The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
What wisdom we find in bumper stickers! One of them proclaims, “Christians aren’t perfect; just forgiven.”
There’s some truth in it. We certainly aren’t perfect. It speaks to a misperception some people have about the Church, that it’s a place for people who “have it all together,” or at least for people who think they have it all together. Christians aren’t perfect.
And Christians indeed are forgiven. We’ve been baptized for the forgiveness of sins. We confess our sins regularly, not to wallow in them, but so they can be forgiven and we can be given a fresh start.
But is that really a way to summarize the Christian experience? No, it’s misleading at best. What we celebrate today speaks clearly to what Christians are and to the high calling to which we are called. Christians aren’t perfect, but there is much more to us than just being forgiven.
Today is the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. St. Luke tells us that John the Baptist preached that after him comes one much more powerful, “the straps of whose sandals he is not worthy to stoop down and untie.” He baptized with water, but this one “will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
After this brief introduction of John the Baptist, Jesus appears on the scene and is baptized by John in the River Jordan. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens are opened and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove, and God the Father’s words are heard, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”
It’s an epiphany, a manifestation, of who Jesus is right at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus is the Son of God, revealed to be so by the Father himself, and through his baptism he is anointed by the Holy Spirit to perform his ministry. He’s anointed to teach and preach and to heal the sick. But most of all, his baptism is his anointing to redeem the world through his death on the cross.
Many wonder why Jesus was baptized since he was without sin. In his baptism, Jesus identifies fully with sinful humanity. Taking humanity’s sin on himself, his going down into the water prefigures his death for our sins and his burial, and his coming out of the water prefigures his resurrection. Thus, his ministry begins as a pre-figuring of its end.
Jesus’s baptism also tells us about ourselves, for his baptism is the model for our own. Through our baptism we receive forgiveness of sins and become children of God by adoption and grace. Through our baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the very presence of God himself. And through our baptism we participate in the death and resurrection of Christ.
So, let’s re-do the bumper sticker: Christians aren’t perfect, but forgiven, and are members of the Body of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, and follow in our lives, by the grace of God, a lifestyle of sacrificial love. Now put that on a bumper!
When we’re baptized, we’re initiated into a different realm of being, and that realm is the Kingdom of God. And, while we aren’t perfect, our goal is perfection. We realize we won’t make that goal in this life, but we continue to strive to become all that God created us to be. That’s such an exciting life, life with tremendous meaning and purpose and great joy.
But we do lose sight of the goal. It’s so easy to go through the motions, forgetting to live lives of thankfulness and praise for all that God has given us. That’s when we really need to confess our sins and return to the Lord and live the life of fullness of joy promised to God’s people.
Of what does that fullness consist? It’s summarized in the Baptismal Covenant, which we will all renew in just a few moments. Basically, it can be divided into belief and practice—the belief summarized in the Apostles’ Creed, and the practice summarized by the five questions and answers which follow. Belief, worship, prayer, study, repentance, bringing others to Christ, serving Christ in others, loving those around us, and striving for justice and peace—these are the marks of one living in Christ, and when we really live that way, that’s a life on fire with the Holy Spirit!
Parents and godparents, you will be presenting these children for baptism and in so doing they will be brought into an entirely different realm, the Kingdom of God. Teach them each day, by word and example, what it means to be a member of God’s kingdom. Make them an integral part of Christ’s Body, the Church. Model sacrificial love to them day in and day out. You’re making a choice for them by seeing that they’re baptized; make sure that they know who they are and whose they are.
There’s a story about the famous pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, who gave a brilliant performance one evening. Afterward, a woman who had been in the audience said to Horowitz, “I would give my life to play like you played tonight.” Horowitz answered, “Madam, I have given my life to play like that.”
When people see a Christian, they should see a person whose life in every way is so transformed by Jesus Christ, that they want to have what that Christian has. That can only happen when Christ truly becomes Lord of every aspect of our lives. Like Horowitz and his music, we must give our entire lives to Christ.
Christians aren’t perfect, but forgiven, are members of the Body of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, and follow in our lives, by the grace of God, a lifestyle of sacrificial love.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
The Baptism of our Lord
13 January 2019