Baptism of Our Lord

Sermon: Baptism of Our Lord, 1/12/2025

Texts: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Grace, Peace, and Mercy from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

We often might not think it, but baptism is one of God’s most wonderful gifts. It is the permanent sign that tells us that we belong to God and God in turn gives Himself to us fully. It is the creation of new life on the basis of what comes out of the relationship between God and us. When we meet others, we are never the same, we are constantly being transformed by where our relationships take us. It is not a surprise then why so many Puerto Rican mothers would tell or counsel their kids about the company they keep, meaning kids like me: “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres”. “Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll let you know who you are.” So who we are with, who we are in communion with, often signals to others aspects about our own lives. So in this day in which we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, what does it say about God, that in solidarity with sinners, in complete accompaniment with their lives, He is baptized by John in the river Jordan? What does it say about God, that in Jesus the Beloved, He has called those deemed unclean and unworthy to Himself? The Baptism of Jesus often puzzles people because baptism is often seen as a ritual of cleansing those who are unclean and sinful. But Jesus, to begin His ministry alongside sinners, allows Himself to go through something sinners have to go through to indicate repentance. This moment has then become for Christians as a sign of God’s solidarity with human beings, that God desires to go to the trenches with us instead of

alienating Himself in eternity. So if the proverb of tell me who you hang out with and I’ll let you know who you are is applied to Jesus, He might raise more than a few eyebrows. Because Jesus is beginning His mission, not with the perfect, not with the virtuous, not with the clean, but with those who are seeking help, those who have been cast down, the fallen and the outcast. It is in this moment, that God shows who He is, a God of unconditional solidarity with suffering, whose lives seeking mercy and forgiveness are revealed that just as Jesus is beloved, they are also called Beloved. God’s solidarity is a gift and a surprise indeed!

For this reason and more, that in baptism we share in Christ’s resurrection life and God’s desire for solidarity, that in us we are then moved into being agents of solidarity in the world. To stand in solidarity with others is no easy task. It asks us to place ourselves sometimes alongside those considered unwanted. It might even be dangerous to stand in solidarity. We know where the baptism of Jesus led Him, to the cross. We also know where many people who have stood alongside the oppressed have ended up, from Dr. King, to Oscar Romero, to Sophie Scholl, to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the list goes on. Our baptism unites us to Jesus, so we will be found where Jesus would have gone, where He sought to break and mend for the sake of the least of these. But we are put on the line, because the Holy Spirit actually makes us believe in Love and Mercy. We stand in solidarity with the marginalized because we are truly led to believe in a love that reconciles and seeks what is best for our neighbor, we are led to believe by the Holy Spirit that a community of solidarity is

essential to true life. The opposite of solidarity can mean death, and a solitary one at that. If you’ve ever visited the Holocaust memorial in Boston, you can find a quote from a Lutheran pastor who lived through WW2, Martin Niemoller, at starting point of the memorial which states: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Jesus was able to speak because He stood with the suffering, His baptism was a sign of deeper connection with the oppressed. Going in the opposite direction that our baptism leads us to only ends in our own isolation and exile. When we cease to stand up alongside the vulnerable, then our own vulnerability is endangered.

Yet, solidarity also has boundless springs of joy and community. To give an recent example of what I mean by the power and joy of solidarity and belonging: the Puerto Rican community both in the island and in the diaspora has been enjoying a cathartic moment of cultural unity and solidarity through the release of a new album by the rapper Benito Martínez Ocasio, otherwise known as Bad Bunny. Aside from Benito’s reputation, his album titled “Debí tirar más fotos” or translated as “I should have taken more pictures”, has united detractors and fans, it has touched the hearts of the old and the young, because it speaks to a common experience that has affected every Puerto Rican. From Three Kings Day onwards, I think most Puerto Ricans are

listening to the same album, it’s been a moment of cultural communion. The album is a blend of traditional and contemporary Puerto Rican sounds, it is a love letter to Puerto Rican culture, but it also speaks of our current crisis: all the families that have had to unwillingly leave the island due to our economic crisis and political corruption, the lost memories and moments with loved ones because of the displacement. As someone who experiences this as well, I’ve also been swept up in the communal emotion created by this album. It has connected all of us in the joy and sorrow of being Puerto Rican, and what a joy it has been to acknowledge and feel this belonging that transcends limits of the oceans and lands, and unites the hearts of many in one feeling of love for that small beloved island in the Caribbean Sea. That love inspires action and awareness, and I’m hopeful for PR because I can witness this community that holds each other through the challenges of this life.

To recognize and bask in our own belonging alongside others gives us a sense of fullness and purpose. We can know we are not alone. And how much more, and how grander it is, when we can unite in solidarity beyond any category, because God has loved and joined with every suffering human being. God says to all of us: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” What a gift it is that you belong! You belong because God has taken you up in His arms and calls you Beloved. God has promised to be with you

through thick and thin. And in response to that gift from God we in turn become agents of solidarity for others, just as Jesus did when He began His ministry on that day in the river Jordan. From God’s own solidarity with us, we expand the table of belonging, we invite more people to know that their worth is unconditional, and they also can become participants of this mission of allowing people to discover their belovedness. What good news it is that in this simple and profound gift of the waters of baptism, we are reoriented from the world’s isolation into a community of love and mercy, into a community that is empowered to seek justice and liberation, into a community of forgiveness and new beginnings, into a community that holds each other in the way that God holds us in Jesus Christ. Let us pray.