We are baptized into God's love.

A little over three years ago we had a new development our family. Our son Philip had gotten engaged. His fiancée, Rachel, was to begin a master’s program in voice – she is an opera singer – and it made sense to invite her to live with us to save her rent, utilities, food etc. (Our son was in Melbourne at the time.)

Now there are always adjustments with that kind of thing. Early on we had to get used to her a bit and she had to get used to us. She was a new person in a new place. It just takes a little time to get used to living out of someone else’s refrigerator. When do you get to hold the TV remote?

But late one night on her way home from a late class, after my wife and I were in bed, we got a call from her. “Something is wrong with my car” was all she said. You know what I did. I immediately got up, threw on some clothes and went to rescue her. And I hurried. It was late, she was alone on the side of a busy road and in an unfamiliar area.

It turned out to be a flat tire. I changed the tire to the little donut spare and got her home. The next day we replaced the old tire, which was ruined. I say “we” because Meg was fully involved. I don’t think Rachel expected us to buy her a tire. But the decision to buy a tire or to buy two or to buy four was made based on her need the same as we would have done for our own cars or one of our kid’s.

Note the transitive nature of our care. Our son loves her, we love her. He invited her into our family and we invited her into our family and into our home. We care for her as we care for our children and their spouses. God’s love for us works like that. He loves us as our creator, but you’ll recall that John’s gospel – John the apostle and evangelist – wrote that we are created by means of God’s Word, which came into the world in the person of Jesus.  And it is through Jesus that we have been restored to God.

The baptism of John the Baptist was essentially reaffirming or reasserting the old covenant formula: repent, turn back to the Lord and try to do better moving forward. That’s a comfortable sort of religion. It’s not easy by any means, but it is comfortable in that it makes logical sense that is consistent with the ways our lives tend to work. Work hard, make your boss or customers happy and you’ll do well. By and large we expect to see the fruit of hard work and living right.

That is not our baptism. John himself points to the difference when he says there is another coming who is radically different and supersedes what John is doing.

We are not baptized of Jesus or by Jesus. We are baptized IN Jesus. The distinction, the difference, rests in the person of Jesus. Who Jesus is has everything to do with who we are and where he is calling us. He didn’t have to be baptized for his own sake any more than he had to die for his own sake. He did it for us because of who he is. 

Mark tells us right up front, in his very first verse, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The rest of his Gospel illustrates the point. In Mark, the first time we hear God speak directly is at Jesus’ baptism when he says, “This is my son; with you I am well pleased.”  Remember that this is the voice of The Lord, the voice that as we read in Psalm 29 breaks the cedars of Lebanon, makes Mount Hermon skip like a calf, splits the flames of fire, and shakes the wilderness.

This gets reaffirmed at the Transfiguration when God says, “This is my son, my beloved; listen to him!” Then at Jesus’ trial, the High Priest Caiaphas asks him, “Are you the Son of the Most High?” Jesus answers, “I am.”  Finally, at his crucifixion, a Centurion, a Gentile, will say of Jesus, “Truly this is the Son of God.”

Back to our son. Phil and Rachel married three years ago. Their marriage certificate confers legal rights and obligations on the two of them, confirming in law what was already true in their hearts. Their marriage has been sanctified by God in their vows before him.

Their marriage does not confer legal responsibilities on Meg or me. But the legalities are not the point for us. Through our son, we’ve taken her into our hearts. That drives how we see the entire universe of Rachel and how we act towards her and love her. That is what God has done for us.  Through His son, through Jesus, God has taken each of us - the whole universe that is each of us - into his heart.

Paul wrote about baptism to the Romans – this is from chapter 6: 

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:3-5.

The Father’s love for his Son is absolute and bound for eternity. That is what offered when he invited us into in his baptism.

Who Jesus is shapes our understanding and direction of what we say and do in every aspect of life. It shapes the way we work, no matter what kind of work we do. It shapes every relationship we have from marriage and parenthood to the chance encounter with a stranger. It shapes the way we respond to every situation and circumstance, including every provocation. I am a Christian and I choose to live as Christ commands.

People are different. Some people are really different. People say and do wrong things, disappointing things, terrible things. They make mistakes. Some wrongs are on purpose. They lie. They cheat. They steal. There are a lot of ways we could respond to such wrongs, but Jesus requires us to speak the truth in love, to seek justice in a fair way.

I remember seeing an amazing video some years ago where a man who had lost a court case confronted his attorney outside the courthouse and pulled a gun on him.  The attorney hid behind a tree that wasn’t big enough to hide behind fully, but he kept dodging until the man ran out of bullets. The lawyer did suffer a few wounds, but none were life-threatening.

That wasn’t the Christian thing to do, was it? If you lose a court case, even if it is on some technicality or your lawyer makes a mistake that really doesn’t lead to justice, you can file an appeal. You can file a malpractice claim. You can make your case to your friends and family, or even the court of public opinion. But you have to get on with life and whatever the consequences may be. Our system isn’t perfect and fails miserably at times. But you cannot attack your lawyer, or the jury, or the court.

The injustices we encounter are frustrating and, if we aren’t careful, infuriating. Remember the injustices Christ himself suffered. Remember the promises we make at baptism, which we will reaffirm in just a moment. Look to Christ’s own example. Jesus never yielded a bit on the truth and he never yielded a bit on love – even when love meant rebuking and correcting and chastising, and when love meant going to the cross. Remember what he said, “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do.”

AMEN