Sermon Mark 1:4-11

How many of you have come up in front of this community over the past hundred or so years of the life of this faith community? And how many others were brought up in front of other communities to be baptized? Do you remember the name of those communities? What were they?

Who of this community was baptized as an infant? Who remembers being baptized as a child? What about as an adult?

Most of us here have been baptized and for those who have not been baptized, and feel called to be; God has brought this community and other communities into being in order to make disciples through the waters of baptism. God welcomes you to become a follower of Jesus.

And "welcome" is the appropriate word since none of us could be here unless we were welcomed by God into the Church. From the earliest days, Christians spoke of their salvation in terms of "adoption". Baptism, as initiation into the Church and into the name of Christ was compared to adoption, being made a child, an "heir" of God Almighty. Through Christ, we become part of a new family.

And this community focus is very important. We've done this in order to emphasize that baptism is about joining a new community where Christ is the leader. Can anyone tell us how baptism has changed over the years? What are some things we do different? Remember back over the years. One important change is that churches generally will not do private baptisms. We also have the whole community lay on hands. Some communities of faith will even have baptisms in the middle of the community, to remind people that they are becoming part of the body of Christ among a community of believers. Maybe we should do that! Maybe we should rearrange the pews and have the baptisms right there in the centre of the community. That change would certainly emphasize entry into a community of faith.

And make no mistake. These changes are not just for sake of change. These changes are in response a dangerous trend in Canada. It is the heresy of "private religion". Now I've just used one of our big church words so let's stop for a second. Does anyone want to offer a suggestion as to what that means? What is heresy?

Let's look at the word "heresy"; in the Westminster Dictionary of Theological terms, HERESY, comes from the Greek, Hairesis, which means "choice". Definition: "A view chosen instead of the official teachings of the church. Such a view is thus regarded as wrong and potentially dangerous for faith."

So "private religion" is something that runs contrary to the wisdom of the teachings of the Church. We'll all eventually encountered this understanding of Christian faith since it is the heresy of Canadian Christians. Folks who name themselves as Christians yet who do not share in the collective mission of the Church. Who here has friends or family that have fallen pray to this understanding of faith? I'd need a few minutes to list all of them I know. People who define faith as some vague personal sentiment toward some amorphous divinity. They say they believe in God, but do not believe in joining churches or religious organizations. They describe themselves as believers but not joiners. They "believe" in God, but don't "feel" like being part of a community. And what ever they mean by "believe", it is certain that they do not believe in the teachings of Christianity.

Because the Christian faith is neither a set of lofty ideals and noble propositions, nor is it a system of ethics and guides of behavior. The Christian faith is a corporate endeavor, a way of life together under Christ with his beloved ones. It is being the body of Christ as God's mission in the world.

Jesus not only preached, taught, healed, and acted, he formed a community, gathered disciples. But who was it that he called to be disciples ... what kind of people did he mainly call? Yes, he brought together the most unlikely people, the poor, the outcast, the stranger, and made them a family. Christ made the church out of sinners; of people who know they have failings and know that they need God.

As Paul said to the faction-ridden church at Corinth, the church is Christ's body, his visible presence here on earth, for better or worse, the form which he has chosen to take in this world.

That is why one can not claim to be "in Christ" without being in the "body of Christ". There is no solitary Christian, no way of doing the faith by home correspondence course in salvation. Nor can you do the faith in the cozy comfort of your living room watching an evangelist do the faith on television. In order to know our crucified God, the Lord of the Universe, in order to be united with Christ, baptism is the door.

Christ is a door that is open amid a community of others who have also been welcomed into Jesus ... the "body of Christ". Sinners, outcasts, and strangers like us who, through the love of God, have been welcomed as being part of Christ's body, and called by Christ to share that blessing with others.

And that is the calling of this Church. Do you notice that after most baptisms these days that our community instructs the leader of the baptism (me) to walk down the aisle with the new Christian ... And what are the two things you want me to do? 1. To introduce the new Christian to the community (and that feels good) 2. But more importantly, you call me to remind you of your calling as disciple's (and that's a challenge)... you call me to challenge all of you to remember to be a community that supports the baptized. Not to just baptize for your community as an ordained minister, but to remind you of your calling to grow in faith as you help others grow in faith. To be a community of baptized people.

That is why this Sunday, as Jesus was baptized by John surrounded by crowds hungry for God's forgiveness and love, we too remember who we are and the life that we are called to. A life in which we too have become beloved children of God, followers of Christ, in his church ... his very body.

And what a blessing to remember. That know an experience that we have given the gift of a community that baptized us, and been received into a community where we can live out our baptismal calling as Church. To know that God loves us and has great plans for our lives. This is part of the many gifts from God for the people of God. Who here has been called by God to share in the blessings of Christ's body; baptized or soon to be baptized? Yes, we have been called by God to be Christ's body; to be a community of faith.

A community in which all of us will need others to tell us the story, to remind us who we are, and to keep us within God's family. We need each other to guide us and to watch over each other as we all grow in faith. And most of all we will need to call on the Holy Spirit to give us the power to do so. And we will need to remind ourselves continually how God has blessed us with being part of Christ's mission for the world.

And that is what we will do each time we baptize someone, and what we do today as we remember our baptismal blessings and callings ... That we promise to adopt each other as sisters and brothers in the family created in Christ Jesus and to be his body in the world. AMEN

Sermon Mark 1:4-11
by James Love