2021.01.10 | The Path of Humility
“The Path of Humility”
The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Today is the First Sunday in the season of Epiphany, a season in which we read and reflect on the many ways that Jesus revealed himself as the Son of God, as divine.
On this first Sunday after Epiphany the gospel reading (like every other Sunday) varies depending on the liturgical year, but the event that is recounted is the same--it’s the baptism of Christ.
According to Mark’s gospel (chapter 1:10-11), Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John, “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven [declaring], “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Nearly all Christians refer to baptism as a sacrament--as a sacred act--and nearly all Christians participate in baptism and consider it a rite of passage into the faith. Differences abound, however, over the meaning of baptism and the age for baptism.
The biggest differences in baptismal beliefs and practices among Christians have to do with whether a particular group believes that confession of faith is a requirement of baptism or not, and how much water is used--a little or a lot.
Some of us may find these fun facts interesting. Others may find them trivial. I’m here to tell you that regardless of your views, these differences have been cause for major disagreements and divisions amongst Christians for more than two millennia.
These have been life and death issues for many Christians over the years, starting with the Second Great Awakening in the US and Europe, and sadly Christians from both points of view have fought tooth and nail, trying to convince their opponents to embrace the alternative view. This is one reason why the United Church of Christ is a miracle.
We (the UCC) are the only Christian denomination in the world that honors both sets of beliefs and both practices: infant and believer’s baptism, and sprinkling and immersion. Practices around baptism vary from congregation to congregation, depending on the local histories and traditions of each. For example, Eden Church is historically a Congregational Church which practiced infant baptism, so we have typically continued that practice to this day. However, we also honor family traditions and parental decisions to dedicate infants rather than baptize them, and to leave the decision about whether to receive the sacrament to the baptismal candidate.
II
Nineteenth and twentieth century disputes over the meaning of baptism and the amount of water used in the ceremony have overshadowed concerns that troubled early and medieval church leaders, who were preoccupied with the question: why did Jesus ask to be baptized?
In their view, baptism involved repentance and the forgiveness of sins. If Jesus was the Son of God--and the gospels said he was--then he was perfect. And, if he was perfect, he had no need for repentance or forgiveness of sin. So why did he think he needed to be baptized?
Modern psychologists would probably attribute Jesus’ request for baptism to low self-esteem or self-doubt, but the early church fathers saw the situation differently. They concluded, and I concur, that the reason Jesus sought baptism was to demonstrate for his followers the spiritual practice of humility.
Jesus didn’t need to be baptized in order to be received into the faith and family of God. He didn’t need to be saved. Instead, he asked to be baptized, because he wanted to model the importance of humility in the Christian life. He wanted us to understand the necessity of pausing, reflecting on our mistakes, acknowledging our sins of commission and omission, improving our behavior, and receiving God’s grace, so that we could experience the assurance that flows from God’s grace--from knowing in our heart of hearts that we are forgiven, that we are loved, and that we are God’s beloveds.
III
I confess, it took me a long time to grow into a full appreciation of believer’s' baptism, because I was so steeped in the theology and practice of infant baptism that was taught and practiced in the churches of my youth. I was also deeply influenced by feminist theologians whose ideas reinforced my resistance to embrace believer’s baptism, because they illustrated how orthodox and neo-orthodox theologies of sin had contributed to self-deprecating postures and practices by women and oppressed people.
However, the journey that I’ve been on to better understand the effects of racism and colonialism on myself and others, and the effort needed to dismantle these insidious personal sins and social institutions has led me to a renewed appreciation for the desperate need for confession and amendment of life, particularly for people of privilege.
In addition, the concept of “metanoia”--of a complete turnabout--that is grounded in believer’s baptism is the kind of strong language that I believe is needed to describe what must happen in our hearts and homes, and in our communities and country, right now, in order for our nation to heal from these egregious sins and to rebuild the middle of America.
Consider the mess that unfurled in our nation’s capital this past Wednesday, as Congress began to count the Electoral College votes and that ugly mob stormed the Capitol building. That scene was and is a crucible for showing us just how much work we have to do in order to name and dismantle racism in our nation and world, and how much work we have ahead of us.
Some folks just want to pin all of last week’s drama on Donald J. Trump, but blaming this all on him is way too simple. He is one in a large number.
Every person who has benefited from white privilege, every person who has enjoyed the fruits of oppressed laborers’ work, and every person who has naively thought that what happened last Wednesday couldn’t have happened has some serious work to do to understand white privilege, to discover how we got in this mess, and to begin to make amends.
Donald Trump couldn’t have incited the mob that busted into the Capitol if there had not been like-minded individuals in that hoard. Furthermore, that mob could never have made it into the Senate chambers and Nancy Pelosi's office if there hadn't been sympathizers amongst the Capitol Police.
Think about it, when’s the last time you’ve seen news footage of the Capitol Police backing away from a crowd, opening doors for vigilantes, or taking selfies with people who were breaking the law? Never. Compare that behavior with the way that AIDS activists, Immigration Reform advocates, and Black Lives Matter demonstrators have been treated over the years? See the difference? I bet you do.
We’ve got a lot of work to do. Fortunately, we are not left to our own devices in this endeavor. We have Christ and his example of humility to guide us. We have the spiritual practices of confession and contrition to help us figure out our next steps. And, we have this congregation---this community of identity and accountability--in which we can explore, learn, and reform ourselves and our nation into--please God--a more perfect union.
May God bless us and keep us as we pursue this endeavor, because God knows, we’re not going to be able to do it by ourselves. Amen.