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2330 South Jefferson Street
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2330 South Jefferson Street
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Sermon for January 11, 2004
Baptism of the Lord
I Am Baptized! Every morning she did
the same thing. She would do it every morning as she sent her child off
to school. As her child made her way down the sidewalk to the corner bus
stop her mother would always say, “Remember who you are!” Why did she do
that every school morning as her child left home? What did she mean?
Was she saying, “Make sure you spell your name right!”? or was she
saying, “Answer when your name is called!”? No. This is what this wise
mother was saying as she encouraged her child every single morning on the
way to school, “Remember who you are!”: This illustration of Will Willimon in his book about baptism, Remember Who You Are (Upper Rooms Books, 1980), it seems to me, centers us very quickly on the very personal meaning of an act so long ago shared by Jesus and John the Baptist as we celebrate today the Baptism of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus at the
beginning of his ministry came to John who was baptizing. He is baptized
by John and while Jesus was praying the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him like a dove and he heard a voice say to him from heaven How do you remember who you are today? How can your children and your grandchildren remember who they are in this culture that would pull them in so many ways? How can you, South Roanoke Church, remember who you are in all that we do together? How can we and all God’s people throughout all creation remember who we are? We all hold one experience in common with one another and with our Lord himself. There is an experience that all Christian people hold in common no matter what Christian tradition or church you are ever a part of. You see, you are baptized. Baptism is the experience common to all who come to the church and seek to be a part of God’s family. You are baptized. That’s how you remember who you are. Baptism is a deeply rooted experience in our United Methodist Church. In our tradition we believe that baptism is something that God does; it is not something that we do. It is a sign that God loves you long before you were born. It is an experience that does not require us to know or acknowledge anything, for God loves you long before you are ever able to even understand who God is. In our tradition one is only baptized once because we believe once God makes a promise God never takes it back. Therefore it is never necessary for someone to be “rebaptized” when one comes to our church from another Christian tradition. People of the United Methodist tradition have always brought their young children, their babies to the church for baptism where the church acknowledges and celebrates God’s love for that child and then promises to help prepare him or her for that moment in his or her own life when he or she on his or her own says “yes” to God. In our tradition, when young people are old enough and mature enough to say “yes” to God on their own, the Church then invites them to share in their Confirmation. We in the church of
Jesus Christ have a common experience, then, that helps us remember who we
are. Any time and any place and anywhere a child, a young person, an
adult of the Christian faith can say boldly and confidently, “I am
baptized!” Time and time again I
have been with someone, I already have been with some of you, or you have
been with one of your Christian friends, who without a doubt remember who
they are: Brothers and sisters of the Christian faith, the Church would call you today to “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” In a moment this morning we share in what is called a “Congregational Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant.” We will respond again to the questions asked at our baptism, pour out the water of blessing before God, affirm our faith together, and remember our baptism. We will do this today in perhaps what may be a new way for you. Once we have responded to the questions, affirmed our faith, and consecrated the water, the Church invites you (adult, youth, and children who have been baptized) to come forward and receive the sign of the cross upon your forehead as the water of baptism is applied with the word of blessing, “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” We are not baptizing you again this morning for one is baptized but once. Nor is this experience designed to be a mere “memory jogger.” No, this is not merely an experience to help you remember that you once had water applied to you. Rather, it is a sign for you that God keeps promises and never lets you go. There are this
morning adults, young people, and children who have not yet come to the
Church for baptism. Today I believe the church says at least two things
to you: To all of us here
this morning, how do you remember who you are? How do you entrust your
children to God and send them out the door each day or on their way
through life with any kind of confidence in your heart at all? e in the
Church of Jesus Christ have a common experience that helps us remember who
we are. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere a child, a young person, an adult of
the Christian faith can say boldly and confidently, William G. Davidson
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