"And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." - Mark 1:11
We often think of Martin Luther and his influences that began the Protestant Reformation. Luther also struggled with his faith. He did not like the Book of James because it made him feel inadequate in his service to God. James talks a lot about putting faith into action and Luther thought he was not doing enough. Sometimes he thought about leaving ministry. Often he would sit in his study and say over and over, "I am baptized. I am baptized. I am baptized."
Sometimes we need a reminder.
We celebrate the Baptism of Jesus this Sunday. Once again we will remember Jesus going to the River Jordan to be baptized by John. Also, we celebrate and remember our baptisms too. Last year many of you shared your memories of your baptism and the official beginning of following Jesus. Thank you for that!
Do any of you remember Coach Bobby Knight? Coach Knight led the basketball teams at Indiana University and Texas Tech before retiring. He was known for being tough on his players, using colorful metaphors, and doing things right in a team effort. He is celebrated as one of the greatest coaches of all-time.
One of his players was doing a great job coming off the bench during his time at Tech. One day the young man asked his coach when he was going to be a starter. Who could blame him? He was doing well. Coach Knight responded by saying, “You don’t understand the game. It doesn’t matter who starts. It matters who finishes.”
Before being called into ministry, I had a great job in a great company working with great people. It started so well. It felt great to be in a place where you were appreciated and part of the team. This would not last long.
The President and CEO of the company unfortunately had moral failings hurting his reputation. That, added with bad financial decisions and a lot of people lost their jobs. The company had such a great beginning. It started in a basement with one computer and one guy programming. Ten years later there were over one hundred employees. Today, what was a company is a single software package sold by another company.
It was a great beginning without the great finish.
As you know I like jokes. Especially the bad ones. Jokes, although funny, may at times tell us a truth that hurts or critiques. Like this one: Too many people come to Church three times primarily. They're Baptized, they get married, and they have their funeral service at the Church. The first time they throw water on you, the second time rice, the third time dirt!
Baptism is our official beginning in Christ. Does baptism stop at the beginning? Nope. It matters how we finish out our baptisms as we live our lives as followers of Jesus.
Commitments in our relationships last longer if we are committed to following through after the beginning. If you get a job that's great. But if you don't follow in your job you might get fired. The very first words in the Bible are "In the beginning." We learn that God created the "heavens and the earth." Then humanity was created. Then God continued on and on and continues today.
Beginnings are defined by what happens next.
Thank you for living out your baptisms! Sunday we celebrate Christ and His baptism. We will celebrate ours as well. Let's revisit our journey and see if we are building on our beginning.
God was proud of his Son the day He was baptized. God's voice showered down from the heavens that day. The same could be said for the day we were as well. May we follow through like Jesus. May our church flow like the living water we celebrate during every baptism.
Stay Safe,
Rev. Baxter