Out of the Water

Psalm 29

You, divine beings! Give to the Lord—

    give to the Lord glory and power!
² Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
    Bow down to the Lord in holy splendor!

³ The Lord’s voice is over the waters;
    the glorious God thunders;
        the Lord is over the mighty waters.
⁴ The Lord’s voice is strong;
    the Lord’s voice is majestic.
⁵ The Lord’s voice breaks cedar trees—
    yes, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon jump around like a young bull,
    makes Sirion jump around like a young wild ox.
⁷ The Lord’s voice unleashes fiery flames;
⁸     the Lord’s voice shakes the wilderness—
        yes, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹ The Lord’s voice convulses the oaks,
    strips the forests bare,
        but in his temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the floodwaters;
    the Lord sits enthroned—king forever!

¹¹ Let the Lord give strength to his people!
    Let the Lord bless his people with peace!

Mark 1: 4-11

John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. ⁵ Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins.⁶ John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. ¹¹ And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

I remember my baptism very clearly. I grew up in the Disciples of Christ denomination so I was baptized by immersion at age 8 on a beautiful Easter morning.  I remember walking into the baptistery to stand with my minister. He placed a very comforting arm around my shoulders knowing my fear of being under water, reminded me that he wouldn't let go, placed his second hand over mine as I held my nose shut and he slowly lowered me backwards into the water. After the water washed over me, he lifted me up and after wiping my face off and frantically catching my breath, I looked out into the congregation. I saw my parents, my sisters, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins... everyone was there and smiling at me. As I looked into their faces, the fact that I was standing in water up to my chest left my mind and I quickly felt an incredible amount of love surround me.

All too often, I feel that we focus on a single event in its own time and place. We may look at what led up to that event, but we rarely look at what that event causes. I don't know that I would be too far off if I said that we are especially guilty of this when it comes to something like Baptism. A recent song by country singer Carrie Underwood has had me thinking about this for a few weeks now. In the chorus of "Something in the Water", Carrie sings the words- "Now I'm changed and now I'm stronger. There must have been something in the water."

As I came up from the water and looked out into the faces of my family, friends, and teachers I felt stronger. I was excited. I wanted to run out and hug everyone. I didn't quite understand it all then, but as I look back I can't help but imagine that what I felt and saw when I came out of the water was a bit like the dove coming down from the heavens when Jesus was baptized.  In our baptism we leave the wilderness as we confess our sins and praise the majestic God that we read about in Psalm 29. What is so incredible to me though is what happens when we come out of the water.

Baptism is a physical sign of God's love and grace. It is through our own baptism that we become engrafted into the life of Christ as we receive the same Spirit that Christ received and take part in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. When we are baptized, we commit ourselves to this life and we commit to live and walk with all others who have made this same commitment. We begin to change, inside and out. Just as Carrie Underwood said, "Now I'm changed, now I'm stronger."

As I read the text for this morning in my preparation, I drew a picture of what I see happening after baptism. I will spare you my poor artwork, but in short I drew a picture of water and had words coming OUT of the water as if they were fish. These words came from what I read in this morning's text- what I saw as being a result of baptism. The list included change, strength, happiness, peace, forgiveness, and love. This is what scripture sets forth as the effect of baptism... the part that I think we forget all too often... this is what we receive as we come out of the water.

Out of the water, we receive forgiveness. God tells us "Look- I know everything about you, and it is OK!" Before baptism, we confess our sins and leave the wilderness behind. As the water washes over us, we receive that forgiveness that can be given by no other. This forgiveness is the starting point for a whole new life.

Out of the water, we become stronger. This is not be the strength that you might be working for if you are one of the few people that is still following through on New Year's resolutions. This strength is an internal, emotion, FAITH based strength. Strength through baptism comes from knowing that WE ARE NOT ALONE. Not only are we surrounded by all of those who witnessed our baptism, but we are surrounded by the Church at large, and most importantly the teachings of Christ and God! Christ came to us and was baptized just like us so that God could be WITH us and through our participation in baptism, God REMAINS with us giving us a strength that no gym or vitamin supplement can offer.

Out of the water, we receive happiness. This happiness is like no other. This is a happiness that comes from knowing that God is with us and has given us unconditional love and grace despite our own shortcomings. This is a happiness that is always with us, reminding us in the best and the worst of times that WE ARE NOT ALONE. Sometimes we have to dig deep, sometimes we have to look to those who are walking with us, and sometimes we are the ones being looked to for this happiness but it is always there. This happiness is not one sided either- even God said "in YOU I have found happiness" and I am of the belief that this was not just meant for Jesus. Through our baptism, God is reminding us that God has found happiness in US.

