Matthew 3:13-17 - "A Beloved Re-Affirmation" (1-13-08)

You are my BELOVED SON!!! Jesus is about to start his public ministry and he is now about thirty years old. He leaves Nazareth behind and heads over to the sea of Galilee and then south to the river Jordan, about a twenty mile walk. And Jesus…he had to be anointed. Kings have to be anointed. That is, the law commanded that kings are anointed by priests or prophets. His baptism was meant to be a parallel to the anointing of kings.[1] He comes to the river and he enters the water and John Baptizes Jesus not because he is sinful but because Christ has put us on, put our humanity on with all of its sin. He knows that the only way now is the CROSS and for the next three years, he will remember these words, “You are my BELOVED son; beloved is agape, unconditional love, with you I am well pleased.” Jesus fully takes on our humanity; as he is clothed with our sin and dies for us that we might live.

We celebrate our Baptism on a daily bases. We Put ON Christ as Christ put on us. We remember that we are children of god and even when you don’t feel God is well pleased; daily we remember that our sins are placed on Christ we can rise to new life again and again. We are here today for a Beloved Re-Affirmation.

When I was a teenager, I went to church every Wednesday afternoon for what was known as Confirmation. How many of you did that? Some of you may have felt that you were dragged there and some of you teenagers may feel that way today. We of course now call it Crossroads Youth Group, our confirmation program. The term confirmation has been going by the wayside that last thirty years. Its original meaning of confirm is with strength; like firm foundation; with strength I affirm my baptism as an infant. Since the late 1970’s we have been calling the service of Confirmation the “Affirmation of Faith” service. Teenagers can affirm their faith publicly that day. We gave the teens the chance to privately affirm their faith on Wednesday, with candles up front and the song “Open My Eyes Lord” playing on the PowerPoint, everyone was invited forward to dip their finger in the water and say these words, “I am a child of God; I’ve been forgiven”. When their friends ask them when they were saved, they can say "two thousand years ago outside of Jerusalem when Jesus died for my sins." Some people have a born again experience but many of us just keep on reaffirming our faith again and again.

You and I can RE-AFFIRM that everyday. We RE-AFFIRM our faith every week at worship; when? When we say the Apostles Creed, we reaffirm our faith with the words, “I Believe.” We are here to RE-AFFIRM that we are beloved children of God; a part of this family of faith; baptized as brothers and sisters.

So how many of you were baptized as infants (ask for hands). How many of you remember your baptism (ask for ages). We celebrate infant and adult Baptism. We usually baptize with sprinkling and not immersion. If there were any adults who have never been baptized, it would be great to celebrate this gift with you and go over to Crystal Lake for a service of Baptism.

Now I was twelve when I was baptized and I remember the day. I wasn’t baptized until I was age 12 because my parents never took me to church, I went with a sister on my own since Kindergarten. But before I was baptized on June 28, 1978 at First Lutheran Church in Chicago on June 28^th, I remember a baptism like experience. Many of you have heard the story when I was four years old and my sister was sixteen and she took me to Fullerton Beach at Lake Michigan in Chicago. Neither one of us could swim, great idea! I went to sit on the edge of those piers and I fell in. My sister laid on the pier and grabbed me by the hair and pulled me out (point to hair); explains everything. In baptism, God reaches down and grabs us, saving us from sin, death and the grave. We are saved by God’s hand and everyday is a gift.

When I was baptized at age twelve, which was a wonderful day to remember. We held the service is the basement of the church in Chicago. My mom and dad came to church for the first time that day. It rained a little that day as we walked to church and my dad said he didn’t want to go back because it rains whenever I go to your church. They did come back again, two years later when I affirmed my faith at the Confirmation service. For the last four years of his life, my dad reaffirmed his faith. I actually found their membership certificate in the paper work this fall after my mom died. Their children helped them reaffirm the gifts already there.

I remember the first time I had a baptism as a Pastor in 1994. When it came to that moment when I was going to baptize the child, I said I baptize you in the name of the father, and the son….” (pause) And then I just forgot what was next! The senior pastor whispered the next part to me, “Holy Spirit” and I said, “Oh yeah, the Holy Spirit.” Oh yeah, the Holy Spirit is a part of this celebration; calling us back again and again to reaffirm the gifts that are there already.

Finally, my favorite baptism story is the joy of baptizing my own two children here at Living Waters, one at the school and one in this place. Nathan was baptized on November 10, 2002 and Maggie on February 27, 2004. The great thing about Baptism is that we are adopted into God’s family. For those who say you should only baptize when I child wants baptism, we believe that in baptism, whether an infant, child or adult, it is God who claims you. We didn’t wait for our two adopted children to decide they wanted us to be their parents before we received them into our hearts and lives. We didn’t wait until they were old enough to know what they were doing before we adopted them into our lives. They are gifts, beloved children of God.

We are all beloved children of God and we are here to reaffirm that gift today. Say it with me and place a cross on your forehead; I am a child of God, I’ve been forgiven… let’s pray!

LET US PRAY: Gracious God, we know that “sin remains in our flesh even until death” but “it is so overruled by our baptism that it does not condemn us but is daily more and more destroyed until your death."[2] Guide us this day and remind us that you have made us your children and we are yours, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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[1] Rev. Wally Steven Seibel, www.sermoncentral.com

[2] Quotes from Martin Luther