The Baptism of Our Lord
January 7 & 8, 2006
Sermon by Timothy A Leitzke
Think back
to your weirdest childhood fear. Were you afraid of clowns, or dogs, or the air
conditioner? Me? I was afraid that there were wolves living on the second floor
of my house. Now, I had never personally seen a wolf, much less a wolf in my house, and I was convinced that the wolves would not come out if mom or dad were with me on the second floor. Also,
the wolves could not come down the stairs. Did I really think that there were wolves on the second floor? No. I just
knew I was afraid to be up there by myself and that this was a fear that made
no sense so I invented the wolves. I didn’t want to go any lower than the
ground floor, though, because under the house it was all dirty and wet and the
TV news was always talking about Radon, the silent killer that would creep
stealthily into your house and throttle you in the night. The only place where
I could safely go on my own was the ground floor of the house.
Our
knowledge of the universe is far greater than mine was then, but we often visualize
the universe as a three-story-house: hell, earth, & heaven. We speak of the
dead as though they either burn below or, hopefully, look down on us from
above. In heaven is God, who is so much stronger than we are, and in hell there
is the Devil, who constantly tries to ruin our lives. The only place where we
are safe is here on the ground floor, on earth. God is safely upstairs, the
Devil is safely underfoot, and we can get on with our lives, safe from harm.
We set up
the Church as a holy space, a place untouched by the outside world. We have a
tendency to withdraw, to curl up inside our walls, safe from a scary world. The
Church needs to be a safe community
and the sanctuary needs to be a safe
place. We need it as a place set
apart where we can recharge. It’s just that sometimes we get hung up on
recharging.
On this, the
first Sunday After the Epiphany, we celebrate The Baptism of Our Lord. It is a
bit of an odd festival. In Mark’s baptism story the three-story-house comes
crashing down. First, John plunges Jesus into the dirty waters of the
It’s all
centered in Jesus the Christ, this man who walks the earth, who works wonders,
whom God raises from the dead. God is on the loose in our world and things are
going to get dirty. When little Tyler John is baptized here tomorrow/this
morning he will be raised up a new person, he will be called Tyler John
Child-of-God, and marked as God’s own, and gifted with the promise of the
forgiveness of sins and salvation into resurrection life, but he will be
plunged into the waters of this broken world for God’s work. He will be raised
and sealed with the Spirit, and there will be no tidy boundaries in his world.
Friends of
Christ, that is why we celebrate The Baptism of Our Lord. The waters are split,
the heavens are sundered, and God is poured into this person, Jesus the Christ.
In Christ God has united the entire universe—every planet, every star, every
electron, every life, all that is, that has been, or ever shall be. As Christ
was baptized so are we. We share this rite with him. We are united with Christ
in baptism. We are plunged into the waters of this broken world and sealed with
the Holy Spirit. Just as God has united everything in Jesus the Christ God has
united everything in us. We are called to carry God into the dirty places, into
the scary places.
What do you fear
today? Is it bankruptcy, public
humiliation, running into your ex, the Giants losing, talking to people who
struggle with English, owning up to something you’ve done wrong, your kid’s
getting into trouble, your parents meddling with your lives? We need shelter
from the things that trouble us. We need some sense of order in chaos or sanity
is just a dream. In Baptism God has forever torn a hole in our shelter. God has
forever burst our bubble. We are called into the world. We are plunged into the
things we fear in order to bring God’s gifts to those places.
We are
plunged into poverty to feed and clothe those who have nothing. We are plunged
into the public arena as people who bear witness to God’s love. We are plunged
into encounters with those who have hurt us, or whom we have hurt, for the sake
of reconciliation and forgiveness. We are plunged into situations where we
don’t always win. We are plunged into difficult places so that we may show
patience, kindness, and understanding. We are plunged into confession so that
we might know forgiveness. We are plunged into letting go of those around us so
that we can have faith that they will thrive and that God will be with them. We
are plunged into remaining connected to those around us so that God’s love can
grow in the human family.
Friends of
Christ the waters of baptism might look scary but they are the place where
God’s work is done. If we don’t plunge in we are like fish out of water. The
waters of baptism are our home. They’re what we breathe. They’re where we
thrive. They’re where we share our new life with Christ. In these waters God is
at work in us, on the loose to save this broken world. The holes have been
torn. There is no upstairs or downstairs. We’re down and dirty, we’re among the
wolves, because God is here, and God is with us here. God is on the loose and
offering new life. Take the plunge. Amen