First Presbyterian Church
Renewal of Baptism
Sermon for January 13, 2007
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's Time: I handed each child a tiny stuffed animal and asked them what Bible story the animals came from. “The Ugly Duckling” was one answer. Then I handed them an identical animal, and they all guessed Noah's ark. They told me how Noah sent out the dove 3 times and the second time it came back with an olive branch and the third time it didn't come back, meaning that it was safe for the ark to land and the people to leave the safety of the ark.

Our gospel reading is found on page 3 of the new testament of your pew Bibles. In our reading, the heavenly voice quotes from Isaiah 42:1. “Behold My servant whom I held up, my chosen one in whom I am pleased. I give my spirit to him; he will bring out righteousness to the nations.”

The word righteousness means justice, God's intention of peace.

Jesus is a servant of God, in the tradition of the servant in Isaiah. But he is also called the son of God. To be a son or a daughter of something means to follow after or belong to it. A son of the prophets is someone who belongs to a prophetic guild; the daughters of a bough are its branches. Matthew tells the story of Jesus' baptism to show us who Jesus is.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Matthew 3:13-17.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.

14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

15 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.

16 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.

17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

This ends our reading of God's word. Did you ever wonder why Jesus, that servant in whom God is pleased, the beloved son of God, needed to be baptized? Did Jesus have to be told who he was, or did he already know? Matthew doesn't care much about these questions. He cared about us, his readers. He wanted us to know who Jesus is.

Our baptisms are matters of obedience to God and receiving the spirit, and so it was for Jesus. “As Christians are declared to be God's children in the act of baptism, Jesus was declared Son of God when he was baptized.” 1

Jesus says his baptism will fulfill all righteousness – that is, his baptism fulfills the will of God, the mission of the servant. The servant performs the will of God in being a light for the nations, opening the eyes of the blind, freeing hostages, and bringing in a new covenant.

In the book of Genesis, a dove announced to Noah that the flood was over, and God made a covenant with Noah and his family, the people of God.

The servant in Isaiah was powered by ruah, the Spirit, wind and breath of God, which brought a new hope to the chosen people. Our last hymn, “She Comes Sailing on the Wind” is about the holy spirit. Ruah is feminine, and that's why the song refers to the spirit as ‘she.' The songwriter describes the spirit as a bird, based on our text from Matthew, where the spirit descends like a dove.

In the story of Noah, the dove signaled safety. At Jesus' baptism, the spirit descended like a dove, announcing God's pleasure and brought a new hope and new covenant in Jesus.

And so today we remember that covenant as we remember our baptisms, and we hold the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, “the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

We are renewing our baptismal vows today. Saying our vows again reminds us what we are supposed to be about, that no matter what else the world is doing, we are following God, and teaching our families to follow God through Jesus Christ.

When I was baptized, my parents promised to teach me to follow Christ. When I was confirmed as a church member, I renounced evil. As part of our liturgy today, we will ask you, the congregation, to renew your baptismal vows, whether you made them yourself, or someone made them on your behalf.

In our lives, we have plenty to lead us away from Jesus, into minutiae and unimportant details. We try to concentrate on what's important, but we are lulled by comforts; tempted to escape into drugs and alcohol, and entertained by movies and television and games.

Renouncing evil, declaring Christ your savior, and promising to be disciples may seem obvious to us who have been Christians for a long time, but saying those words aloud in a congregation of people who are also saying them aloud can be powerful. This is the place where we have chosen to learn to follow Jesus.

The liturgy around baptism is ancient; I hope today as you speak the words of the liturgy, they move through you so that you feel the spirit encouraging you and upholding you.

1The New Interpreter's Bible, vol. VIII, p.161.