January 9, 2022
Hope Lutheran Church
Rev. Mary Erickson
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Acts 8:14-17
Baptism: The Gift of Identity
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
When the Israelites had coursed their 40-year journey out of slavery through the wilderness, they came upon the banks of the River Jordan. The priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant upon their shoulders, were the first to step into the river. And as they did so, the waters stopped flowing. Israel passed through the dry riverbed.
Joshua instructed that one man from each of the 12 tribes should gather up a large stone from the middle of the river and carry it to the homeward shore. Once all of Israel had passed through, the twelve stones were arranged in a cairn structure. Joshua said, “Generations from now, this rock shrine will stand as a reminder of what happened here on this day, how God provided for our needs and made a way for us.”
Twelve stones of remembrance. Last year, in 2021, we had 12 baptisms at Hope. As you know, it’s our tradition to place a stone in our baptismal font for each of our baptisms. Those stones mark what happened here at those events. At the end of our service today, we invite those families to retrieve their rock from our font. May it serve as a physical reminder to the one whose name is inscribed on the stone of what happened here on the day they were baptized. May it be a reminder of God’s sacramental love.
Many generations after the crossing by the returning Israelites, to that same Jordan River, came John the Baptist. John stood in those same waters and invited people to be baptized.
This location, where Israel ventured into a new life in God’s promise, this is where Jesus initiated his ministry. He came to John and entered the waters. He submitted himself and submerged fully into the river of God’s will.
As Jesus surfaces, something extremely unusual happens. The Holy Spirit of God descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove.
The dove, an animal of watery significance. When Noah had released a dove from the ark, it returned with an olive branch in its mouth. A sign of hope in the midst of the waters. Now a dove alights on Jesus.
And a voice echoes from above: “You are my Son, my Beloved. I am well pleased with you.”
At the beginning of his ministry, this moment and this message define who Jesus is, who he will be, what his mission will accomplish. This gift of baptism shapes Jesus’ core identity. As he faces temptation and challenges, loneliness and hostility, this baptism anchors his identity:
• He is God’s son
• He is beloved of God
• And God is pleased in him
As we mark Jesus’ baptism, we pause today to celebrate the gift of our own baptism. And like Jesus, baptism reveals our true identity.
The world has many definitions of who you are. It sets bars so high they’re impossible to attain. Its perpetual eyes judge and criticize. So it’s very easy for us to accept and internalize as our own these artificial judgments of who we are as our own. We’re persuaded to build our identity based on successes and abilities. We feel the weight of societal and family pressures to measure up or risk being a failure. Many of these identities are based on things we have no control over. Body shape, gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, accent.
But none of these identities are actually who we are. Our true identity comes from our maker, and we hear it uttered at our baptism.
Today we hear a passage from the book of Acts. The Samaritan people have come to faith in Jesus. To the Jewish early Christian community in Jerusalem, anything Samaritan was suspect. Who were these foreign believers? Peter and John go there to investigate. But when they arrive, they don’t see Samaritans; they see brothers and sisters in Christ. They lay hands on them, something a ritually clean Jew would never have done. They lay their hands on the Samaritan believers, and the Holy Spirit come among them.
The act of laying on their hands, of touching these once-outsiders, signals a shift in the balance. A new era of fellowship has begun.
Our faith in Christ doesn’t only change our own identity; it also transforms how we see others. Those who once were foreign, who were different, now we see them through Christ’s eyes. In Christ we gain community, we abound in kinship.
There’s a rabbinic tale about a Rabbi who poses a question to his students. “How do you know when the night has ended and the day has begun?” he asks.
One brave student ventures a guess. “Rabbi, is it when you see an animal standing in a field, and when you can tell if it’s a cow or a horse, at that moment, it has become day?”
“No, my son, that is not when the night has ended and the day has begun.”
After a lengthy pause, another student raises his hand. “Is it then the moment when you look at a building and you can discern what color it is painted?”
“No, my son, that is not when the night has ended and the day has begun.”
The students keep posing answers to the rabbi, but each time they’re incorrect. Finally, in desperation they plead, “Tell us, Rabbi, tell us how we can know when the night has ended and the day has begun.”
“It is,” answered the rabbi, “When you look at the face of a stranger and there you see your brother or your sister. Because until that happens, no matter how light it is, it will always still be the night.”
The light of God reveals the true identity of our neighbor.
Identity. Our true identity is not grounded in earthly rules and standards. Identity is a gift from God.
Who are you? It’s the central question that faces each one of us. And on the day of our baptism, we received our answer. It’s the same reply Jesus heard. “You are my son, my daughter. You are my beloved. I am well pleased in you.”
Live each day grounded in that divine identity. And when you do, then all your thoughts, words and actions will arise from that wellspring of endless, divine love.
