{"id":3351,"date":"2013-01-14T16:14:39","date_gmt":"2013-01-14T21:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2013-10-01T08:54:06","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T13:54:06","slug":"the-baptism-of-our-lord-jan-13-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/2013\/01\/the-baptism-of-our-lord-jan-13-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"The Baptism of Our Lord (Jan.13.2013)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baptism of Our Lord<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22<\/p>\n

15<\/sup><\/em>As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in
\ntheir hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16<\/sup>John answered all of them by saying, \u201cI
\nbaptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not
\nworthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy
\nSpirit and fire. 17<\/sup>His winnowing
\nfork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into
\nhis granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

21<\/sup><\/em>Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been
\nbaptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22<\/sup>and
\nthe Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came
\nfrom heaven, \u201cYou are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.\u201d<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the first Sunday following January 6, churches around the world observe
\nsomething called the Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. Today\u2019s preaching focuses on
\nthe Baptism of our Lord and I hope that it could remind you of the importance
\nof Baptism in your lives.<\/p>\n

Baptismal services are very important to the church of Jesus Christ. Through the service,
\nwe are called into being one of God\u2019s family. I was baptized when I was 18
\nyears old. The moment was a turning-point of my life. I was a basketball player
\nand I was a captain of a team. My dream was to be a professional basketball
\nplayer. I spent almost all time in my life practicing basketball. Early in the
\nmorning, I went to a gym and practiced basketball and came back home at
\nmidnight. Before going to bed, I watched a basketball game I recorded.
\nEspecially, I liked the matches of Boston Celtics led by Larry Bird and L.A. Lakers
\nby Magic Johnson. Their games were very great and I tried to copy their plays;
\nthe passes and three point shoot. Basketball was my dream and life.<\/p>\n

One day, I fell and got injured on my back. I couldn\u2019t stand and walk. I couldn\u2019t
\ncontinue to play basketball, so I gave it up. It was very hard for me. Every
\nday, I cried, cried, and cried. The only thing that I could do was to go to the
\nchurch and pray to God. Every day, I went to the church and prayed to God for
\nhealing my wounds. As time went by, I came to realize that God was healing my
\nwounds and my life was a little bit changed to engaging in Christian life.
\nThen, I was baptized and I was sure that God called me into a Christian life,
\nespecially to become a pastor who shares the grace and love of God that I had
\nexperienced.<\/p>\n

At that time, the baptism was a turning point of my life. Before the turning
\npoint, my life focused on my own self to be famous and successful. However,
\nafter the baptism, I have had a different dream for my life and the dream is
\nfor God, the church, and our neighbors. Through the baptism, I became one of
\nGod\u2019s family, and my dream has been to invite people into God\u2019s kingdom. Baptism
\nreminds me of the moment.<\/p>\n

Baptism is the first sacrament, the one on which all else rests. Jesus\u2019 baptism,
\nalthough distinct from ours, points the way by which we come to understand more
\nfully the gift of our baptism. In Luke, emphasis is placed on three events that
\nsurround the baptismal moment: the beginning of Jesus\u2019 public ministry, the
\nclaim on Jesus as the Beloved, and a life of prayerful holiness that Jesus
\nbegins immediately following his own baptism.<\/p>\n

First of all, Jesus\u2019 baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry-his public
\nlife and work. Through baptism Jesus is empowered for a life of service and
\nmission. For those baptized in the faith, there is no life that is not, in
\npart, public life. There is no life that does not carry with it hope for
\nrelationships.<\/p>\n

In his book The Common Task, <\/em>Thomas
\nThangaraj addresses the meaning of this kind of relational living which derives
\nfrom baptism. Mission received in baptism has to do with sending and going. It
\nis both gift and responsibility. According to Thangaraj, sending and going do
\nnot have to do so much with geographic movement, but rather are a quality of
\nbeing. In other words, it is not so much where one is sent, but the attitude
\none carries wherever one goes. Mission is that which happens in a network of
\nrelationships, thereby making the concept a relational one. He goes on to point
\nout that mission is being with others. Mission is carried out in the web of
\nhuman relationships. It is a communal affair. It is response and
\nresponsibility. One cannot exist without the other. Mission cannot be authentic
\noutside of relationship. By the same token, \u201cgoing forth\u201d is the response of
\nthe human to another. In \u201cgoing forth\u201d one discovers more fully the world,
\noneself, and God. Therefore, sending, going, and being with others are
\ncharacteristic of those who have been baptized,<\/p>\n

Another sign of Jesus\u2019 baptism is the mark of belonging to God, of being claimed and of
\nclaiming. The Holy Spirit says, \u201cYou are my son, the beloved, with you I am
\nwell pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affirmation surrounds Jesus and serves as a claim by God on Jesus as one who belongs to the
\nrealm of God. In these words we hear God\u2019s claim of acceptance, love, protection,
\nand nurture. Jesus\u2019 desire for the Holy Spirit suggests being vulnerable and
\nopen in his relationship with God. Rooted in love, that allowed Jesus to be
\nfree to live in relationships and in the world.<\/p>\n

One Sunday an infant was to be baptized and the minister invited the children to
\nthe baptismal font for the children\u2019s moment. He described what would happen
\nand asked if anyone had any ideas about the nature of baptism. A five year old
\noffered: \u201cWell, it is like this. When the baby is in her Mommy\u2019s tummy she is
\nsurrounded by water that protects her, gives her the food she needs, lets her
\nrest, not be bumped too much, and takes care of her until she comes out of the
\nMommy\u2019s tummy. When she is born, baptism is God\u2019s way of protecting her,
\nfeeding her, keeping her from being bumped too much, loving, and taking care of
\nher.\u201d What a wonderful understanding of the nature of baptism. Through baptism,
\nGod protects, feeds, and takes care of us. Do you know why? It is because we
\nare beloved by God and with us, God is well pleased.<\/p>\n

There is one last thing that I would like to share with you for today\u2019s sermon.<\/p>\n

That is, prayer surrounds Jesus\u2019 baptism. In Jesus\u2019 baptism, prayer points the way
\nto what a life in mission requires. The account in Luke says, \u201cwhen Jesus also
\nhad been baptized and was praying.\u201d Jesus\u2019 response to baptism is prayerful and
\ninvolves holy living in community. Baptism is not simply a private moment or an
\nindividual possession, but a rite which signifies a commitment to a life of loving
\nservice in and to a larger community.<\/p>\n

In the baptismal liturgy of our denomination, the congregation promises to \u201csurround
\nthe baptized with a community of love and forgiveness, that will grow in
\nservice to others.\u201d The church recognized that prayer creates a sense of
\ncommunity and makes service possible. Just as prayer surrounded Jesus\u2019 baptism,
\nprayer surrounds our baptism. Prayer makes the child\u2019s growth in the community
\npossible. Prayer is the openness to being formed and transformed by the Spirit,
\nby the community, and by the world. Prayerful and holy living replaces prideful
\nand arrogant living, forming communities that include genuine relationships and
\ntransforming.<\/p>\n

In baptism, Jesus entered into life in a larger and more visible world. In the
\nrichness of being claimed for the realm of God, he would now enter into new
\nrelationships, rooted in love.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us pray.<\/p>\n

For the baptism of Jesus, when he was made one with us,
\nand for our baptism when we are made one with him and one another, we praise
\nyou, O God.\u00a0 As we enter a new year, help us to remember whose we are, so
\nthat we might glorify and enjoy you forever. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Baptism of Our Lord Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, \u201cI baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-and-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3351"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4019,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions\/4019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}