The New Testament offers us not just one, but four, depictions of Jesus’ life. 

Each of the Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – wrote their accounts with different audiences and purposes in mind, and from each we get a different picture of Christ.  The many differences between these four versions point to the fact that there are more aspects to Christ’s life and ministry than can be encompassed in a single depiction of him.  As a result, there are very few stories about Jesus that appear in all four gospels.  But those that do are clearly essential to the Christian faith.  One is, of course, Christ’s passion and resurrection.  And another is his baptism.

It was just two weeks ago that we celebrated Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.  Last week, Judy Proctor spoke about those imposing strangers from the East who come seeking the young child who would be King.  And in this morning’s scripture lesson, Jesus is now a grown man.  That’s what's known in the movies as a "jump-cut."

Of course things happen in those years between the manger and the River Jordan.  Joseph is warned in a dream to take the baby to Egypt to escape King Herod's rage, and he and Mary and Jesus go, returning sometime later to settle in Nazareth.  Jesus grows through childhood, assisting his father in his carpenter's shop and learning the Torah.  The Gospel of Luke, which we will be our focus this year, gives us a snapshot of Jesus at age twelve, when he stays behind to debate the scholars in the Temple while his family frantically searches for him.  But the most important part of the story begins now, with Jesus’ baptism.

Despite the Gospels’ different depictions of this event, all four agree that once Jesus is baptized, his life is never the same.  It is, in many ways, the most important day of his life.  At his baptism, Jesus experiences a deep and all-embracing oneness with God, and an overwhelming sense of being beloved.  God’s voice booms out of the heavens with the message, “I love you; I accept you; you are mine.”

And this love between Jesus and God through the Holy Spirit becomes the animating force in his life, expressing itself in Jesus’ self-giving ministry.  Jesus’ baptism is the day he answers God's call, a public demonstration of his turning himself over to God’s will.  Yes, Jesus’ baptism is the turning point in his life, and nothing will ever be the same.

After his baptism, Jesus does not go back to Nazareth but instead goes out on the road, preaching the "kingdom of God" in which he will bring people together around tables of acceptance no matter who they are, or what they have done. 

After his baptism, Jesus does not go back to carpentry, but instead goes out to build something in and with people – something built by gracious, compassionate touch; something to heal broken bodies and lost spirits. 

After his baptism, Jesus does not go back to his relatives, but instead goes out into the family of God, among the desperate and lost people who hunger to hear the Good News of God’s forgiving, redeeming, accepting love.  Jesus goes not go back to his homeland, but out into the cradle of humanity, changing lives and the world forever.

Yes, after Jesus is baptized, his life is never the same.  And neither is ours.  After all, baptism is the day we are reborn, the day we become children of God, members of the Christ’s Church, and vessels of the Holy Spirit.

As one preacher puts it, “Baptism is not an insurance policy to heaven.”  Rather, baptism is “our boarding pass to a lifetime with Jesus.  Baptism begins a relationship with Christ which is nourished, fed, strengthened, enriched and kept alive” through the hearing and reading of God's Holy Word; through the sharing of the bread and cup of communion; and through faithful living within a community of believers.[1]

No matter when we were baptized, how, at what age, or in what faith tradition – it is at our baptism that God names us and gives us a new identity; from that moment on, we answer to the name Christian.  At our baptism, God calls us to grow into the fullness of what God has created us to be.  At our baptism, God envelopes us in an affirming and accepting love, telling us as he told Jesus, “I love you; I accept you; you are mine.”  And as he did with Jesus, at our baptism, God opens our heart to the world around us, that we might embody God’s love to others. 

Today, as we remember and celebrate Jesus’ baptism, it is also a time for us to remember and celebrate our own baptism with a renewal of our covenantal vows.  As we begin this new calendar year, it is especially appropriate for us to refresh our awareness of belonging to Christ; for us to be reminded of God’s unconditional, unmerited love; and for us to consider how we are living our lives – lives that, at our baptism, were claimed and named and called by God – lives that, through our baptism, have been bound together in the Christian community called the Church.

And so, let us remember our baptism.  Let us remember our acceptance into Christ’s church, our participation in God’s forgiveness, and the day we were reborn into full Christian fait and life.  Let us be assured once again that God loves us, accepts us, and calls us by name.  Amen.