The Baptism of Our Lord
Year A

By the Rev. Ann M. Smith

Based on the Gospel reading: Matthew 3:13-17

Once again in today's gospel we meet John at the Jordan River as he continues to preach a baptism of repentance. Jesus comes to him there to be baptised himself. Even as Jesus approaches, John recognises something special in him. "I need your 'Spirit and fire' baptism; not you my 'water' baptism," he says to him.

Jesus' reply accepts John's point, but insists that it is part of God plan for his life. He is coming for baptism to fulfil his earthly mission. By saying that it is to 'fulfil righteousness', he is affirming baptism as a necessary part of God's purpose of salvation, as part of his call. In the waters of baptism, Jesus encounters the Spirit. He is affirmed as God's "Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." And he begins in a real way, his public proclamation of the Gospel.

How appropriate the recounting of the baptism of our Lord is during this season of Epiphany as we celebrate the ways in which God is shown forth to the world. It marks Jesus' entry into public ministry. It is, for him, a pivotal experience, the beginning of the mission for which he has been preparing.

And too, if we had any doubts at all about the identity of Jesus as God's Son following the manger birth, the event of Christ's baptism accompanied by the special revelation of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God out of Heaven is meant to dispel those doubts. Jesus, we learn, is not simply an itinerant preacher, a remarkable teacher, a radical revolutionary or a sainted guru. He is the Son of God. We can follow his teachings and example with conviction.

The early church took baptism seriously. In account after account in the New Testament we hear the stories of the baptism of the converts to Christianity. The Acts of the Apostles is full of such accounts. Peter preaches on Pentecost and many are converted and baptised. The people listen to Philip as he preaches and then are baptised. God opens Lydia's heart and she and her whole household are baptised. Paul and Silas are in prison. There is an earthquake. The jailer expects that the prisoners will escape and he will be held accountable. When he sees that they have not attempted to leave he is converted and he and his household are all baptised.

In the letter to the Ephesians, written probably as a liturgical preparation for baptism, Paul teaches that it is through baptism that one becomes a member of Christ's body. Mark's Gospel makes it clear that the proclamation of the Gospel is a call not only to repentance and faith but also to baptism. "The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned." And finally, in John's Gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must become as a child and be born from above "of water and Spirit."

As Anglicans we affirm the importance of baptism by making it a part of Sunday worship. The present day church, in reconnecting the sacrament of baptism to the celebration of the Eucharist, is affirming its importance. As we celebrate the sacrament of Baptism we have an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant, the promises made, usually on our behalf, at the time of our baptism.

Because as Anglicans we affirm infant baptism, rarely are we able to remember the occasion. We need reminders of the importance of those promises made for us. We need reminders of our need as adult believers to affirm the promises made for us. We need to reflect on the importance of baptism in our lives. What was significant about our baptism?

My own took place on the long weekend in May of 1946 when I was a few weeks old. It was a private, but rather formal affair in St. Alban's Church in Byng. I wore the family baptismal gown, as had six generations of Smith's before me. My parents, grandparents, godparents, siblings, and a few family friends attended. My father baptised me by sprinkling water over me. My older brother had been immersed, and mother put her foot down about the rest of us. I cannot remember anything of the event, but I do affirm that something important happened to me that day that has stayed with me throughout my whole life. Alice Francis was my sponsor or, if you prefer, my godmother. She was a friend of the family. She kept in touch with me until she died. I always received a small remembrance from her – a religious card or memento – on the anniversary of my baptismal day. It helped me recognize the significance the event. I found her to be a nurturing presence in my life, a real gift, someone in whom I came to see the face of Christ.

The first baby I baptised was when I was doing On Call Chaplaincy at Toronto General Hospital. She was premature and was not expected to survive. The family had gathered together and wanted her to be baptised. We found a basin of water and I held her in my arms. She was so tiny she would have fit in one hand. There in that room with her mother, father, aunt and uncle she was named Katy Harper Hall. For a few minutes we were held in a bond of love that I have experienced very few times in my life. Katy's mother later shared with me that during the baptism she felt caught up into God's presence.

One of the most meaningful baptisms I have attended took place some years ago in the parish in which I was organist. A whole family – parents and two children – came for baptism. Some friends had brought the children to the church. They joined the choir and Sunday school and became quite active. Mother and father came to a potluck supper and were overwhelmed by the welcome they received from parishioners. They too became regular attendees at worship. They asked about receiving communion, and on discovering that baptism was the requirement asked that the whole family be baptised. The church was jammed that Sunday with supporters. It was a moving experience for all of us.

I use those illustrations this morning as examples of the place of baptism in the mission of the church. None of the examples represent mission in the sense we have come to expect of the word. But all three happened as a result of mission, of evangelism. There was no hell and brimstone preaching. There was no altar call. But there was mission. There was an invitation to come and see. There was openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit in the life those who were baptised.

Baptism for Jesus was an encounter with the Holy Spirit that led him into a life of ministry. We like Jesus encounter the Spirit in our baptism. How do we live out that encounter? We do it by affirming the promises of our baptism. We revitalise our sense of mission, our sense of what we are called to through baptism. We live in an age of fulfillment. Jesus came; he was baptised by John. He was filled with the Spirit. He entered into mission with us. We are redeemed and reconciled. We are charged with the task of being "a light to the nations…." And whatever our avocation – that which we do to feed and clothe our bodies – our vocation is to serve God, to emulate Christ, to witness through word and deed and to communicate God's love and grace. That is our baptismal call. That is the promise that we made, or that was promised on our behalf in our baptism.

Today as we renew the promises of our baptism, let us consider what our mission is. What is God calling us to do? How can we respond to that call? How can we learn and grow and be transformed by God's love? The heart of the Christian faith is that by baptism each of us is brought into intimate relationship with a loving God. The simple fact is that you are God's beloved son or daughter. It is for each of us to claim that and to live in the joy and confidence of it. Then we will follow Christ with the conviction that we are following God's design and destiny for our lives.