Are there baptisms you remember especially well…your own, or perhaps, another’s? I recall a time in my pastoral ministry, as a Baptist, when I was to officiate at the baptism by immersion of a young man. We were borrowing the baptistry of another congregation, since we did not have our own. It may be news to you that those baptismal tanks are often heated…for understandable reasons. But for some reason, on this cold January day, the heating mechanism did not work, and the water was quite cold. I called to give the fellow the bad news, and to see if we could reschedule the baptism. He said, “Why? I can take the cold. I want to be baptized today.” I chose not to explain that my south Mississippi, heat loving roots kept me from seeing this as an option. I just said, “OK”. So we went ahead with the event, and with his teeth and my teeth chattering, we baptized him in the name of the Triune God. And he entered into the memorable, invigorating waters of the community of the baptized. Baptism, when fully embraced, has a way of moving us to our bones.
Do you remember your own baptism? If not, it could be that you were baptized when you were very young…a common practice among Methodists and many other Christians. Perhaps you have not even been baptized. But this Sunday during worship, we will recall the story of the Baptism of Jesus during the ministry of John the Baptist. When John initially paused when he saw Jesus in line, Jesus reassured him that his doing so would be a right thing to do to fulfill all righteousness. We remember this story every year as a way of helping ourselves remember who we are, and who we are called to be.
The sermon is titled, “Remembrance of Baptism: On Not Losing Sight of Why We Are Here,”, arising from Isaiah 42: 1-9, and Matthew 3: 13-17. Claire Schaffer will read the Isaiah passage, and Tom Shafer will read the passage from the Gospel of Matthew. There will be a moment for children, prayers and hymns. The Chancel Choir, accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs, will lead us musically. We’ll also have a ritual of remembering our own Baptism, or if not baptized, of being offered a blessing.
If you have been a part of the St. Mark’s community for years, or if you are just discovering us, we look forward to connecting with you on Sunday. To join the 10:30 service online, visit www.smumc.church, and click on the Live Stream banner.