Through Stained Glass: A Mid-Week Reflection-Who & Whose

Here’s an honest statement:

Baptism of Christ Sunday is one of my top five liturgical days of the year.

It ranks above Pentecost and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, Christmas.

Now, please let me be clear—I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I LOVE CHRISTMAS EVE! I love baby Jesus and all that comes with the Christmas season—from Christmas trees (mine is still up by the way) to singing Christmas songs (I hated packing away my John Denver Christmas vinyl.)

Again, I say, I love, Love, LOVE Christmas.

But I especially love the baptism of Christ Sunday.

Why? Baptism is what unites us to Christ. Baptism is where our life begins. In baptism we are made known to God. In baptism we are gifted with all that makes us, well, us.

As many of you know, I’m a visual learner. Which makes sense as to why I love baptisms and communion. In the sacraments, God’s grace can be seen, felt, tasted, and smelled. The Sacraments are not a different word from the witness of the Scriptures, nor do they diverge from the testimony of faithful preaching, whether through a sermon or the choir. We are a people of Word and Sacrament.

Adam, buddy, we know this. We have been Presbyterian most our lives. What’s the point?

I guess I want you all to consider this: 

Remember who you are. Remember whose you are.

On Sunday when we pour the water and you read in the bulletin those italicized words…

Remember your baptism and be thankful!

I really want you to remember your baptism.

Because baptism is the fullness of the gospel, God’s gracious love poured over us.

The waters of baptism rinse away the make-up of those masks we wear and remind us of our identity in God—a beloved child.

Baptism then, friends, does not merely tell us about Christ, or remember Christ, or point to Christ, or represent Christ. In baptism, Christ is present with us, making us one with him in a death like his and a resurrection like his.

Baptism happens once, yet takes a lifetime to complete. Which is why we must find ways to remind ourselves of the life gained in baptism. Broken we are, but we bear the image of Christ—we live out our baptismal identities in our daily lives. Remember as we do, that God has forgiven us and God loves us.

Here’s a fun little tidbit to get you through the day:

When Martin Luther felt discouraged or afraid, he’d often splash water on himself and declare, “But I am baptized!” John Calvin advised readers depressed by evil to “reflect that they are still on the way” to the “complete victory” that God promises in baptism.

Friends, we are still on the way. All of us. We are all moving towards that completion of our baptism—embracing the fullness of God’s promise.

So do me a favor, please.

Right now, or later, but sometime today—play with and/or in water.

When you’re doing dishes tonight—feel the heat warm not only your skin but also your heart and say out loud “Remember your baptism and be thankful.”

When you’re at Culver’s and you’re going for a 10^th straight day of not drinking soda, while the water fills your paper cup say softly to yourself, “Remember your baptism and be thankful.”

When you’re giving your grandchild a bath tonight, play in the water. Watch the water bead down and over their little heads. Then remember that the same joy you see is the same joy God sees in you.

Remember your baptism and be thankful.

Because we can never escape God’s claim on us.

That, my friends, is why I love baptism of Christ Sunday. It is why you’ll hear me say more and more wherever we are, “Remember your baptism and be thankful!

Because...

 “You are not your own; you have been marked out as belonging to God. You have been cleansed from your sin. You have been identified with the death and resurrection of Jesus. You belong to the multigenerational, multicultural family of God. You are God’s beloved. Splash and play in the fount of life and know that when you do, God delights in you!”