In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Baptism....baptism is a very important occasion in the life of a family. Most often, a time of celebration, a time when family - both related and church come together for a public rite of passage, a welcome into the body of Christ.
Just so with Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. It too was a very special event for the early church; each of the 4 gospels record it, though not all in the same way. In Matthew's version we hear that it also was a public event for all to be part of.
We may see the baptism of Jesus as a connection with our Christian baptism - seeing Jesus' baptism as a prototype for our own but for Matthew Jesus' baptism in the river Jordan establishes Jesus' identity before he sets out on his public ministry; an event that bridges heaven and earth with God clearly proclaiming who Jesus is - his Beloved Son, 'this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'. God's chosen to bring justice and thus fulfil God's purpose for human kind - a new beginning, a new way.
This new way is hugely significant, and its proclamation is only one of two occasions when God speaks in Matthew, the other occasion being at the Transfiguration when once again God makes the same claim - 'this is my son'.
The writer of Matthew's gospel, thought to be a Jewish teacher, a rabbi, liked to make connections for the community he was writing for, connections from the old testament that were evidence of fulfilment of prophecies. The writer of Matthew didn't dodge the tricky issue of Jesus, the greater, being baptised by John, the lesser. In this gospel Jesus explains that the baptism, demanded by Jesus, is to fulfil all that is to follow, the righteousness and justice of God, that it had been ordained. That in order to do this Jesus has to humbly identify himself with God's people and share their penitence and live their life.
Matthew also looks back to the old testament with the words spoken by God 'this is my beloved son' back to the Isaiah reading we heard earlier - ' Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights'. Signifying that Jesus is to be the Suffering Servant of God, a very humble Messiah who will suffer for others.
So what Jesus began in Jordan's waters at his baptism would take him to Calvary to die and rise again to fulfil God's righteous plan for bringing about the Messianic Age. An age that has drawn Jesus' followers over the last 2 centuries and continues to draw us today throughout the world. Jesus' ministry that included the calling of disciples, baptising them and teaching them to walk in God's righteous path.
Our baptism is our calling to ministry, our ministry, and, if you take media reporting at face value, perhaps a passport to education - but this is not for today. No, baptism is our calling to ministry, our ministry, our journey towards God sharing Christ's life and walking in his way. The poet George Herbert talks of God being like a lover who woos us in our journey, not an impersonal power that seeks to impose an arbitrary and dictatorial will upon us. No, God sent his beloved Son to be a human example and guide on our journey.
For God there is no such thing as an 'ordinary person' we are all uniquely valuable to God - there is glory in everyone. This is a very precious affirmation to us all especially in a world where some are made to feel of little value - the old, the infirm, the poor, the homeless - the different - sidelined, disposable.
While this precious affirmation may be very comforting when we apply it to ourselves, I suggest that it can, and should, make us squirm a little, or perhaps more than a little when we make the connection that this applies to those who are not like us. We live in a global world and we can be linked to others virtually by technology, where we connect with life in all its agonies and ecstasies through the camera lens or the voice of a reporter.
Spiritually, however, we are all linked, all being constituent members of the body of Christ. How can we make a difference, live out our ministries. How can our membership of the body of Christ through our baptism help us walk in God's righteous path, working for justice as we await the fullness of the Kingdom?
Individually, as a church family, as a community, as a world wide church how can we do this? Perhaps we have to start with our own journeys. And, just as Jesus' baptism announced the start of his public ministry let the remembrance of our baptism remind us of our call to our ministries. Let us put aside our plans and like Jesus after his baptism, listen to the voice from heaven and allow God to lead us.
The writer John Powell wrote these, what I find very powerful words - which are an individual invitation to each one of us.
'There is an old Christian tradition that God sends each person into this world with a special message to deliver, with a special song to sing for others, with a special act of love to bestow. No one else can speak my message, sing my song, or offer my act of love. These are entrusted only to me'.
Amen.
Sermon by: Christine Barclay