Remember and Celebrate

Matthew 3:13-17

September 28, 1986 was a very important day in my life.  That was the day I was baptized, the day I became a child of God.  That was the day, when I was just over two months old, that the waters of grace were poured on my head.  At that age I had no idea what baptism would mean for my life or why it was even happening.  In the act of baptism I was given the gift of God’s grace and God’s unconditional love.  In baptism I was given faith!  When I decided to go to seminary I had to put the date of my baptism on all the forms I submitted.  I never quite knew what the date was, so I had to research it a bit.  After writing it on all of those forms I finally can remember the date I was baptized and I now try to take a moment or two each year on that day to remember the gift of baptism I was given by God. 

I am sure there are a few of you who can recall the date of your baptism, but I would imagine there are plenty of others that don’t have the slightest idea.  If you can’t remember that important date, I would encourage you to do a little research and see if you can find it.  Look for your baptismal certificate, talk to your relatives, or call the church you were baptized at.  Do whatever you need to do to find out the date of your baptism. 

Why? Because it really was an important day in your life.  It is a day that should be remembered and celebrated.  I know each time we do a baptism here as we light the baptismal candle we suggest to parents that they light their child’s baptismal candle each year on the date of their child’s baptism and remember this important day.  We don’t just say that…we mean it.  Baptismal anniversaries are dates worth celebrating.  If you think your life will be too crazy to remember your baptismal anniversary or the baptismal anniversary of your children or godchildren start writing in on your calendar or set a reminder on your cell phone for that day and then celebrate the day that the waters of grace were poured on your head.

You would never think of forgetting your birthday or the birthday of your child.  It was a very important day in their life, in fact it was the beginning of life.  But baptisms are also the beginning of life, the beginning of our lives as children of God.  It is an important day where God promises to make us a child of God, to wash us clean of sin, to give us the Holy Spirit, which will enable us to call upon Jesus as Lord, to make us a member of the body of Christ, the Church and to grant us eternal life.  It is also a day where parents and sponsors make promises to live with us among God's faithful people, bring us to the word of God and the holy supper, teach us the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,  place in our hands the holy scriptures, nurture us in faith and prayer so that we may learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace.  This congregation also makes promises at baptisms to look upon the baptized person as an important member of our Christian community, support parents in making God’s promises known to their child, and support them in keeping the promises that they made to their child at Baptism.

The day of baptism was also important in Jesus’ life.  His baptism established God’s favor and his identity as Jesus, the son of God.  It also inaugurated his mission and ministry.  It was his commissioning, the day he was sent forth into the world.  This act of baptism emphasizes Jesus’ humanity.  Even though he was the Son of God, he too needed to be baptized.  With that in mind, that day of Jesus’ baptism is really not very much different from the day of our baptisms.  Baptism really is an event that we share with Jesus.  It is a day where God’s favor is established and we receive our identity as children of God.  It is a day that we are sent forth into the world.  It is our day of commissioning.

Sure, baptism isn’t something we talk about all the time, but it is something we often witness in worship.  In 2013 we had 32 baptisms at South Canyon.  They were all joyous occasions, whether the baptized person was happy or sad, because they marked the moment where God said to those 32 people “You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased.”  They were moments in time where 32 newly baptized people were sent forth into the world to show God’s love and grace to those around them.

There are other times during our life together as a congregation where baptism plays a role, too.  Confession and forgiveness is a reminder of the ultimate forgiveness of sins we were given in baptism.  Communion is an extension of the baptismal promise and a promise of God’s love and care.  The dismissal is a time of commissioning, when we are sent forth to live out our baptism through various vocations in daily life.  In the rite of confirmation our students affirm the promises that were made at their baptisms.  When people are near death I often will make the sign of the cross on their forehead reminding them of the promise God made to them in baptism.  Then in funerals we cover the casket with a white pall, which is a reminder of the baptismal garment. 

In all of those moments, and as we worship together today we recall our own baptisms.  Today I have filled the font and placed it up front with the hope that you will dip your hand in it and make the sign of the cross on your forehead as a reminder of your baptism.  In doing so, we remember that God has made it clear that we are accepted just as we are.  We remember that God loves us.  We remember that God has plans to do many wonderful things through us.  We remember that we are God’s children, deserving of love and respect, and God will use us to change the world.  Yes, you are God’ child, deserving of love and respect, and God will use you to change the world.  Amen.