Isaiah 43:1-2; Psalm 29; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
I had only been living in Middlebury for less than two full months when Hurricane Irene made its way across New England, bringing devastation to both Vermont and New Hampshire. Even though it had been downgraded from hurricane status, the storm brought torrential rains that caused terrible disasters. Up to 8 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours. When the rain finally stopped, hundreds of homes and businesses had been swept away by floodwaters; so had bridges, roads, crops and cars. Rivers were swollen to as much as 10 feet above flood level.
I remember huddling in my home, listening to the strong winds, as much as 50 mile-an-hour gusts rattling the windows. There was heavy rain and the sky was so dark. Then the phone rang; it was the fire department. The river flowing near East Middlebury had risen well beyond its banks and was threatening the East Middlebury church. They needed me to come out right away due to an issue with natural gas.
I drove to the church very slowly, watching as tree limbs fell to the ground and hoping none landed on my car. When I got to the church, I opened the car door and stepped out into over 12 inches of water. It had not reached the level of the church doors, so there was no flooding inside the building. But the water had pulled at the gas line running into the heater at the front of the sanctuary. The fire department had disconnected the line after turning off the gas. They were concerned that we might have a basement level that was being flooded, but we did not. When I got back home, I had to throw out my shoes, socks and pants because of the filth that I got on them in the water.
In the days that followed, I drove around the area and then, a few weeks after the storm, I drove across from Middlebury to Lebanon for a meeting. What struck me was the debris left behind when the rivers receded back into their banks. I could see mud lines on homes that told me how high the water had been. There were hot water heaters, yard chairs, a metal storage shed, pieces of pink insulation, cars, shingles, and all sorts of other items on the ground, carried by the high water in the rivers and deposited miles from where they belonged. It was the first time I really grasped the power of water, the destructive power of water.
I found myself thinking of Psalm 29, which describes the power of the voice of the Lord over the waters, and how it breaks trees, flashes flames like fire, shakes the ground beneath our feet. That was what it felt like the day I had to go out in the storm. And I also thought about Isaiah 43, where God promised, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called 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.” I knew that God had been with me and with my church members and with all of those in the path of the storm. Even those who lost homes or businesses or cars could draw on the strength of God to help them recover and rebuild.
Of course, water is powerful in other ways, too. Its power can be harnessed to produce electricity. Water has been used in the past to power grist mills and other types of businesses. And then there is the symbolic power of water. That is the kind of power that we read about and think about when we talk about baptism.
On this Sunday of the Christian year, we remember the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River. John had been drawing crowds with his fiery preaching and calls for repentance. Those who were determined to live a new kind of life, free of hypocrisy and dedicated to God, were baptized by John. This was a way to symbolize the washing away of their sins in a baptism of repentance. Baptism was not a new practice; the Jews had been using it for many years. John simply adopted it as the response to his preaching for those who chose to participate.
For that baptism with water, Jesus also came to John. We might wonder why the only One who was without sin in this world would come to be baptized in this baptism of repentance? What need did he have to be baptized? Some say that Jesus was setting an example for those who would follow him, that they should also repent and be baptized. Others say that Jesus did it so that he could identify with the crowds of people who came and were transformed by the preaching of John. But for whatever reason, Jesus came and was baptized.
Luke tells us that Jesus was praying as he was baptized, and as a result of that prayer “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.’” In Luke’s gospel, this moment is described as a private moment between Jesus and his Father; apparently no one else saw or heard this sign. For Jesus, who was about to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days, and who would then embark on his ministry, this affirmation of his identity as God’s Son and of God’s love and approval must have given him great confidence that what he was doing was right and good. It must have strengthened him for the time of testing that was coming. And it must have encouraged him to carry on in the direction he was heading.
I don’t know how many of you actually remember your baptisms. Many, if not most, of you were baptized as infants or young children. But I wasn’t baptized until I was 11 years old in the Southern Baptist church in which I grew up. I remember it vividly. One of the Sunday School teachers helped me change into a white robe. Then, when Dr. Ball called me, I went into the baptismal pool, which came up to my chest. The water was nice and warm, almost like bath water. Dr. Ball took the handkerchief my grandmother had bought for this purpose, covered my nose and mouth with it, and lowered me backwards under the water. When I came out of the water, I wasn’t sure that I felt any different than I had before. But I knew that the symbolism was powerful; the washing away of my sins; the dying and rising again with Christ. Water was powerful. And when I remember my baptism every time I perform a baptism, I am thankful that I can remember it literally and not just figuratively.
However we come to be baptized, the water is a powerful symbol of becoming a part of a church family, a Christian community, the body of Christ. It is a symbol of having all our sins washed away, whether by our own confession or that of our parents. It is a reminder that some things in our lives ought to be washed away, because we all commit sins, whether by commission or by omission. And the water that I place on the heads of babies or young people or adults is not magical; there is nothing special about that water. What is powerful is what the water represents – the forgiveness of God that is ours because of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.
Remember that Jesus was baptized before you and that baptism is an important sacrament, a means of grace, in the life of the church. And allow the power of your baptism to well up in you as the waters rise after the rain.
