Baptism of Our Lord

Grace and Peace to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The evening of Wednesday October 26^th, 2006 was a special evening for me that has lived in my memory.

It started as a typical Wednesday. My sister and I were dropped off at church around 6pm for Confirmation. My younger sister had just begun her second year of confirmation, and it was my last confirmation class – we finished our confirmation in the early fall because confirmation Sunday was coming up on October 29^th – Reformation Sunday.

We gathered in the Youth Room in the basement of the church. I was expecting the night to run as usual, 15 minutes in large group, 45 minutes in our small groups, and then dollar-a-slice pizza! Woohoo!

However, after large group time, we were ushered upstairs to rehearse for Sunday instead of getting to small groups. When we arrived to the Sanctuary, it was different - dimly lit, all the candles were burning, and there was a crowd of people there – parents, baptismal sponsors and neighbors, all crammed (unusually) into the front several pews.

We had been gathered to prayerfully worship together as a confirmation class and - to witness a baptism.

All of us knew that Cameron had not been baptized, but we didn’t really think anything of it! He was a friend of mine. We played baseball together from little league through to middle school. He was better than me - he was now on the varsity team as a freshman – I was not…

Cameron had gone through the whole confirmation program probably because he had lots of friends in it. He nonetheless engaged in what it means to have faith in God’s promises set before us in the person of Jesus Christ. In the process, he wanted to now confirm his faith in these baptismal promises, so he needed to be baptized.

Now. the baptism Cameron was about to experience is a bit different from the Baptism of Jesus told to us in our Gospel text today. Jesus’s baptism indeed has similarities, it included water and God’s Spirit for example. However, it wasn’t the same.

Baptism, as we experience it, is a moment of washing – a cleansing with water – and an emergence from that water as a new person. This probably why Jesus was almost denied baptism by John the Baptist. Jesus needed no cleansing! John the Baptist exclaims, “I need to be baptized by YOU! And yet, you come to me?” John acknowledges that he's the one who needs cleansing by the Savior, not the Savior who needs cleansing by him.

Yet, Jesus responds, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

In other words, the work of the Messiah, of our Savior, is to be the bearer of the sins of the world, who redeems the world, puts things right, makes them righteous, and grants us peace. And so, Jesus steps into the place of the sinner, right away as the first act of his ministry in the Gospel of Matthew. They are his first steps toward the cross.

And then the heavens open! God’s Spirit descends upon Jesus anointing him and his ministry toward the cross, and announces him as son of God: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

This is the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. It is his public commissioning. All now know that Jesus is the Messiah who walks alongside sinners, stepping into the cleansing waters making them now bearers of the promise of forgiveness, righteousness and new life.  

The waters of Baptism for us, are these cleansing waters – the forgiving waters - in which Jesus joined us out of his mercy. These baptismal waters gift us God’s promises of forgiveness and new life. They wrap us up into power of the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit that descended onto Jesus; And these waters make us part of the same family as God and Jesus because we are reminded in these waters that we too are beloved children with whom God is well pleased.

At the very beginning of worship this morning, we blessed the baptismal waters addressing God, saying, “By water and your Word you claim us as daughters and sons, making us heirs of your promise and servants of all… Shower us with your Spirit, and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace and love.”

And that showering of grace and mercy through the Holy Spirit is what took place with Cameron on October 26^th, 2006.

The room fell silent after the sermon hymn… The pastors approached the baptismal font with a large clay pitcher.

As the water was poured into the font to the sound of splashing, they were blessed. God’s Word of promise was combined with the water. The Holy Spirit was present. Cameron came forward with his parents and was washed. God’s promises of presence with Cameron, care for Cameron, eternal forgiveness being gifted to Cameron, blessed love of Cameron, grace and abundant life for Cameron were all gifted by God in those waters.

It was spectacular.  

We were captivated by this baptism. It was a liminal moment.

And then Pastor Jason proclaimed: “Let us welcome this Beloved Child of God in the name of Christ Jesus!”

And we erupted in joyous celebration! As I reflect on this moment, our celebration was not so much about Cameron specifically, but was a celebration of how absolutely real and present God’s promises felt. It was a celebration of a time when Heaven and Earth really seemed to be a single piece.

Four days later, on October 29^th, Reformation Sunday, Cameron joined the whole confirmation class as we confirmed together with great confidence, our faith in the promises that God has given to us in our baptism. We had this confidence because we felt those promises viscerally. The Holy Spirit had made sure we knew exactly what we were confirming that day.

And so, we were launched, as all confirmands are, as Jesus himself was, into our life of baptismal faith. We were launched to be called servants of all. To become heirs of God’s Promises and to espouse love and forgiveness, care, affection, and service to all our neighbors and to all our enemies.

These are the same promises that we at St. Matthew are invited to share. These are the same promises the unbaptized explorers of the faith are invited to hear and come to know through Jesus Christ as Cameron did. This is in part why St. Matthew practices open communion – the practice of inviting unbaptized people to eat at the table. Because these promises from God come to us through both Baptism and Holy Communion - our two Sacraments. Those not yet baptized may come to baptism through experiencing God’s promises in Holy Communion. It’s a blessing that the Sacraments work together!

That Wednesday evening in 2006 where my friend Cameron was baptized lives long in my memory. It was where the church most deeply taught me what a gift it is that God has given to us the Sacrament Holy Baptism. What gift that Jesus entered the waters with us to make them cleansing, forgiving, Spirit-filled, love-filled waters that refresh and make us new. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Ryan | January 11, 2026 | Baptism of Our Lord