Pasadena Presbyterian Church Sermon Text
January 5, 2003

"Come to the River"
Preached by The Rev. Dr. Barbara Anderson

Scripture:  Mark 1:4-11

(4) John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (5) And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

(6) Now, John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (7) He proclaimed, 'The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  (8) I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'

(9) In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (10) And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. (11) And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'

-- Mark 1: 4-11

I do not remember my baptism, at least not at a conscious level. It occurred when I was an infant. I remember the stories about it, however: how I threw up all over my mother just before the baptism liturgy began, and how she and my father scurried to make us presentable in time to be baptized with all the other children scheduled for that Sunday morning's service.  Water from God's river of love ran down my forehead that morning, even though, cognitively, I could not fully know what it meant at such a young age.

At various times, faithful Christians have tried to convince me that my baptism as an infant did not count because I did not choose it and cannot remember it, and that only later experiences in life, and particularly those which include an ecstatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit (such as speaking in tongues) really matter to God and really make me a Christian.  As William Willimon says, it's as if there are graduate school Christians and kindergarten Christians.  Those of us who have been baptized with water in a church, yet not with the gift of tongues, have not graduated from the lower grades. (1)  Often I receive pity from these graduate school Christians for those of us who do not have a manifestation of the same gifts of the Spirit that they have. 

But I do not buy their argument. I do not cognitively remember my baptism as an infant, but who is to say that it had no impact, that it had no meaning beyond sentimentality, that a miraculous event did not happen when that outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace was administered?  What arrogance to claim that we know fully what work God is doing and how it is being accomplished at any given time in this world or in a person's life.  We can no more rightly claim to know precisely what happens during the prayers of baptism, as water runs down a person's forehead of any age, and as a minister looks deeply into their eyes, and says, "I baptize you in the name of Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," we can no more rightly claim to know this than we can rightly claim to know precisely what happens as we consecrate the bread and cup of communion and proclaim the real presence of Christ with us at the table. 

The sprinkling of water on our head is not insignificant.  It is monumental. No experience of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in my life replaces or supercedes my baptism by water and the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ in the First Presbyterian Church of Middletown, Ohio, nearly 50 years ago.  These later experiences of the Holy Spirit are, instead, a living into my baptism and the promises of my baptism being fulfilled in my life. 

Each time I gave my life to Jesus in my teen years, and the days beyond number from my early life until now when I have responded to God's loving presence or convicting word in my heart by asking God to help me be what God needs me to be, leads back to my baptism.  Each time of commitment and re-commitment, no matter how large or small, ultimately leads me back to those original promises made by my parents and by God at my baptism years ago, that I did not choose and cannot cognitively remember.

This is the pattern of the Christian life.  These re-commitments -  whether mountain top experiences or daily prayer  - lead us back to our original baptism as surely as the tiniest mountain streams find their way back to the ocean. Our baptism is a gift, given to most of us before we could even ask for it, as God's love is given to us before we could even ask for it.

Today we remember not only our baptism, but Jesus' baptism, as well. Surely, of all people, Jesus was close to God, yet he too, responded to God's call for baptism before beginning his ministry.  Jesus stepped into that River Jordan and let God's love and power flow over him as a powerful current.

I wonder what went through his mind and heart in that moment? 

Was it an experience of solidarity with us mere mortals?  Was it a re-commitment to God's purposes being worked out through him?  Was it a time to remember that God's love and power and purposes are as true and immutable as the force of gravity making the water run down Jesus' face and hair as he came up from below the river's surface?  Did the water of baptism remind Jesus that God's love for humanity stretches back to when the first water covered the face of the earth and mortals existed only in the mind of God? 

Only God knows what was in Jesus' mind as he stood in line to be baptized, as he insisted that John really do it, as he felt himself enveloped by the water, and then rose into the fresh air again, gasping for breath and balance.  Yet we know that the sense of God's grace was so powerful that scripture tells us a dove descended upon Jesus and a voice was heard saying, "This is my son, with whom I am well pleased."

Jesus' baptism was not the end of the story.  I imagine that frequently he remembered that day with John in the River Jordan and drew strength from it.  Even though it was a different baptism than we now practice, it was still a time of remembering God's promises and Jesus' committing himself to be faithful to God's purposes.  At the end of his life and ministry, Jesus stepped once again into that river again when, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he poured his heart out like water before God, and then recommitted himself to the One who called him to the cross.

So too, for us, our baptism is not the end, but the beginning of a lifelong journey with God.  There is one baptism, one Lord and Savior of us all, yet daily we are called back to the river to remember God's faithfulness to us and to re-commitment ourselves to God.  As Martin Luther often noted, baptism is a lifelong process of conversion and nurture, which begins at the font and does not end until death, until we are at last tucked safely into the everlasting arms of the God who first reached for us in baptism.

Or in the words of William Willimon,

"The promise ... at baptism is that the God who first reached for us in baptism will not cease dealing with us until God has finished what God began in us.  Baptism is a once-and-for-all event that usually happens when we are babies but takes our whole life to finish.

"Every day we must live our baptism.  Every day we must respond to God's gracious gifts in our lives.  Whether we are baptized at age six months or age sixty, the day after our baptism we must renew our baptismal vows, open ourselves again to God's Spirit in our lives, say yes in all the big and little things we do and people we meet and promises we keep throughout the day." (1)

As Dr. Mark Smutny pours water into the font this morning, I invite you to come once again, to the river of God's love, where even Jesus Christ has stepped with you.

Come, again, to the river and remember the times you have experienced God's convicting word and freeing grace. 

Come to the river and remember the only baptism you have ever needed at any age: the one in which God's promises were named for you, and you were named as one of God's children. 

Come, and renew your vows to be a part of God's purposes today, and then again tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. 

Come again to the river and reaffirm your baptism in the name of one who was baptized, crucified and raised for your sake and for the sake of the world.

Remember your baptism in Jesus' name, and be grateful. Amen.

  (1) From a sermon by William Willimon entitled Receive the Holy Spirit.

(c) Copyright 2003 by Barbara A. Anderson.  All rights reserved.  Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution.