“Come to the Water”

̶= 0;Come to the Water”

Mark = 1:4-11

Providence<= /st1:City> United Presbyterian Church=

Janua= ry 11, 2009 (Baptism of the Lord B)

Rev. = Dr. Mary Jane Hitt

&= nbsp; One of the things I like to do when I’m driving around town is tune my ra= dio to those programs where folks call in to talk to psychologists about the challenges of their lives. Not surprisingly, one of the conversations I heard this week had to do with the= new year – how to make a new start, now that the calendar tells us it is 2009. The advice Dr. Robin ga= ve to her caller went pretty much like this:&nbs= p; It’s a new year, and a= ll things are possible for you now. But if you want this year to be new and better, you will have to put aside all those things from your past that are wearing you down. They are over. The past is gone. It’s time to get on with your life.

&= nbsp; As Dr. Robin shared her advice, I found myself thinking that she’s definitely on to something. T= here are many, many old things in our lives that we would be better off without: old hostilities, old= hurts, old patterns, old fears – all the “baggage” of life that weighs us down like a back-pack full of bricks. But I know, and you know, that it’s easier said than done. Let me illustrate, by asking you to do something with me. (Or rather, don’t do something.)

Don’t think of a pink elephant wearing a tutu dancing across the front of the sanctuary. Don’t pictur= e it in your mind. Don’t ima= gine how silly that would look. Don’t think about it at all.

Of co= urse, the harder you try not to think about something, the more likely you= are to think about it: that pink elephant (which, by the way, has left the building now, so you can let that image go); that person who betrayed you so many years ago; even that cigare= tte you crave, now that you are working so hard to stop smoking.

&= nbsp; It’s easy enough for a radio psychologist or a friend or even your pastor, for t= hat matter, to tell you just to leave the past behind you and get on with your life. But how in the world do= you do that? Sometimes it seems t= hat the harder you try – the more you focus on what it is that you need to le= t go of – the more you find yourself weighed down by the very thing you ar= e so desperately trying to put behind you. But I’ve been thinking that maybe the answer doesn’t lie= in ignoring or forgetting the past as much as in reclaiming it – = or at least reclaiming one essential part of the past – our baptism.

&= nbsp; And so, as the church calendar has turned today to the Baptism of the Lord, I thought we might remember our own baptism and claim all that it means for u= s as we enter into this new year. = Today we read the story of Jesus’ baptism in the Jor= dan River – a reminder that the water of baptism was part of= the Jewish tradition. But Jesus t= ook that rite a step further, telling his followers to go into the whole world, making disciples of all nations, and baptizing them in the name of the Fath= er and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.&nbs= p; That is exactly what they did, of course, which is the reason we are here today – the gathered community of baptized believers<= /span>

And yet, for most of us, our baptism seems so very long ago. Many of us were baptized as infant= s, and have only secondary memories of the event from the stories our families have told us and the faded pictures they have shown us. Others of us were baptized as chil= dren or teens or adults, but that may have been a long time ago. We know that baptism is part of ou= r life story – of our faith story – of our church story – but wh= at does it mean for us today? Do= es it really matter at all, in any sort of practical way?

I think it does, but not for the reasons people so often think. So let’s rule those out first. We need to be very cle= ar about what baptism is not, if we are to be clear about what it is= . And baptism is NOT:

· a ticket to heaven;

· a magical ritual that protects us from evil; or

· a mark of spiritual superiority.

Then = what is it? Baptism is simply a sign = and a seal of the promises of God’s grace:

· forgiveness of sin;

· participation in the body of Christ – the church;

· daily renewal and cleansing by the Holy Spirit;

· eternal life, which has already begun.

That = is what baptism is – the assurance of God’s love, grace, forgiveness, n= ew life, and the good news that we have companions on the journey.<= /span>

&= nbsp; And that is why we need to remember our baptism, here at the beginning of a new year, if we are to put the past behind us and move on into the future that awaits. Because we need God&#= 8217;s help. It’s as simple as that. We can try to do it on = our own, but we don’t have to go it alone. Our baptism reminds us that the Go= d who loves us wants to make our lives new, not just once a year, but every single day.

The God who forgives us giv= es us the grace to forgive ourselves, and turn our lives around;<= /span>
The God who makes us member= s of the body of Christ gives us the grace to live with brothers and sister= s in the fellowship of the church, supporting one another as we all are more and more transformed into the people we were created to be;=
The God whose Spirit renews= and cleanses us gives us the grace to make a new start each day;
The God who promises eterna= l life gives us the grace to live an abundant life, right here and now.<= /o:p>

Today, after our hymn, we will do something that you may rarely, if ever, have don= e. We will reaffirm our baptismal vows. As always, God invites = us all to make a new start this year – this day – this very minute. So remember who you are – the beloved sons and daughters of God, claimed by God in your baptism, and empowered by God’s own Spirit to let the past go and embrace God̵= 7;s future.

Thanks be to God. Amen.