webmaster posted on August 16, 2010 16:44
On Sunday, July 18, General Secretary Roy Medley preached a sermon on Baptism the day his son, Ethan, and Daughter-in-Law, Urbi, were baptized. The following is an excerpt from the sermon preached on this day. Find a link to the full sermon by clicking here.
A Meditation Upon Baptism
Matthew 3:13-17
In most of our lives there come defining moments: events that both define and declare who we are. For Abraham and Sarah it was the decision to trust God and go on this crazy journey to which they were called to a land they did notknow based solely on a promise. For Moses it was seeing the suffering of his people, standing in solidarity with them, and becoming their leader in order to set them free because of a voice in a bush. For Queen Esther, it was knowing that only she could prevent a holocaust of her people by doing that which was forbidden – approaching the King without invitation – in order that her people might be saved solely because of a hope.
Throughout history, there have come these defining moments whether for Biblical heroes such as these or for figures such as Martin Luther, Menno Simons, Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. And those defining moments come, too, for more everyday folk like us.
Defining moments mark us forever as events that shape both our future course and our identity. It is such a defining moment in Jesus’ life that the gospel reading focuses on today, Jesus’ baptism by John.
There are a lot of things going on in this text that make this event so rich as a defining moment. On one level, this story is about Jesus’ acknowledgement and acceptance of his calling as Messiah. Centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah would speak of him as the one who was willing to be wounded for our transgressions, to be crushed for our iniquities; to take upon himself the punishment that would make us whole, and by his stripes heal us. (Isaiah 53:5) On another level, it is about Jesus’ deep identification as the Lamb of God with a wounded and broken humanity as he enters the waters of baptism. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” declares John. (John 1:29) The sinless one takes on our sins in order that we might take on his righteousness.
But it is to another dimension of his baptism that I wish to draw our attention: it is to the voice of God that spoke to the innermost heart of Jesus that day as he entered the waters of baptism (and to all who have ears to hear it), “This is my Son, the beloved.” In everything Jesus is to face in the three short years ahead: temptation, rejection, adulation, betrayal and crucifixion. In all these things, the one thing which alone is strong enough to anchor his life, to define him beyond everything that is thrust at him and upon him, and to bring him peace in the midst of the storm is this voice: “This is my son, the beloved.”
What a moment! It pulsates with both great tenderness and great power. “My son, my child, the one I love.”
Ethan and Urbi, it won’t be long until you will speak in many ways those same tender words to your own child – “my son, my child, the one I love.” More beautiful than the song of the angels Christmas morning, more glorious than the confession of Peter, more treasured than the gratitude of those he healed, are the words Jesus hears as he offers himself fully to his calling and to his Father and enters the waters of baptism. “You are My Beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Such tenderness!
To view the sermon in its entirety, click here
Medley ended the sermon, saying, “Urbi and Ethan, your baptism today is a defining moment. As you enter the waters of baptism, receive the gift of your forever identity. ‘You are ‘My Beloved’,’ says God. Nothing can ever take that away from you. You are ‘My Beloved.’”