“Humble Submission”

Matthew 3:13-17

Some theological and liturgical quotes about baptism: First - from The Book of Common Worship: “… our baptism is the sign and the seal of our cleansing from sin, and of our being grafted into Christ. Through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the power of sin was broken and God’s kingdom entered our world. Through our baptisms we were made citizens of God’s kingdom, and freed from the bondage of sin.”

Secondly – from The Confession of 1967: “By humble submission to John’s baptism, Christ joined himself to [humanity] in their need and entered upon his ministry of reconciliation in the power of the Spirit. Christian baptism marks the receiving of the same Spirit by all his people. Baptism with water represents not only cleansing from sin, but a dying with Christ and a joyful rising with him to new life. It commits all Christians to die each day to sin and live for righteousness. In baptism, the church celebrates the renewal of the covenant with which God has bound his people to himself.”

Lastly – from A Proposed Declaration of Faith: “We believe that in baptism the Spirit demonstrates and confirms God’s promise to include us and our children in his gracious covenant, cleansing us from sin, and giving us newness of life, as participants in Christ’s death and resurrection. Baptism sets us in the visible community of Christ’s people and joins us to all believers by a powerful bond. In baptism we give ourselves up in faith and repentance to be the Lord’s. For both children and adults, baptism is a reminder that God loves us long before we can love him.”

In the waters of baptism our sins are washed away. In the waters of baptism we participate in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. In the waters of baptism we become members of the Christian community. In the waters of baptism we become citizens of God’s kingdom. In the waters of baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the waters of baptism the old passes away and the new appears, or to paraphrase the Apostle Paul, the old has gone and the new has come.

When Jesus was baptized by John he had no sins to wash away. There was no need for him to repent. So why did he wish to be baptized? One commentator defined the baptism of Jesus as a righteous act of solidarity with those to and for whom he came. Or as The Confession of ’67 puts it, “By humble submission to John’s baptism, Christ joined himself to [humanity] in their need…” The baptism of Jesus was as much about us as it was about him. In his baptism Jesus entered into solidarity with the human race.

It has been said that his baptism was a blending of magnificence and humility. The magnificence is obvious: as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And the very voice of God boomed from the heavens, “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In his baptism Jesus received the very power of God as he was infused with the Holy Spirit. Upon his baptism he was publically acknowledged by his Father to be his beloved Son. In essence Jesus was named as the Messiah. It was his coming out party, the opening act of his ministry. In liturgical terms it was his epiphany.

A quick side note: At the baptism of Jesus every person of the Holy Trinity participated, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But for all the magnificence of his baptism there was also a large dose of humility. Jesus didn’t just get baptized; he humbly submitted to it. He, the Living Word of God made flesh, identified himself with humanity. Or to again quote the Apostle Paul, “… [he] emptied himself , taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” Several years ago there was a song that asked what if God was one of us? Theologically that song was greatly lacking in orthodoxy. Still the question was a valid one: what if – God was – one of us? Well, in Jesus Christ he was one of us, joining himself to us in our need.

Back to our baptisms, why do we use water? Water is symbolic of cleanliness; we bathe in it. Water is essential to life, without it we die. We can go down into water and be raised up. In water we are renewed and refreshed. In the waters of baptism we are made new and fresh – the old has gone, the new has come. Baptism is a symbol of re-creation. Baptism is a reminder of the Lord God’s first creating acts.

In the words of Steven Driver, “Matthew echoes Genesis when he describes Jesus’ baptism. Genesis records that, in the beginning, the Spirit hovered over the waters. The Word of God was present from the beginning and created the world. What the Word created was good. In Matthew, the Spirit of God once again hovers over the waters, and once again the Word of God speaks. Genesis describes God bringing order to chaos through his Word. Matthew describes God taming the chaos of our sins through his Word. Genesis describes the abundant possibilities of God’s creative work. Matthew describes the renewal of those possibilities through God’s entering into creation in order to redeem it. The parallels are stark, and they clearly link baptism link baptism to God’s creative acts more generally.”

God creates. God re-creates. God brought order out of pre-creation chaos. In Christ God brings order out of the dark chaos of sin, evil, and death. What was undone by sin is restored by the perfect righteousness of Jesus. What was broken has been mended. What was dying has been healed. What was dead has been brought back to life.

Have you ever watched a dry, droopy, maybe even dying plant after it has been watered? It springs back to life. Jesus entered into our dry, droopy, dying world and brought it back to life. In the waters of baptism our dry, droopy, dying lives are restored. Baptism is the symbol of our restoration, re-creation, and the healing of our sin-sick souls.

Therein lies the magnificence of our own baptisms. Our baptisms are joyful, celebrative events – magnificent events. But the magnificence must be partnered with humility. When we are baptized we are admitting our hopeless sinfulness apart from God. When we are baptized we submit ourselves to the will of God. When we are baptized we begin the daily process of dying to self in order to live in Christ, the daily process of humbling ourselves and becoming servants of the Lord and one another. Above all else, baptism is an act of humble submission. Amen.