"Remember Your Baptism" - Mark 1:9-15 - March 5, 2006

I don’t have a record of my baptism so I asked my mother when and where I was baptized. She told me that I was baptized when we lived in Mishawaka, Indiana in an Evangelical United Brethren Church. Mishawaka, a name I can hardly pronounce, is a suburb of South Bend, not too far from Lake Michigan. I was just an infant at the time so I don’t remember any of the details. I don’t know who the pastor was, nor do I know which church. I don’t have a certificate of baptism or a photograph of the event.

My parents remember it so it must be so. More importantly, they raised me in the church and so I never questioned the authenticity of my baptism. Where, when or who baptized us is not the issue. What matters most is that we grow up in the community of faith and we live out our baptism by remaining in the community of faith.

Mark doesn’t go into great detail about the baptism of Jesus. He was baptized by John in the River Jordan. Following that we learn that "he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit was upon him." Then there was a voice; "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am pleased." Jesus is affirmed by God and God’s presence is revealed.

When we are baptized we too are affirmed. God loves us as God’s own. Our lives are now linked to the eternal and especially the Spirit of Peace. Baptism, however does not occur apart from a community. There are witnesses and therefore we become eternally linked to those who were present. Wouldn’t it be a great feeling if someday someone who you did not know would come up to you and say, "I was present the day you were baptized?"

The first baptism in my ministry was for the infant daughter of a woman who was not married. Her mother and I were friends and since I was the only pastor she knew she requested that I baptize her granddaughter. At the time I was the pastor of a small, rural church and I wasn’t sure how the congregation would react since the child who I baptized was being presented by a single parent. To my surprise and to their credit, the congregation welcomed them and as far as I know no one objected. It had been years since anyone had been baptized in the church and perhaps it was an event that gave them hope. But, for that young mother to have her child baptized and be welcomed by total strangers had to be a tremendous affirmation.

Just as we cannot deny the mystery and wonder that surrounded Jesus’ baptism we can only believe that every time someone is baptized God is present in some mysterious way. Although I have never met anyone who was present at my baptism I and convinced that baptism connects us. Eighteen years and four pastorates later that same girl, who I baptized in that little country parish appeared in worship with her mother and grandmother on Easter Sunday. She had become a beautiful, young woman and I will cherish the bond between us forever.

I am convinced that there is power in the baptism experience. It is not a power I can explain but only appreciate. That being said, we cannot forget the fact that baptism is also a beginning. On the one hand it is an affirmation of the love of God, but on the other hand baptism propels us into a journey.

Following Jesus’ baptism he is "driven into the wilderness for forty days." There he will be tested by wild beasts. It is a time of growth, struggle and vulnerability. It was the time when Jesus learned to depend upon the grace of God. Just as Jesus was not alone since the angels of God watched over him, those same angels will watch over us.

The wilderness can also mean chaos. Whenever we find ourselves in the midst of chaos we are being tested. But, by remembering our baptism we can pass the test because we know we are loved by God and the angels of God are watching over us.

Several years ago a family from Japan lived next door. AJ was an engineer who worked for Honda. While living in here, he and his wife, Erie, had a son. It was their tradition to have a child receive a ‘blessing" in the first thirty days. In their tradition it prepares a child for the world in which he lives. They were Shinto, but there was no Shinto minister to bless their son. They asked me if I would baptize their son. I was honored that they would ask a Protestant pastor to perform that rite of passage for them.

It was both a joyous and meaningful time together as the young family from Japan, my wife and myself, gathered in the sanctuary and baptized their young son. Our neighbors moved back to Japan and we had not heard from them for about four years. Last December I received an email from AJ. He told me that they were back in the states, in Alabama. He just wondered how we were doing.

Baptism is a mystery. But, I am convinced that whenever someone is baptized, God showers us with grace. It is an event which seems to transcend our humanity. It is an event that brings people closer to each other and close to God. If it has the power to bring people of different nations and religions together it can bring people closer to each other in other ways as well.

One time a pastor had just finished a service which included a baptism and was preparing to turn off the lights in the church when he noticed a woman sitting in the first pew. When he approached her, she said her name was Mildred Cory, and she commented on how lovely the baptism had been. After another long pause, she added, "My daughter, Tina, just had a baby, and, well, the baby ought to be baptized, shouldn't it?"

The pastor suggested that Tina and her husband call him and they would discuss it. Mildred hesitated again, and then, catching and holding his eyes for the first time, she said, "Tina's got no husband. She's just 18, and she was confirmed in this church four years ago. Then she got pregnant and decided to keep the baby and she wants to have it baptized here in her own church, but she's nervous to come and talk to you, Reverend. She's named the baby James--Jimmy."

The pastor said that he would take the request to the church board for approval.
When the matter came up at the next meeting, he explained the situation. A few questions were asked as to whether or not they could be certain that Tina would stick to the commitment she was making in having her child baptized. The pastor remarked that she and little Jimmy were, after all, right here in town where they could give them support.
But their was a problem. The congregation has a custom in which the pastor asks, "Who stands with this child?" and then the whole extended family of the little one rises and remains standing for the ceremony. They were afraid that no one would stand with the young mother and her child.

Perhaps Mildred Cory would be the only one who would stand when the question was asked. It hurt them to think about it, but the board approved the baptism. It was scheduled for the last Sunday in Advent. The church was full that day, as it always is the Sunday before Christmas. Down the aisle came Tina, nervously, briskly, smiling, holding month-old Jimmy. This young mother was so alone. It would be a hard life for this pair.

The pastor read the opening part of the service and then, looking for Mildred Cory, he asked the question: "Who stands with this child?" He nodded at Mildred slightly, to coax her to her feet. She rose slowly, looking to either side, and then looked at him with a smile. Just as the pastor began reading his liturgy, he became aware of movement in the pews. Angus McDonnell, an elder whose grandson had been baptized when Mildred was present a few weeks earlier, had stood up, along with his wife Minnie. Then a couple of ther elders stood. Then the sixth-grade Sunday school teacher, then a new young couple in church, and soon, before his incredulous eyes, the whole church was standing up with little Jimmy.

Tina was crying. Mildred Cory held on to the pew as though she were standing on the deck of a rocking ship. The Scripture reading that morning was a few verses from the first letter of John. "See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God .. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us ...There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:7-21) from Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul)

Who are we to deny the reality that the love of God is present every time someone is baptized? Baptism prepares us for the chaotic world in which we have to live. And baptism brings us together and closer to God.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio