can I baptize you? You ought to be baptizing me." They debate that fact for a bit and John finally gives in and baptizes him. Then, as Jesus gets out of the water, the sky opens up just like it had French doors, and this dove flies down and lands on him. Then, to confuse me even more, a voice comes out of that same door and says, "This is my Son, who I love; with him I am well pleased." And the story is over. John B. Jamison, Time’s Up!, CSS Publishing Company ___________________________________