Today in our scriptures we move beyond the birth stories to the baptism of Jesus.

Unlike the gospel stories of Matthew and Luke, Mark does not begin with a birth narrative, but with this man, Jesus, coming from Nazareth and being baptized by John the Baptist.

Mark sees John as fulfilling the prophecy of the Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, who spoke of a messenger, a voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. Also echoing Isaiah, Mark speaks of this baptism as the point in which God’s Spirit comes upon Jesus and his divinity and messianic status is established. For Matthew and Luke this is established at conception and birth. And in John’s gospel, it’s already there at the beginning of time. But for Mark, Jesus’ special status and ministry grows from this revelation at his baptism.

You’ll notice that in both readings this morning there appears to be a distinguishing of baptisms: John’s baptism of repentance, and the baptism of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit; John in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets; and Paul with his emphasis on spirit-filled discipleship and Christian community.

These stories reflect the fact that there have always been differences of opinion, emphasis and practice among Christians. Some things never change in this very human, imperfect world. Then, and now, no single pattern of belief, behavior and structure characterizes the Christian church. Today we still find churches differing in their beliefs about baptism and its method – by sprinkling or immersion.

I experienced this personally years ago. As a young child I was baptized by sprinkling. Later in my teens, in another church group that believed only in baptism by immersion, just to be on the safe side and cover all the bases, I was immersed. These insistent differences of belief hooked my doubts and insecurities, those I’m OK, I’m not OK fluctuations at that point in my life.

Bishop Spong writes about how the church has contributed to such things as it later proceeded from the Adam and Eve myth and the concept of the fallen state of original sin, to the traditional doctrine of the sacrificial atonement of Jesus’ death. And then still later the church organized its life around this concept, and infant baptism was instituted in order to as early as possible cleanse the child of the stain of that original sin.

Baptism brought redemption. Not to be baptized was to be lost forever. This misguided doctrine has been both offensive and frightening to many parents, and more than likely has been the fearful motivation in many deathbed baptisms.

The traditional language has to do with being made clean in the waters of baptism, being washed from our sins. This may be related to and borrowed from an earlier Jewish rite of ritual cleansing for women after childbirth, after circumcision for males, or when gentiles underwent ritual cleansing in converting to the Jewish faith.

Water has always been an important symbol. Creationist thinking to the contrary, water is the original home of life itself; human life is born out of the maternal waters; our bodies are mostly made out of water; and we and all living things must have water in order to live and grow. And our faith tradition is full of references to water- all the ways water has blessed and sustains our lives.

For us baptism is ritual and symbol. And because ritual acts are important to mark human experiences, transitions and special moments in life, baptism here is one of those, having to do with welcoming into and belonging to this community of God’s people. For us it is a ritual welcoming persons into the life and care of the church. And belonging to God’s community here is also a call to be God’s people, loving life and walking with the assurance of God’s love. It’s becoming a part of a community in which we can find strength and courage and the joy of faith in our life’s journey, where we can be inspired by the way of Jesus, and experience the freedom of love.

Do persons find forgiveness and spiritual rebirth in such an act of baptism? Perhaps, but that is part of the mystery, power and grace one might personally experience participating in the sacrament. When baptized we do not accept a creed or come to utter certitude about things. Rather, we become part of a journey that began before we got here and shall continue after we are gone. We’re part of an adventure that we believe is God’s purpose for us. It’s being in a community that sustains and nurtures us, and trains us to fashion our lives as the people of God, sharing in Christ’s work in the world, and like Jesus, the Word becoming flesh in us.

So, by the act of baptism, and by the act of becoming a part of this community, we are adopting you as part of the family, and we are welcoming you to a journey that will take your whole life. What God will make of you we do not know. And where God will take you, we cannot say. What we do know and say is that God is with you, and we will love and encourage and support you.

For most of us our faith is not a single moment of coming to faith or conversion, but an ongoing journey of discovery and growth. Periodically I get a call asking if I’m a Christian counselor. I say that I am. Already I have an idea where the caller is going with this. The next question is whether I’m a born-again Christian. I indicate that I am, but say that they must also understand that I find myself being born again, and again and again. Through new experiences, awareness and learning, my faith grows in new ways and takes me into new places in my life. Well, more often than not, the person decides not to see me!

When we baptize our children, we are promising to love and nurture them as children of God, and give them room to grow. Our children are a treasure and a witness that life is worth living, and that the future is still before us. We will both guide them and learn from them, and they will bring a special blessing to us, filling us with hope and a freshness in our life together.

While our scriptures this morning appear to be distinguishing John’s baptism and the baptism of Jesus, both are pertinent for us. John’s call to repentance is a challenge to the people to turn their lives around and live more fully in God’s way. Out of his baptism, Jesus’ ministry proceeds and reveals a new consciousness, a new way of living in the world, empowered by love and the transforming nature of caring and purposeful community. Both are about life-change and living on behalf of God’s realm.

Our baptismal theology is a discipleship theology in which you and I are called to lives lifted beyond the limited horizons and confines of our world, dying to old ways and views, and being resurrected into this new way and larger perspective, and into a different set of priorities – a disciple’s life of spiritual pilgrimage and a wider realm of service to God’s children and eternal purpose. This is our inward/outward journey.

So, let us move into an uncertain future with confidence in God’s love and the power of love itself, looking more deeply into things, enlarging our hearts and minds, stripping away the false and illusory, and yet holding onto the exciting mystery of life and faith.

And, let us celebrate the blessings of our life together. For even in such times as these, we have each other. And along with our brother, Jesus, we have come from the waters of blessing, and we too are the beloved sons and daughters within the household of God’s love.

Amen.