Sunday, January 7, 2024
/1 Epiphany
Genesis 1: 1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19: 1-7; Mark 1: 4-11
The Rev. James M.L. Grace
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Today is a joyous occasion as we celebrate Holy Baptism this morning. For the purposes of my sermon this morning (which will be brief), I simply want to share three brief points on what baptism is and what will be happening up here around the font in just a few minutes.
My first point is to simply state what baptism is, and what the Episcopal Church’s understanding of the sacrament is. If you open to the very back of the prayer book, you will find a section therein entitled “An Outline of the Faith” or more briefly, the Catechism. Now, after three years in seminary, as a well-trained priest, who has taken classes on sacramental theology and liturgy, I know where to go to find answers to questions such as “what does the word catechism mean?” Again, as a result of my three-year residential seminary education which cost more than around thirty thousand dollars a year, I know where to find the answer to the question “what does catechism mean?” Wikipedia.
According to Wikipedia, “catechism” derives from the Greek word katecheo (kat-ay-kheh-o) which means “to teach by word of mouth.” As it appears in the prayer book, the Catechism is presented in the form of a question, followed by an answer. Generations ago, it was expected that people would memorize the Catechism, and a catechumen was title given to a person who studied (and memorized) the Catechism in preparation for Holy Baptism.
Page 858 of the prayer book begins the section of the Catechism on Holy Baptism. The first question is “what is Holy Baptism?” Great question – and the church has a great answer: “Holy Baptism is the Sacrament by which God adopts is as his children and makes us members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. That’s my first point. Baptism is full inclusion into the body of Christ, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.
But what does it mean to be part of the Body of Christ? That’s my second point, and its explanation will be more brief than the first. The Body of Christ is this – the church. All the people gathered here this morning, and elsewhere around the world in churches all kinds. But what is the church, and what is it called to do? Here also, clear answers are provided for us within the Catechism (and probably also Wikipedia). On page 855 of the prayer book, the catechism clearly states what the church’s calling is, is at the very top of the page, and it says this: “the mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” Well, how do we do that – there is an answer to that question as well: “the church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.” To be a part of the Body of Christ, means to pray, worship, and promote love, justice, and peace.
Which brings me to my third, and final point – which will be the most brief of all three, and it is this. Baptism makes us inheritors of the kingdom of God. That means that in baptism we are God’s child. Now God has no grandchildren, but God does have a lot of children. There is no better title in the world than this “child of God, inheritor of the kingdom.” President of the United States? That’s way below being a child of God. Likewise with being the CEO of Amazon or Google? Being a child of God is better than even those, too. Well, Rev. Brown, shall we baptize? AMEN.