Winthrop Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
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![]() Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385 [retrieved January 14, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Going Under: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
I stood around the baptismal font at Knollwood Baptist Church with my class, waiting for someone volunteer to be baptized. It was my second year in divinity school, in what we called “worship class”- the class that taught us the basics of leading Protestant Christian worship. Given that our divinity program has students from many Christian traditions, our professor wanted to make sure that we were proficient in all manner of baptism. While we could practice infant baptism on a babydoll in our chapel at school, immersion was trickier to do on campus. So, she asked the pastor at Knollwood if we could have class at the church, because they had one of the big fonts that you can wade into. After some orientation to the space and changing into clothes that we didn’t mind getting wet, we began. First, those of us from churches that baptized infants had a go with the baby doll she brought along, since no one in my class had a human baby we could borrow. Something has become quite clear with 20 years of ministry experience: a babydoll is much easier to baptize than a live baby. Our professor did coach us on how to hold a little one, but it is challenging to reproduce real baby wiggles and opinions with a doll. We did the best we could with what we had and gamely doused a classmate’s child’s doll with water over and over again. Then we moved to the big font to practice full immersion. Even the folks who would usually baptize infants in their traditions were invited into the font. This Presbyterian guy named Charlie said he was definitely trying immersion baptism because “I might never get to do this again!” All these years later, as one who has baptized people in lakes, inside this very church, and at hospital bedsides, I appreciate both his enthusiasm and my teacher’s foresight. You never know when the Spirit is going to move someone to be baptized, and it is best to be prepared for all kinds of eventualities. As with the baby, our professor gave us some pointers: how to ask consent to touch someone, how to coach the person being baptized into holding their nose, and where to hold their bodies to get the best leverage to lean someone back without scaring or dropping them. If I remember correctly, the class thought a woman named Christina (not me, another one) was the best baptizer. She was confident in the water and her background as a lifeguard helped her understand how to move someone around, even if they were bigger than her. She didn’t end up becoming a pastor, but I know that if the occasion ever arose, and she needed to baptize someone in an emergency, she could do so with grace and kindness. I’m not sure that John the Baptist could have imagined a scene like the one I just described when he was out there in the woods baptizing people. It was certainly a more organized and less shouty affair than I imagine his baptisms in the wilderness to have been. I mean, we never once called anyone a brood of vipers. As Mitzi Smith reminds us in a commentary on this text, John’s conception and birth were the first big miracles in Luke. A messenger from God told John’s father, “With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (1:17).” John carried the full prophetic weight of that angelic message into the wilderness with him. I bet he didn’t even worry with finding a babydoll to practice on. Dr. Mitzi Smith points out that John was what we might call a “fire and brimstone” preacher. He was living under a powerful empire with a puppet king guiding his nation. She also points out that when that king died, his sons became the next generation puppet rulers of the area, beholden to Rome, not their people. They padded their pockets, living the good life, while Rome enslaved and impoverished their people. When we hear John’s harsh words to those who come to him to be baptized as well as his critiques of the king, we should remember the prophets of old, like Elijah, who served among people mired in a what Mitzi Smith describes as a bleak present and uncertain future. He calls the crowd who came to hear him a “brood of vipers,” saying they aren’t really prepared for how bad it can get under Rome and Herod. Only those who live according to the covenant will survive. And, what does living into the covenant mean? Just before today’s reading, starting in Chapter 3, verse 10, John basically says, “Share with those who don’t have enough and refuse to use your power to harm people.” If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have one. If you have job like tax collector or soldier, don’t use your power to steal from people. Frankly, to me it sounds like he essentially told the people not to act like their king if they wanted to do right by God. When people heard John’s moral clarity, they begin to wonder if he was the Messiah they had been waiting for. He was certainly talking about stuff that the Messiah would be talking about. A lesser man might have used their confusion for his own personal gain, claiming the messiahship as a way to gain influence. But, that was not John. He told the people that someone more powerful than him was coming. The person who was coming would offer a baptism would have different spiritual weight to it. “I baptize you with water but one is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to until the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” You might notice that our baptisms don’t have much fire involved in them. Christian tradition has mostly stuck with water, like John. The Spirit and fire mentioned here may be a reference to something that comes up later in the story. In her commentary on this text, Shively Smith notes that those of us who remember the Pentecost story in Acts, which is the sequel to Luke, may recall that Disciples, who received the Holy Spirit from Jesus after the Resurrection, had tongues of flame over their heads as they preached in new languages to new people who hadn’t yet heard Jesus’ teaching. Smith and other scholars wonder if the author of Luke placed John’s invocation of the image of the Holy Spirit and fire here as a kind of foreshadowing of the Pentecost story. It is a reminder and a reassurance that Jesus will give his followers what they need to share God’s word of love and justice. We may not see the full fruition of Jesus’ presence immediately, but the Spirit will be there when we need it. John spoke of Jesus’ winnowing power as well. Winnowing is part of the harvest process. In her commentary on this text, Shively Smith offers a description of winnowing as this crowd listening to John would have understood it. Winnowing is a part of harvesting. A farmer would use a pitchfork to toss whole grain in the air, relying on the wind to carry the lighter, non-edible fibers called “chaff” away from the edible bits of grain, which would fall straight down into a pile, to then be transported to a community granary. You might also remember that in Hebrew, Spirit and wind are the same word. This probably means that the Spirit is a part of Jesus’ winnowing. I understand John’s description of Jesus’ winnowing power to mean that those who share with people in need and do not abuse their power are the usable grain, and through Jesus, the Spirit would bind them together for the good of the community, as grain is gathered to be used by the people. Those who do not live according to the covenant are the chaff. And, the chaff could not even be saved by a little bit of water from the fire that would be coming. This is a harsh word from John. Remember, John had few kind words for those who abandoned God’s covenant. Some of the Gospels have John putting up an argument when Jesus comes to be baptized, saying that Jesus should baptize him. Luke doesn’t do that. Luke allows John to offer this ritual to his cousin as he offered it to anyone else who came forward. But, something different happens to Jesus than to everyone else. After he is baptized, the heavens open, and the “Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Those sound like commissioning words to me... a sending forth and an affirmation that Jesus has what he needs to do the work ahead. Our reading for today leaves out one important part of John’s story. As we know, John was critical of the feckless king. Often powerful but spiritually weak leaders will punish those who seek to hold them accountable for their abuses of power. The King will imprison John. We must remember that baptism wasn’t some kind of armor that would protect either John or Jesus from harm. It turns out that this ritual of water, repentance, and affirmation can be dangerous. My teacher reminded my worship class of this, too, when a river overflowed the banks on the other side of the county. Water is powerful. It’s no small thing to step into the water and come out with the Spirit. This week, as we consider water and fire, as we consider the call to share and the temptation to abuse power, may we remember the example of these two miraculous cousins, John and Jesus. May we heed their lessons on covenant and commitment. May we be assured that Jesus has already given us what we need to do the mission to which he has called us. This world has enough chaff. Let us be the grain that offers up the Spirit’s nourishment. Let us remember our baptism and follow the One more closely who called us to it. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: Mitzi Smith: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/baptism-of-our-lord-3/commentary-on-luke-315-17-21-22-6 Shively Smith: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/baptism-of-our-lord-3/commentary-on-luke-315-17-21-22-5
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AuthorPastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Archives
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