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Preaching Mission for the First Sunday after Epiphany (January 12, 2025)

Baptism Defines Our Mission
By Bishop Chris Giesler

Assigned Lesson: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Can you remember your baptism? Not many of us who grew up in the Moravian Church, or a denomination that practices infant baptism, can—those who can were baptized as either a youth or an adult. So, let me rephrase the question: can you remember that you were baptized?

It is thought that at some point in time, John the Baptist spent time living with a religious group called the Essenes out in the Judean desert near the Dead Sea. This was a religious order, much like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who shunned the worldly ways of much of 1st Century Judaism and retreated to the wilderness to live in isolation. These are the folks who wrote what would later be found as the Dead Sea Scrolls. On a trip to the Holy Land, I visited Qumran, the Essene community where those scrolls were found. The Essenes were known to be desert mystics, and one of their rituals was that they were baptized every day. Each community member would receive a ritual baptism by full immersion at the end of every day. On one hand, this dip in a pool served to wash the desert dirt away. But more importantly, it was spiritually symbolic of washing away the sin that had been part of their lives for that day. Our group saw the ruins of these ancient pools, each with two sets of steps in them. One set is where a person would enter dirty, and another set is where the person exited clean. John took some of these notions of baptism by water as part of preparing people for the coming of Jesus. He was not concerned with dirt, but he was concerned with inviting people to change their orientation of life. “I will baptize you with water,” John said, “He who is coming after me will Baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

This brings us to our text for today, with Jesus showing up before John the Baptist to mark a new orientation in his life and ministry. Before this time, Jesus was a carpenter, taking over the family business from his father. But now, as Jesus contemplates what must have been a very difficult decision, he comes to John for this ritual. In this narrative, we hear how the heavens opened, a dove descends, and we hear God’s blessing on Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” This was crucial for Jesus! And my faith tells me that even today, God looks with great favor whenever a person receives the waters of baptism.

In the Liturgy for Baptism in our Moravian Book of Worship, we read the following:

Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted baptism as the visible means of entry into the new covenant. Baptism is a gift of God. In this sacrament, through grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are united with Christ, are cleansed by his saving work, enter into the fellowship of the church, and are called to a life of faith and willing obedience. (Moravian Book of Worship page 165)

Baptism is the visible means of entry into the new covenant; in baptism, we are united with Christ and enter into the fellowship of the Church. The amazing good news is that we have been included without earning or deserving it.

One of my favorite TV shows is The Andy Griffith Show. It is partly because Andy Griffith himself was a Moravian and was born and raised in a town not far from where I spent much of my growing years. In one episode of the show, the Women’s Historical Society discovered that a living descendant of a Revolutionary War hero was living right there in Mayberry. The news generated excitement and curiosity throughout the town as people made plans to recognize the hero’s relative.

Andy is the Sheriff of this tranquil little town, and his deputy is Barney Fife. Upon hearing this news, Barney twisted his lineage to the point of putting himself in line for the honor. The rest of the townspeople felt special because someone among them was related to such an important historical hero. But everyone was shocked when the news came as to who this person was, and it was not Barney. After careful analysis of the genealogical records, the hero’s descendant was found to be Otis Campbell, the town drunk. Every time Otis would drink to excess, he would stumble his way to the Sheriff’s office and lay down in one of the two jail cells to sleep it off. Mayberry’s Mayor was furious about the discovery and was worried that Otis would bring dishonor to the community to the point that he ordered Andy to find a “substitute Otis” for the presentation. However, Andy realized just how important this would be for Otis’ well-being and ensured that he showed up sober for the ceremony. When the society members gave him the engraved plaque, Otis gave it to the townspeople, saying, “Just because you’re the descendant of a hero doesn’t make you one. So, I would like to present this plaque to the town of Mayberry, to which I am just proud to belong.”

Aren’t we all happy to belong – to be included? We can refer to this part of our baptism as incorporation. Baptism reminds us that we are included and incorporated into the body of Christ. This inclusion came about because of a love determined to draw us in. If the Church can be all that it is called to be, long after the act of baptism, that love holds us together without ranking us as more or less important, allows us to disagree with each other without deserting one another, and leads us to use our different gifts without any need to compare them with somebody else’s.

While our baptism is personal, it is not private, as we are now included alongside others. The waters of baptism symbolize being cleansed from sin and breaking down barriers between people. We share a common relationship with Jesus in which the old divisions no longer apply. Baptism is more than being incorporated into the body of Christ; it is also about living and serving with the other members of that body.

In the Baptism Liturgy, just after the water has been sprinkled, poured, or rubbed on the one’s forehead, we say the following prayer: Now through God’s grace and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, you have been brought into the covenant; therefore live, yet not you alone, but Christ lives in you; and the life which you live now, live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave his life for you.”

Nothing about baptism is to remain in the sanctuary or as a cherished memory. It is meant to enable us to live in the world with Christ’s love guiding our way. Baptism gives us a mission to make our journey in life knowing that Christ goes with us. This is a desire to live not for self but for the good of others. That notion is the beginning of a blessed mission.