Sermon Archive
Baptism
Sermon preached by John McLuckie at Matins on 25 August 2002
I think I am still among a majority in the population for whom the recent celebrations of the life of Elvis, on the 25th anniversary of his death, was not a particularly significant date in my diary. However, one of the more bizarre news stories around that time gives cause for concern for even the mildest of Presleyphobes. Apparently, the world contains many tens of thousands of Elvis impersonators, but if the rate of growth continues in its present trend, 1 person in 4 of the world's population will be an Elvis impersonator by 2025. The only useful by-product of such a state of affairs would be the corresponding decline in the number of Abba tribute bands. There'll only ever be one Abba. The essential accessories for the budding Elvis impersonator are well enough known, and there'll be great business opportunity for somebody out there in outsized sideburns, spangled jump-suits and upper-lip-tremble training courses. The emulation of a hero or idol is a natural enough thing to aspire to and the desire to copy the looks and mannerisms of that hero is an obvious place to start.
For Christians, the life of Jesus stands as some kind of pattern for us and there have been many ways of emulating his life throughout Christian history. At the more basic levels, the adoption of the name Jesus is popular in some Latin American contexts and the simple desire to walk where Jesus walked is very strong for many. On a slightly different level, the mediaeval classic, The Imitation of Christ, continues to sell very well. For many in religious orders, perhaps the Franciscan tradition is the most obvious example, the adoption of a simple lifestyle based on gospel teaching is a vivid way of following in the pattern of Jesus' life today.
But for every Christian, there is one extremely important way in which we begin to take on the life of Jesus in our own lives and that is in baptism. Baptism is the most profound way in which we clothe ourselves with Christ, to use a biblical expression. Our Baptism Prayer asks that those who are baptised be brought with Christ through the waters of death to be one with him in his resurrection. Our prayer and conviction today is that Sebastian will indeed share in all that Jesus experienced, particularly in the renewal of life throughout his days. But what will this mean for him and for all of us who are baptised? Is this a kind of Jesus impersonator's commissioning service?
It would be folly to attempt to recreate the earthly life of Jesus in our own lives and he calls us to be disciples, not mimics, faithful pilgrims in our own day, not slavish devotees of a bygone era. The disciples in today's Gospel reading come right up against this problem. There first impulse is to ask for a share in the share in Jesus' heavenly glory - they have, after all, been working terribly hard and Jesus seems to be a strong proponent of the principle of sharing. Jesus replies not with an angry put-down, but with a probing question. Are the disciples serious about sharing in every aspect of Jesus' life and experience? Do they know where that will lead? When the rest of the disciples get in on the argument, the true nature of what it means to share in the life of Jesus becomes clear. 'Whoever desires to be the first shall be the slave of all'. To share in the life of Jesus is to share in truest nature of Jesus - the nature of a servant. So the disciples' bid for power evokes from Jesus a call to powerlessness. The nature of Jesus as a servant offers a startling pattern of life, a new pattern which we receive at baptism. In this way of servanthood, we shun all reliance on domination or coercion and turn instead to a life based on self-offering in service and in love. The life of Jesus is life offered as a gift. His offer of life, his own life, is an offer that carries no threat, no violence, only the vulnerability of a gracious invitation. This invitation to life is offered to us at every turn; it is offered to Sebastian in his baptism today and will be offered to him again and again throughout his life.
If we are given a new life in baptism, then that new life will have implications in our daily living. Here are just a few of these implications made explicit in the commitment to Christian life we make in baptism. We promise to honour God in all Creation. As the world's leaders meet in Johannesburg this week, a Christian witness to serving rather than mastering it would give a vary different perspective on how we treat our planet. We promise to serve Christ in all people. In welcoming the stranger, in offering forgiveness, in sharing the burdens of others we encounter Christ the Servant once more. We promise to continue in the sharing of the Liturgy, the feast of heaven in which God serves us in Christ, who is present at the Table.
Sebastian has received a new life today. It is the life of Jesus the Servant. In response to this gift from the God who pours out his love on us, we pray that we may all grow into the image of the one who came not to be served, but to serve.
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