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Dawn M. Haeger, Church of the Cross, Hoffman Estates, IL, January 14, 2007 One of my least favorite television genres is the “reality show.” These programs often show people functioning in a way that does not demonstrate the best that humanity has to offer. And according to recent news stories, if the men and women on Survivor or The Apprentice are not quite nasty or vindictive enough, the producers and directors have the scenes re-shot. So much for reality. There is one show, The Amazing Race, which I have watched a few times. The point of this show, if you have not seen it, is to work with a partner in completing difficult and sometimes dangerous tasks and racing from one, often exotic, geographical location to another. In the beginning of the competition, the contestants are pretty calm and behave decently toward one another. As the weeks pass, alliances form between competitors and couples are eliminated by arriving at their destination last. It was disturbing to watch married and engaged couples and life-long friends turn on each other if there was the chance that they would be eliminated by not solving their problem or completing their task quickly enough. All of this effort and energy was being utilized for the possibility of winning one million dollars. I have often wondered what motivates people to participate in these shows as well as those talk shows like The Jerry Springer Show or the courtroom dramas of Divorce Court. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand, but I do know that each and everyone of us has been invited to participate, not in a reality show, but in the bringing about of God’s reality. Of course, God’s reality is not up to the standards of network reality shows. There is no cut-throat competition, broadcasting of one’s failures, or a million dollar prize at the end. There is, however, the opportunity to work together, the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting with our Creator. In our gospel reading today, we see the people questioning John as to whether he is the promised Messiah the people have been waiting for. John is quick to point out that he is not. There is a great difference between him and the coming Messiah. “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” This is not some false modesty on John’s part; his work has been important. It has prepared the way for the Messiah; but he knows that someone far more significant and powerful is coming. This preparatory work of John’s has been mighty and compelling, and really it’s not surprising the people questioned if he were the Messiah. Biblical commentators explain that, “The Jews have experienced four hundred prophetless years. Now John’s ministry brings the kind of spiritual intensity that they have know previously only by reading long-dead prophets. It’s no wonder they think John might be the promised one – the messiah.” “Don’t look to me,” John declares, “The one coming after me will baptize you in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Our text moves to Jesus’ own baptism and his act of praying. “The heaven was opened,” says Luke, “and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The heavens themselves opened and Jesus’ identity was made plain. If you remember, a couple of weeks ago we discussed the passage in Luke where Jesus stays behind in the Temple while Mary and Joseph begin the return trek to Galilee. We talked about Jesus becoming aware of something special and unique about himself. In the eighteen years since then, Jesus has grown up and while the presence of the Holy Spirit has been active in the lives of those around him, this is the first time we read that the Spirit now rests upon Jesus. This very visible and physical sign acts as both an identity marker and an empowerment for Jesus’ ministry. In the following chapters, Luke describes that ministry and how Jesus has been anointed “to bring good news to the poor…proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Today we celebrate our baptisms and how, just as for Jesus, this act is a very visible and physical sign of our identities, both individually and corporately as well as our empowerment for ministry. For Presbyterians, baptism is about grace, love, forgiveness, community and discipleship. Hundreds of years ago, John Calvin wrote regarding baptism, "We are not our own, but the Lord's." The crucial factor in the Christian life, he said, is that "we are consecrated and dedicated to God." This means that "we may think, speak, meditate, or do anything only with a view to [the divine] glory." We are not our own. We do not belong to ourselves or to the ever changing society around us. We belong to the triune God who existed before time and whose faithfulness has been demonstrated over and over throughout the Scriptures. Our Book of Order declares, “Baptism enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God's redeeming grace offered to all people. Baptism is God's gift of grace and also God's summons to respond to that grace. Baptism calls to repentance, to faithfulness, and to discipleship. Baptism gives the church its identity and commissions the church for ministry to the world.” Not only does baptism provide for us our identity, as beloved children of God; it is also our summons to ministry in response to God’s amazing grace. Just as Jesus was called serve God and others around him, we too, in this sacramental act, are called to respond. Through this act, we are gifted with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who works not only to cleanse us from our sins, but to empower us for ministry, conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. What is important to note is that this transformation is a life-long process. We live into our baptisms and they are only complete upon our death. Having served in the church for a number of years, it is always interesting to see how some people understand the gift of baptism. For some people, there is a magical quality to it. We must hurry up and baptize the baby because something tragic might happen and the baby would be barred from entering heaven. And so baptism becomes the special entry ticket to God’s presence. For others, baptism is a rite of passage, something people in a Christian culture “do.” We have the baby baptized and the family has a party. Rarely do we see these folks in church again. Both of these understandings of baptism are in error. We Presbyterians don’t believe that if a child is unbaptized he or she is barred from heaven. That does not reflect the behavior of a gracious God or the fact that we believe that when the church baptizes, we are responding to God’s grace, not controlling or initiating it. Additionally, baptism of any person, child or adult, changes the whole community, not just the person being baptized. When one is baptized, all of who they are is added to our collective identity and we make promises to one another. The Presbyterian understanding of baptism is that of “a sacred covenant in which we and our children are inseparably united as members to Christ and to the living community of faith by the Holy Spirit.” This is not an act of an individual or a family; it is an act of the entire church. Remember the Book of Order states, “Baptism gives the church its identity and commissions the church for ministry to the world.” As members of the church and corporately, its body, we are called to ministry in the world. This ministry takes many shapes, but common to it all is to declare to the world the ultimate reality of God’s realm. This reality is exceedingly dissimilar to the one we are immersed in on a daily basis. The world says, “Do everything you can to get ahead. Money, position and wealth are good. Every person for themselves and if each and every person just worked hard enough, they would have all that they needed.” Jesus says, I have come “to bring good news to the poor…proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, the let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Baptism consecrates us to God and God’s service. We are strengthened by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to choose which reality we will serve. The question is of course, will you choose Survivor, The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, or the reality of a triune God who offers to all love, grace, family identity, forgiveness, justice and a world where all the oppressed are free? To God alone be all glory and honor, now and forever more. Amen.
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