Water
A Sermon for the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Feast of the Baptism of our Lord
January 8, 2023
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17
Did any of you receive a coffee table book as a Christmas gift this year? You know what they are, those large books with lovely pictures, loosely focused on some topic of interest, that someone thinks is a perfect gift for you because you have an interest in that topic. Topics like Civil War History, Impressionist Art, Cathedrals, Gardening, and I’ll let you fill in some titles of your own.
Years ago I received one of these entitled The Art of God, filled with photographs of nature paired with scripture. It’s a lovely thing and from time to time I pull it out and spend time in its pages. This week I found a section on water, with the scripture passage from John (3:5) that says, “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, they cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” Following the scripture, the author wrote this.
“All the water that has ever been on earth is still on earth. There has never been nor will there ever be any more or less. Always moving, always recycling, it changes from liquid to gas to solid to liquid again – visiting oceans, air, clouds, mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, plants, animals, humans, soil, and oceans again. What a story it might tell if it could talk; the water you drank this morning may have been calmed by Jesus on the Sea of Galilee almost two thousand years ago.” This is an incredible thing to think about, isn’t it?
On this Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, I would add that the water in which Jesus was baptized may very well exist in the water molecules with which you were baptized. Do you remember your baptism? Most Episcopalians don’t, since most were baptized as infants, but I remember mine, in the Baptist church at age seventeen, on my birthday, in fact. This was not at all planned and a happy coincidence at the time, but now as I reflect on it, it was my best birthday ever.
In the Episcopal Church, because so many of us do not remember our baptism, from time to time we renew our baptismal vows. This is a powerful reminder of what our family and our parish members promised on our behalf, that we later confirm for ourselves when we are confirmed, as Charlotte will do in a few weeks when Bishop Stevenson visits Immanuel.
If you remember anything from reading the catechism as you prepared for confirmation, it might be the definition of a sacrament. The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.
For baptism, the outward and visible sign is water.
Water flows through the scriptures from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. Genesis 1:2 – “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” Revelation 22:1 -“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.” This year I’m going to notice every time water appears in scripture, starting today. Psalm 29 tells of the voice of the Lord upon the mighty waters. And in our Gospel, “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.” There it is, water, the Jordan River.
Notice that John is surprised that Jesus wants John to baptize him. Christians have been talking about this ever since. If Jesus is the Son of God and is perfect, why does he need to be baptized for forgiveness of sin?
Think about what we know about water. Throughout scripture and throughout time we see the power of water. It is used to wash away impurity – whenever the Israelites were unclean; and it is used to sustain life – think about Moses striking the rock in the desert when the Israelites were thirsty.
Water is useful for washing, for making things clean. That’s what John was doing, baptizing with water to wash people clean so they would be ready for the Messiah. But we know that water is useful in another way. It is necessary for life, encouraging growth in plants and animals and humans. What better symbol of the sacrament of baptism is there than water? Yes, we repent, we turn away from sins and are forgiven. And then we turn toward new life, embracing all that Christ exemplified in his earthly life, from his baptism to the cross. This new and eternal life in Christ is summarized in our baptismal covenant. Water is a reminder of our baptism and a reminder that the holy flows throughout scripture and all of our lives, saturating us with God’s grace.
As Jesus is immersed in the water of the Jordan River he is immersed into all of creation, into the depths of humanity, and into our lives in all of our messiness, through every flood and drought. The baptism of Jesus is the fulfillment of all righteousness. It joins earth to heaven and humanity to divinity. It is one of those liminal moments we talked about in Advent. Jesus in the water, the heavens opening, the dove descending, and the voice proclaiming Jesus as the Beloved Son of God in whom God is well pleased.
Even if we cannot remember it, all of these things are true for us who have been baptized. We have been forgiven, washed clean, made righteous, and given new life in Christ. And though we may not have heard it, the voice proclaimed it, and proclaims it still, whenever we remember our baptism and live out the vows promised on our behalf, or that we ourselves promised at baptism or confirmation. The voice of God speaks over us, “This is my son, this is my daughter, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”
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