Prayer: The Necessary First Step
“Now when all the people
were baptized, and when Jesus also had been praying, the heaven was opened, and
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
While Matthew presents Jesus’ baptism as taking place at the
river
Clearly, in Luke’s version of the event the focus is on Jesus
and the beginning of his gospel ministry, not on the ministry of the Baptist.
However, in the verses prior to this story, in verses 15-17 John clearly outlined
the coming ministry of Jesus. John’s words are intended to tell us what our
baptismal identity means. John’s words on baptism and Jesus’ baptism go
together as a unity to inform us about baptism.
Let us, then, take a moment to think about baptism. It does not
matter at what age we receive baptism. Regardless of whether we are baptized as
an infant and grow into adulthood to claim our identity as repentant sinners
and forgiven disciples, or whether we are baptized as adults cognizant of our
sinfulness before we receive the sacrament, either way, when we live in our
baptismal identity we acknowledge our sinfulness and welcome the grace of God’s
forgiveness.
In our
baptismal identity we are forgiven our sinfulness, we are claimed as children
of God, and we are empowered to carry out the will of God as we live our lives
on this earth. The image John used to
describe the reality of our redemption is an agricultural image: Through our
baptism we become the wheat if you will, and we are separated from the chaff.
Luke’s account of our Lord’s baptism is intended to help us
understand how we can expect the reality of our baptism to become manifest in
our lives. It is in baptism that we receive the promise of God’s presence in
our lives.
What, then, is baptism actually? All Christians believe that
the ritual of baptism serves as a symbolic washing away of sin. However,
different traditions within the faith hold various understandings about this
ritual. As Presbyterian/Reformed Christians we need to ask the question: What
do we actually believe takes place when we are baptized?
Unlike in some other traditions, in our Presbyterian/Reformed
understanding of baptism, the water we use is not holy water, it is simply a
common element set aside for a sacred purpose. Moreover, aside from the
Trinitarian pronouncement in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we
do not believe that there are particular words or forms necessary to make
baptism effective. Indeed, there are various ways to shape and form the liturgy
around the baptism event, and all most all of them are perfectly acceptable. In
our understanding of baptism, it is the power and presence of the Holy Spirit
which is at work through baptism - nothing that we do or say.
Nor, do we say that one form of baptism (i.e. sprinkling,
pouring, immersion) is preferable over another form.
In short, in our tradition, everything we do, from the words of
scripture we use and the method of actual washing, to the specific age we
encourage baptism to take place, are intended to remind us that it is God at work in the ritual of baptism
We base our beliefs on scripture. Our Reformed tradition
teaches that baptism fundamentally means that through God’s prior initiative we
are forgiven our sinfulness and
freed to serve God. It is this second part of baptism, the “freeing” part, that
Luke draws our attention to in his account of Jesus’ baptism.
In his ministry Jesus upset the status quo, he fought against
unjust economic realities, he battled against racial prejudices and moral oppression,
he worked to expand our notions of who God is and what God expects from us. In
Luke’s gospel account, Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of this earthly ministry.
In turn, the evangelist Luke wants us to understand that
through our baptism, through our repentance and acceptance of grace, Jesus’
ministry of challenging the status quo and spreading God’s love for all people
becomes our ministry. As baptized persons we are the wheat which John told us
Jesus was about to gather into the granary floor. Through our baptism we are called, commissioned, and empowered by
the Holy Spirit, to carry on the gospel ministry started by Jesus when he
walked among us.
If we understand Jesus’ baptism as a forerunner for our
baptism, then verse 21 of this passage becomes an extremely important passage.
According to Luke’s account, the presence of the Holy Spirit does not appear
when Jesus (and “all the people”) were still dripping wet with the waters of
baptism. Rather, the Holy Spirit, appeared as Jesus (and by implication “all
the people”) were PRAYING!
Prayer
is the foundation for a life of faith. The implication of this text, understood
within the overall context of Luke’s telling of the gospel story, is that
nothing significant will happen in our lives without prayer.
In Luke’s telling of the gospel prayer always precludes
important decisions and actions. In
Indeed, before every major action in Luke’s gospel, we witness
Jesus spending time in prayer. The implication for our lives is obvious. If we
expect to have the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and strengthening us as
promised in our baptism, then we are called to be in prayer.
The power to live the new life which we receive through baptism
does not come when we are still dripping wet with the waters of baptism. It
comes as we turn again and again to God in prayer.
Whatever challenges we may face, may they be spiritual,
physical, relational, financial, through our baptismal identity we are called
to turn to God in prayer, seeking the power of the Holy Spirit to effect change
in our lives.
Whatever you face in life, whatever is your particular
challenge, the promise of baptism is that you can meet it. This is not to say
that everything will always work out the way we want things to be, or that our
lives will be without pain and suffering. However, the promise of baptism is
that we will have God’s presence with us as we face life.
God’s voice from the heavens announcing God’s pleasure with
Jesus at his baptism was an answer to Jesus’ prayer. Perhaps it wasn’t the
answer the human side of Jesus was looking for, for who would welcome a life
filled with trouble, betrayal, and ultimately a humiliating death on a cross.
Yet it was a promise of presence for the battle.
As we face the challenges of our lives, let us turn to God in
prayer. Nothing significant will happen without it!
So may it be for us. AMEN.
Reverend Marc V. Mason
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Baptism of the Lord
January 7, 2007
Travelers Rest, SC