Year C Baptism of the Lord 13 January 2013
Isaiah 43: 1-7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3: 15-22
Each of us has a name, and each of those names has a meaning and sometimes a personal meaning and a story behind our name. There are some very significant things about our name. Firstly it is something that was given to us. We didn’t get to choose our name, but we were given the name by our parents. It is interesting to note that in current society, in the absence of belief in God, many people are still having a type of Baptism for their children and they call it a “naming ceremony”. In giving a child a name we are giving it an identity and a place of belonging. We are affirming and celebrating its existence and in some ways even giving it a future of promise.
This week we celebrate the baptism of the Lord and we will find this is where God named Jesus as his son. Jesus always knew that God was his father, but yet, at his baptism God the father sees fit to declare and affirm this.
Luke 3:21,22 “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
The person of Jesus is known to us as the “Word of God” and also the “name of God”. At Jesus’ baptism we note that God the father celebrated the son, affirmed and declared that Jesus belongs to him, in very much the same way that those who would rather deny God’s existence celebrate their own children; “you are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”.
Our reading from Acts explains to us about a group of people who had not yet received the Holy Spirit but they had simply been baptized into the name of Jesus.
Acts 8:15,16 “When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Being baptized into the name of Jesus is something that all baptized believers share, but the importance is often lost. Remember what it means to be given a name? It means that we belong, are loved are affirmed and are given an identity. But what then does it mean to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus?
We are actually baptized in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, but just for the moment we need to look at one simple but vitally significant aspect… that of being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus – the Son.
To be baptized into the name of Jesus means that it is HIS name given to us as our own. Our baptism therefore, so identifies us with Jesus, that in other places in the Bible it describes it as us having died with Christ and being raised with Christ. And St. Paul declares, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that is living in me…”
My name is Nicole. It means “victory of the people”, but I have a more important name that covers over my name and identifies me as a child of God. My personal name is important, but when it comes to spiritual things my personal name will not get me anywhere. However, the name of Jesus, into which I was baptized means that I am identified as Christ’s and covered with the identity of Jesus which means that I am now a “Son of God”, and through that identity I share the affirmation that God the father gave Jesus….. “you are my child whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Isaiah 43:6,7 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up! ’and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Way back in the time of Isaiah God had already made provisions for those who were, and those who would be, called by “His Name”… This is those of us who have been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. But we also remember that we are baptized into the name of the father and the Holy Spirit also. John the Baptist declares that it is Jesus who would bring this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 13;16b,17 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
It is true that through the name of Jesus, God is well pleased with us. It is a completed mission that our debt to sin has been paid. But in our lives we do have “chaff”. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to sort this out. The Gospel goes on to describe these words of John’s as exhortations and Good News and truly it is, but not if you misunderstand.
It seems to be human nature to think that we have to earn our salvation and even when we joyfully receive Christ, and are baptized as a response to his sacrifice, we tend to then try to force our actions into something that warrants God’s reward, as if trying to actually earn our salvation.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to burn the chaff. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and the one who convicts us of sin. If we are living in tune with God and His Holy Spirit then there is an element of being able to relax and allow him to show us where we need adjustments in our life… and this simply happens throughout the normal circumstances of our lives when our lives are connected and identified with Christ.
Isaiah 43:1-3 “43 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”
I love the promise of this passage. It sounds to me like the voice of God almighty speaking, who can command all the forces of nature. He can command all the forces of nature and yet he gives us free will. He doesn’t say that we will not go through rivers or through fires. These things will happen in our life that feel like a flood that overwhelms us or pain that feels like it burns us. At times we may feel drowned or burnt, but the promise of God is that those of us who are called by his name will not be harmed by the flood or fire.
Isaiah 43:4b,5b “…Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, ……………………………….. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;..”
He doesn’t say “Do not be afraid” lightly. He knows that there will be circumstances that are overwhelming and frightening, but we can be reassured of that bottom and most important line…. God loves us and is pleased with us because we are united to him in Christ. The name that covers us is “Jesus” – “God saves”.
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