Claimed and Loved

Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

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This week we start a series of reflections on the idea and practice of discipleship. And this morning we start by looking at the start of discipleship in the act of baptism, the baptism of Jesus and our own baptisms. 

[Baptism Experience]

Baptism is an ancient rite, a ritual that symbolizes the beginning of a spiritual and lifelong journey. The act of washing or cleansing oneself with water, however, it is not a new concept. Many religious traditions include the use of water in rituals as an act of cleanings or the washing away of negative things. In Judaism, there is a ritual washing that involves either a full-body immersion or the washing of hands. Similarly, in Christianity do we practice the washing of hands and feet as an act of remembrance of service that Christ modeled for us. Yet baptism is something unique, something that is special because it is one of two sacraments, holy rituals that we observe as Presbyterians. So there must be something vital about baptism, right? 

The act of baptism was necessary for those first followers of Christ and for the early church. Those early communities of faith would gather by the river, and they would remove their old clothes. And after they baptized, they would come out and be given a new set of clothes, which symbolized their new birth in Christ. Yet the act of baptism was more than just a welcoming of people into a religious community; it was also a “funeral” were people committed to giving up their former ways of living in exchange for something else. These early Christians weren’t sure what the future held for them. They could have been rounded up or sent to prison at any moment, so how they lived was a critical reflection of their faith. 

For many in the early church, baptism was a radical act of self and communal transformation. After their baptism, the early Christians found themselves living in a community with one another. They shared property, they shared their income with others, they shared their food and other resources, and they set the needs of the community above that of their own. These are all things that were  a part of what it meant to be claimed by the waters of baptism and live without the pressure of having to judge another person’s intentions, thoughts, or actions. There was trust, there was faith, that any kind of judgement was left to God, so the room that had been reserved for judgment opened up a space for charity and love.. In many ways, baptism, and the start of this journey of discipleship, seems naive. Many parts of the Christian life don't seem to add up or make sense because they don't meet the expectations or markers for success that the world has deemed to be appropriate. Isn’t that the point of following Christ? 

Following Jesus and deciding to embark on the journey of discipleship is one of the riskiest, mind-boggling, and questionable things that one can do in life. Because everything about discipleship runs counter to the common sense of the world that surrounds it, the practice of turning your cheek, sheathing your sword, and loving your enemies is intolerable, and dare I say grotesque. That is to say; it would be an unappealing idea if we hold onto only a fundamental concept of good and evil. But our discipleship isn't guided by a fundamental idea or construct because Christ enters into the picture, grabs what we thought to be the only way to live, and tosses it aside to show us something new. And this new path is going to be hard and, at times, will hurt. It means being vulnerable with our hearts; it means taking risks, it means not returning hate for hate or violence for violence. 

Our human understanding of justice, love, and mercy will not get us very far in our discipleship journey if we cannot comprehend the cost that such a path requires. Because love is at the core, the love of God, which is the law that is transcribed on all our hearts. What we need to understand is that when we were baptized, God claimed us and sealed us in a divine love. And that baptism, when we decide to respond to God’s love, calls us to a new way of living. A revolutionary path forward that starts with a reminder that we are God’s beloved and claimed in love that will never let us go either in life or in death and that is the good news. That is the power we carry when we consider the start of our discipleship journey.  Inherently this is going to be confusing to a culture that thinks the opposite. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book, “The Cost of Discipleship,” writes: 

To the natural person, the very notion of loving their enemies is an intolerable offence, and quite beyond their capacity: It cuts right across their idea of good and evil… Jesus however takes the law of God in his own hands and expounds its true meaning.The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that people should defeat their enemies by loving them. (Bonhoeffer, 127)

Love is a powerful force. It is so powerful that it makes evil, greed, and selfishness tremble because the love that brings justice for the poor and the oppressed is a frightening thing to those who want to hold onto all the power. A cultural example of this kind of love would be Pete Seeger, who on his banjo inscribed the words, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.” In these words we are reminded, as Bonhoeffer writes, that there is something more to life than the governing principles of this world. If the poor are fed, if the homeless are sheltered, if those who are sick and not able to pay are given medicine, then we are living into the expectations that have been placed on us at our baptism. And those things are a product of our love, and the love we have received from God as an old French baptism, liturgy says, “We love because God first loved us.” 

Perhaps we should spend some time thinking about our own baptism, remembering the moment when God’s Spirit said, “You are my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Reclaiming our baptism and the vows that were made is a practice we must engage in order to reorient our hearts. In doing so we might find that we can connect to the same spirit of living as the early Christians who shared what they had, made sure people regardless of the situation had a roof over their head and a bed to sleep on, and made sure that mouths were filled without asking for anything in return. If it seems naive, then it is, yet only by earthly standards. Because there is a higher calling, the way that Christ, that God has called us to live as disciples. It is a counterintuitive way of life that is meant to shake the very  foundations of the world. So as we partake of such work, may we remember when our journey started and remember that we are claimed and loved as beloved people of God. Amen.