Out of the water, we receive peace. This is a peace deeper and stronger than any other. This peace enters our souls, opening our eyes and our hearts to the world around us. When we let this peace settle and take over our souls, we see the world as God sees it. We are able to see God within all whom we meet. We know that God is in control and God is protecting us.

Out of the water, we receive love. An unending, unconditional love that only God can give. This love came to us in the form of Jesus Christ and endures within each one of us for no greater reason than the simple fact that God loves us, no matter what. This love was present before baptism and will remain present, we only need to accept it through our baptism.

Out of the water, we receive Christ. We receive everything that Christ received. We receive all that Christ gave. Out of the water, we receive God in such a way that we can more easily understand all that God is and does. God loves us so much that God gave us everything in Christ and gave us a way to be with Christ, out of the water.

Over the course of the liturgical year, we will travel through scripture learning about who God is and all that Christ did. Out of the water, we are a part of that! So, what do we do with all of this? My approach? Live OUT OF THE WATER!

John called the people from their everyday lives to come to the river to be baptized. Jesus came from his everyday life to be baptized. At the close of the Gospels, in what we now call the "The Great Commission", Jesus calls the Disciples originally and then once again to leave their everyday life to go out into the world to continue baptizing all people. With that in mind, I would argue that the first thing we should do OUT OF THE WATER is to leave our everyday life behind.  This does not mean dropping everything, quitting your job, and going on some crazy journey. This DOES mean leaving our fear, loneliness, hatred, anger... anything that separates us from God, behind. In order to live out of the water, we must open our lives up to all that we have received.

When we open our lives, we share our lives. Former PC(USA) moderator, Bruce Reyes Chow, once told a group of college students "live your life so that people want to ask questions". His goal in telling the students this was to get them thinking about how they are living into their baptism, encouraging them to live in a way so that people ask them WHY they live that way. Living in a way that embraces the forgiveness, strength, happiness, peace, and love that we receive in our baptism can and WILL cause people to want to know why we live that way. It isn't easy though.

In today's world, we are faced with too many temptations. The many different forms of media almost encourage us to be overly critical of one another and how we live our lives. Our overly packed schedules add an element of stress that makes us less patient than ever. The availability to have almost everything outside of food and water available in one small device that fits in our pocket or on our wrist takes us away from what is most important. And then there is the simple fact that we are human and will inevitably find something that will try to get us off track. Take a moment to think about your own life- what is it that steers you away from a focus on God and living in the way that Christ taught? Personally, I have trouble when I am tired after a long day... it seems that even the smallest things can easily frustrate me, and if you ask my husband, it is best to just give me a glass of water and leave me alone for a bit.

My New Testament professor loves to tell the story of two seminary flag football teams playing in a tournament. When things got heated over a bad call, two students from opposite teams ended up yelling at each other until one yelled out "Remember your baptism!". Such a simple thing to do, but we too often forget it. Remember your baptism. When we live out of the water, we must always remember our baptism. Many people may not remember their baptism if they were baptized as an infant, but we can remember the baptisms that we have witnessed. We can remember the baptism that we read about- the one that all baptisms connect to. Our baptism connects us to one another in a way that no blood line can, creating the world's largest family tree (I'm sure ancestry.com would crash if they tried to make all of the connections!). Remembering our baptism and living out of the water means that we live out Christ's teachings, taking part in his life, death, and resurrection.

I can sit here and spend a few hours outlining the thousands of teachings of Christ and all that he did in his life, but I think they are best summed up in a single verse- love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The ultimate thing that we receive out of the water is Love. Love is the cause of all things and love is affected by all things. Because God loves us, God forgave us. Because God forgave us, we are stronger and can love more freely. Because we are stronger, we are happier and can love more freely. Because we are happier, we are at peace and we can love more freely. Baptism is a sign and seal of God's unconditional, infallible love for each one of us and in turn, baptism calls each one of us out of the water to share that love with all whom we encounter.

My question today is how will YOU live out of the water? How will you remember your baptism and the promises you have made during other baptisms? How will you share God's incredible love with all whom you encounter?

As we all continue to think on this question that can't be answered for any person in a matter of seconds, let us start by remembering our baptism as we stand and respond to the questions asked at a baptism:

Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do.

Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love? I do.

Will you be Christ's faithful disciple, obeying his Word and showing his love? I will, with God's help.