This Sunday is known as Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Baptism is one of the two sacraments in the United Methodist Church. Through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, “we are initiated into Christ’s holy church, … incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit.” The Introduction to the Baptismal Covenant says. “All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.”
“Baptism is the ordinary means of rebirth and initiation into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” At baptism, we take on our Christian identity as a disciple. Baptism seals our covenant with God and with our universal Christian faith family.
Our baptism liturgy asks us several questions. Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject evil, repent of your sin? Do you accept the freedom and power of God to reject evil, injustice, and oppression in all their forms? Do you confess Jesus as Savior, trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as Lord alongside people of all ages, nations and races? Will you nurture one another in faith? Baptism is both a personal and communal experience in worship.
As United Methodists we believe the “mystery of God” is at work through this sacrament. In baptism, God pours out, through the Holy Spirit, an amazing amount of God’s divine grace. By baptism we are commissioned into ministry. As the Body of Christ, we are called to be witnesses of the redeeming work of Christ for the transformation of the world.
Because baptism is an act of God, initiating us into the church, “the sacrament is to be received by an individual only once.” This Sunday we will commemorate and celebrate in worship a faith experience by participating in a “Reaffirmation of Baptism Ritual.” We will be extending the baptismal font into your homes for this renewal of covenant commitment.
Let us start the 2021 New Year off by “remembering our baptism and being thankful.” Let us claim or reclaim who we are as a “beloved and blessed” child of God. I look forward to being with you in worship on this Baptism of the Lord Sunday!
Blessings, in Christ,
Pastor Dave