Clinging to the Waters ~ Mark 1:4-9 ~ Baptism of Our Lord

Recently, Elizabeth and I have become hooked on a TV game show called Idiotest.  It’s a pretty simple concept—they show you a picture puzzle and ask you a question about it.  But there’s tricks: 1) the most obvious answer is usually wrong; 2) the puzzles can overwhelm you to the point that you panic and stop thinking critically.  You have only ten seconds to solve the puzzle.

Having watched over a dozen or so episodes, I’ve begun to enjoy it—now that I’ve gotten over the shock of learning that I am an idiot.

But sometimes, we may feel that way when it comes to questions relating to our Christian faith.  More often than not, we’ll find ourselves having too many questions—and too few answers. 

Take for example the disciples the Apostle Paul encounters in Ephesus… He asks them, “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”  Their answer is “No, we’ve never heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

I think any of us would feel this way if we were asked this question.  There is so much we don’t know.  The reason why is that a baptism into Jesus presents an entire universe of awesome promises that we can only begin to understand…  We’re baptized into Jesus’ baptism—of that we can be certain.  The short story of Jesus’ baptism in the Gospel of Mark does have a great deal to teach us about our own…

When Jesus is baptized, the heavens are torn apart and Holy Spirit descends upon him as a dove. We receive this very same Holy Spirit. 

At the beginning of time, the Holy Spirit was a wind from God sweeping over the face of the waters.  Then God speaks—and the Holy Spirit brings all things into being.  But the work of the Holy Spirit was only just beginning…

At the beginning of all things, God had you in mind—and God’s Holy Spirit has been working through the tiniest atoms and molecules through all history so that you would be born—and so that you would be baptized.  On the day of your baptism, you are literally born into the life that God had planned for you since the foundation of the creation.  In baptism you are born into the very life of Jesus Christ. 

Your sins are forgiven; nailed to the cross.  You die to sin.  God puts to death the heart that lives and acts only for your own sake.  You are then raised to new life, as the Holy Spirit brings Christ to life within you. 

You receive the faith of Jesus, to live as a child of God.  The Spirit draws you to the Word, where God’s love is revealed.  The Spirit then uses that faith to see all the ways God loves and cares for you. 

You are also made alive into the faithfulness of Jesus.  The Spirit seizes you and exercises Jesus’ love and mercy for the world through you.  You’re no longer living for yourself.  You’re living in love for your neighbor, as Christ lives in love for you. 

It is in baptism that we know who we are and whose we are, as children beloved of God.

So often, we think of baptism merely as something we do so that we can go to heaven.  But it’s not that at all.  It’s a covenant; a relationship built upon all of God’s promises to us.

So often, we take baptism for granted—in the same way as we take Jesus for granted.  One of the easiest things to do is to take baptism as a kind of “get out of hell free card;” coming out of the water and going off to live the baptized life on our own terms.  Other times, we simply forget about it or minimize its importance in our lives as Christians.  Do you know your baptismal anniversary?  Do you celebrate it? 

Like many of you, I was baptized as an infant—so of course, I don’t remember it.  But the one baptism I know I’ll remember forever is the first baptism I ever performed in the neo-natal intensive care unit of the hospital where I interned in the summer of 2008.  Two young parents asked me to baptize their little baby boy Adam, who was born fourteen weeks premature.  He was so tiny he could’ve fit into the palm of my hand.  I can’t imagine how frightened his parents must’ve been that day.  But that day, God literally tore open the heavens and came down to assure them that no matter what, Adam was loved and so were they.  Jesus was clinging to all three of them.  Jesus would’ve clung to them just the same, even if his fragile little life would’ve slipped away before I got there. 

That’s why baptism is so much more than just something we do.  It’s Jesus clinging to us—and opening his arms to cling to him.  It is a physical, tangible sign that the heavens are torn open and that Jesus is hanging onto us, especially when the worst pains of life surround us.  So your baptism shouldn’t be something that fades into the past and is forgotten.  We’re invited back to the waters every day, to hear the voice of Jesus declaring that our sins are forgiven.  That sin and death have no ultimate power over us.  Our lives have a God-given purpose.  We return to our baptism every day to hear the voice of Jesus saying, “you are mine.”

That’s why you’re here today.

You may have noticed that the baptismal font has been moved—and it’s no accident.  It’s always filled with water, so that when you come into church, you can put that water on your forehead and feel the water, as it clings to the skin of your head, and remember that Jesus is clinging to you.  So make that your practice every Sunday from here on out.  Dip your hands in after you return from communion, or do it before you leave. 

Let the water that sustains your life speak the greatest truth you’ll ever know: you are beloved.