In his book Abide in Peace: Healing and Reconciliation,
the Rev. Marcus George Halley says,
“The Gospel is an invitation to die to a world
that is enamored of degradation, discrimination, and death
and rise into a world
whose foundations are
‘eternal in the heavens’ (2 Cor. 5:1).
It is a call to a cross-shaped life,
one which stands awkwardly and uncomfortably
in the face of those
who can’t be bothered to see
the immense pain and suffering in our world,
and one which stands as a sign of hope,
as divine solidarity
with those who are the crucified
in our own world.
The Gospel call
is not a call to escape this world,
but rather to participate in its salvation.”
The Common English Bible renders a part of today’s reading from Acts,
“Paul explained, ‘John baptized with a baptism
by which people showed
they were changing their hearts and lives.
It was a baptism that told people
about the one who was coming after him.
This is the one in whom they were to believe.
This one is Jesus.’”
And part of the Mark reading,
“John the Baptist was in the wilderness
calling for people to be baptized
to show that they were changing their hearts and lives
and wanted God to forgive their sins.”
I like that the CEB unpacks “repentance”
in both instances:
changing their hearts and lives.
John was “calling for people to be baptized
to show that they were changing their hearts and lives
and wanted God to forgive their sins.”
As we celebrate Jesus’ baptism today,
hear Mark’s very short version of it,
and bring Javi and Roman to the font
we reflect on our own baptisms
and God’s call in and on our lives.
Writing about baptism as the beginning
of our work of reconciliation Halley says,
“We are a people called to engage in God’s mission.
Our sins are forgiven,
thus enabling us to live reconciled to God.
We are initiated into the Christian community,
a people called to continue
the healing work of Christ
in this and every age.
We are sealed as belonging to God,
not as lords over each other.
We are called to be servants,
a way of life not taught to us by our culture.
We participate in Christ’s death and resurrection:
that is, we are called to die
to the values and practices of this age
that are at odds with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
and rise into his Way of Life in the world.”
Talk about coming to God,
coming to the water of life,
with changed hearts and minds!
Engaging in God’s mission
with forgiven sins,
continuing the healing work of Christ
and living as servants of all,
is not something we do on our own.
John predicts
and then Paul conveys
that with baptism comes the Spirit.
This is the same Spirit that moves over the deep
in our Genesis passage today,
the Wind from God that sweeps over the waters.
This is the Spirit we are sealed with as oil is poured over us
and as we are marked as Christ’s own forever.
This is the breath of God that fills our lungs
and shows up to help us work toward keeping our baptismal promises
the promises we work to keep
with God’s help.
Halley continues,
“Baptism fills us with a waterborne desire
to build bridges across the chasms of human pain.
The closer we come to Jesus Christ,
the more we want to do what he does
and live the kind of life he lives,
one where we enter the rooms of our supposed enemies
to disrupt the whole enemy enterprise altogether.”
Having come through Christmas
celebrating the Incarnation
when God becomes man
so that humanity might become divine
we hear about Jesus’ baptism,
we reflect on our own,
and we bring Javi and Roman
to the water of baptism
to be reborn by Water and the Spirit.
While Mark’s rendering of Jesus’ baptism is short
there’s not even the back and forth with John
that we know so well from Matthew
it’s important nonetheless.
As Jesus came out of the water
he saw the heavens being ripped apart
as earth and heaven were joined together
and God’s reign drew even nearer.
God assures Jesus of his belovedness
and in that assurance
offers him reassurance
for his mission.
The mission of being a servant to all
to work for reconciliation among all people
and reconciliation between God and humanity
is not one that will be easy.
Yet as the heavens are ripped apart
and the Spirit comes on Jesus like a bird,
he’s commissioned to do his work.
Halley says,
“Baptism fills us with a waterborne desire
to build bridges across the chasms of human pain.”
Jesus sees bridges between the realms
as he himself is a bridge
for our salvation and reconciliation
a salvation that starts
with our coming to God in repentance
changing our hearts and minds.
Roman and Javi
have a while to go
before they can take on this work
before they can start living their commission
to participate in the healing work of Christ
and to live as servants of all.
That doesn’t let the rest of us
off the hook.
From their sponsors
to those of us who witness the vows
to the one of us leading prayers
and splashing water
our commissions and mandates are clear.
“The closer we come to Jesus Christ,
the more we want to do what he does
and live the kind of life he lives.”
The work of Christians,
which begins at the font
regardless of when we came through it
is a ministry of reconciliation.
I’ll close with Halley,
“The call to reconcile
is a call to stand between two opposing realities
and bring them together
by helping them imagine and create
a new world together,
one where mercy and truth meet together.”
Two opposing realities
the veil between heave and earth split open
so that God’s mercy and truth meet.
Gifted with the Spirit, this is our call. Amen.