Skip to main content

Baptism

In Mark's Gospel, there's nothing about Jesus before his baptism. That's one reason why it's easy for us to view baptism as a new beginning. In our baptism, we're marked and identified as Christian disciples.

We're baptized into a family. That's why we call each other "Brother" and "Sister." We all come through baptism into the Body of Believers.

But let's be honest, baptism is not our work, it's God's. Baptism is an outward sign of something that has already happened in our heart. God searches for us, finds us, chooses us, and adopts us as his sons and daughters.

But baptism is not the end. Martin Luther often said that baptism is a lifelong process. Our baptism is a reminder that our faith has a social element. Christianity is a social religion.

Back in November, we looked at the membership and baptism vows we took. We promised to be "Christ's representatives in the world."

In Mark 1:9-11, we see "heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending" on Jesus. This is an epiphany--a realization of who Jesus is, but also of who we are. After his baptism, Jesus began his public ministry. Baptism, for us, is also a call to serve. Yes, by baptism the whole church is called to ministry.


If you'd like to read more about the official United Methodist Church's view on baptism, you can find that here.

Blessings,
AK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Philippians 2:19-30

The way many people see Philippians 2:19-30 is that Paul is doing something similar to many preachers who say, "And one more thing . . ." and then preach for another twenty minutes. But I don't see Paul as the typical Baptist preacher. I think this pause is intentional. I don't think it was an early ending and then Paul had more ideas and kept writing. Paul is sending two people to the Philippians, and he's explaining why he's sending them. They are, as Bishop Wright says, "working models" of what Paul has been teaching. They think like Jesus. They understand the gospel, it's meaning, and they're practicing it. They are humble and they are living in this new Jesus way. While these verses may not be the most exciting, they help us to piece together the story of what's going on. Around the year 55 or 56 AD, Paul is in prison--likely in Ephesus. During that time, Paul wrote this letter. Timothy will hand-deliver this letter to the P...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ash Wednesday 2019

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive (Joel 2:12-13 CEB) Today is a new beginning. A new season. And anytime we step into something new, we can feel vulnerable. We know our own brokenness. This is a season where we journey through the wilderness of our hearts and souls to the heart of God. This is a time that calls for us to walk carefully and to think deeply. And if we are to make progress on our pilgrim's path, then we must be willing to lay bare all that is hidden, buried, or repressed inside of ourselves. This path is uncomfortable. But if we want to move closer to God, then it is a path we must take. Lent doesn't make sense. It's counter-intuitive. We begin with death and move towards life. Today, many Christians will go to chu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Good Friday

John 19:17-20 in the Common English Bible (CEB) reads: Carrying his cross by himself, he [Jesus] went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha ). That's where they crucified him--and two others with him, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a public notice written and posted on the cross. It read "Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Today is called Good Friday because it is the day that proclaims God's loving  and his purpose for redeeming the world through the cross of Jesus. We call it Good Friday because God was drawing the world to himself through Jesus. As verse 17 says "by himself," we see that Jesus was in control of his own death. He was not making the best of a bad situation. Jesus was fulfilling God's purpose: providing the way for all people to be saved. The ...
Post a Comment
Read more