New Beginnings

Good morning.

Each year leading up to New Year's Day,

about one-third or so of Americans

will make some kind of New Year's resolution.

And you can probably guess

what some of the most popular resolutions are, right?

Eat less, exercise more,

and usually take up some kind of new hobby.

Last week, however, I read a column in the New York Times

in which somebody described a different approach

to New Year's resolutions.

The author and a group of friends

would get together for brunch every New Year's Day,

and at the end of the meal,

they would write a resolution down on a piece of paper,

and then they would put it in a hat,

and then everyone would draw from the hat,

receiving a random resolution,

and that would be their assignment for the coming year.

And she writes that usually these resolutions were practical,

like fold your clothes at night

instead of putting them over a chair.

Or sometimes they might be aspirational,

like sign up for voice lessons.

She writes that one year, however,

I drew the following resolution out of the hat.

Every morning, when you wake up,

stick your arms out at your sides,

wiggle your fingers,

and say,

it's showtime.

She says she actually did this faithfully

for the month of January before it fell off,

but she says that even now,

years later,

she will occasionally still start her day with,

it's showtime.

Now, even if they are not as unique as that,

there are good reasons why people make New Year's resolutions.

And one of those reasons, research shows,

is that a key component of change in a person's life

is what behavioral scientists call the fresh start effect.

People are more likely to pursue positive change in their life

at key markers that provide a kind of psychological do-over.

And they allow them to put some distance

between themselves and their past failures of the previous year

and to be sort of newly optimistic about the future.

And so studies show that people are more likely to visit the gym

after New Year's Day in January

and also after a birthday

at the start of a new semester

and on Mondays.

Sometimes those fresh starts that we need

that provide us that kind of opportunity for a fresh start,

sometimes we don't choose them.

Sometimes they find us.

There's a unique thing,

if it's okay here in January,

to talk a little bit early about baseball.

I know spring training hasn't even happened.

But there's a unique thing that happens

when Major League Baseball players

get traded from one team to another

in the middle of a season.

If you get traded to a team in a different league,

so if you're playing for a team in the National League

and you get traded mid-season to a team in the American League,

all of your stats for the year,

like your batting average,

are reset to zero.

And they are calculated afresh

from the moment of that trade.

It's like the season has just like

suddenly started over anew for you.

On the other hand,

if you get traded to a team in the same league,

nothing changes.

Your stats just continue

as they were through the season.

And a recent study looked at over 40 years of data

and discovered something fascinating

for players who were not having a great season.

And they got traded to a team

in the other league

allowing their stats to be reset.

What happened?

Their performance got a major boost.

Their batting averages improved.

They got on base more often.

They played better defense.

Why?

Because they got the chance of a fresh start.

They had a new beginning.

And today's gospel reading

from Luke,

where John the Baptist

is baptizing in the Jordan River,

it's a story about new beginnings.

People have heard

John's preaching out in the desert,

calling them to change their lives,

to live more generously,

to care for those in need,

to be more honest.

And they have come to the water's edge

to get a fresh start.

Luke 3 verse 15 says,

Luke 3:15

the people were in expectation.

These were folks that

did not have great stats.

Their moral batting averages

had taken a hit.

Their relational integrity was slumping.

And here on the banks of the Jordan River,

they had an opportunity

in the middle of the season

to begin again.

And so as each person waded in

and as John the Baptist

lowered them below the water,

they might have been recalling stories

that they had heard the rabbis

talking about in the synagogue.

They might have thought about

the story of Naaman,

who had been instructed

by the prophet Elisha

to go and wash himself

seven times

right there in the River Jordan

to be healed,

to be cleansed

from his leprosy.

Or they might have

reflected on the fact

that in the Old Testament,

water is a symbol

of both destruction

and judgment.

And they might have remembered

Noah being kept safe

from the destructive waters

of the flood

or how Pharaoh's army

as they were pursuing

the Israelites

out of Egypt

were drowned

in the Red Sea.

And so as John the Baptist

would lift each person

out of the water

and as they step back

onto dry land,

they would have done so

with a sense that

their sins had been judged

and cleansed

and they had the opportunity

for a fresh start.

I think it is entirely possible

that no one even noticed

when Jesus got in line.

Probably no one would have

known him

or if they did,

they knew this was

John the Baptist's cousin

from Nazareth,

50 miles away,

who had been working

in construction.

But in the parallel accounts

from Matthew's gospel,

we do know that

John the Baptist noticed

and he says to Jesus

effectively,

you got in the wrong line.

If anything,

I need you to baptize me.

And I think when we read that,

John the Baptist's reaction

kind of captures

our reaction as well.

Our instinctive thought,

even if we've read this passage

a hundred times before,

is that it's a little bit

disorienting,

it's a little bit jarring

when we see Jesus

standing in line

with everybody else

to see somebody

who has nothing

to repent of

standing in line

for a baptism

of repentance.

But this is what

we have to remember.

Jesus is not in line

for his sins

but for ours.

And this scene

is not just a scene

of a new beginning

for those who are getting baptized.

It is also

a beginning

for Jesus

because this is his,

this is the beginning

of his ministry.

This is the inauguration

of his ministry.

And it is a ministry

that is characterized

right from the start

by him

identifying

with us.

The theologian

Carl Barth

who was writing

just before he died

in the final volume

of his

massive church dogmatics,

he wrote

that when Jesus

stood in line

to be baptized

with the others,

Jesus was not

quote

being theatrical.

Barth writes

when Jesus

was baptized

he needed

to be washed

of sin.

Not his sin

but our sin.

When faced

with the sins

of others

he did not

let those sins

remain theirs

but as the one

ordained

from all eternity

to be their brother

took their sins

as his own.

And therefore

no one

who came

to the Jordan

was as laden

and afflicted

as he.

Jesus'

ministry

then

and now

is one

in which

he identifies

with us

and accompanies us.

Wherever we are

no matter

how far away

from God

we might be

or we might feel

no matter

how low

at any

one time

our moral

or relational

batting average

might be

Jesus gets in line

and stands with us.

Even now

Paul writes

in Romans 8

Jesus prays

and intercedes

for us

before the Father.

in all

of our

shortcomings

in all

of our

failures

in all

of our

struggles

nothing

can change

the fact

that Jesus

is with us

that he accompanies us

that he does not leave.

And in this scene

at this

inauguration

of his public ministry

a ministry

that is going

to be carried out

at dinners

with

partiers

and prostitutes

and greedy

financial

analysts

known as

tax collectors

what happens?

We see

Jesus being

empowered

by the Spirit

and affirmed

by the Father

in this ministry

right there

at his baptism.

Luke says

that the Holy Spirit

came down

on Jesus

in the form

of a dove

and the voice

of God the Father

is heard to say

you are my beloved

son

with you

I am well pleased.

This is by the way

the first

and perhaps

clearest expression

of the Trinity

in Scripture.

And right here

we see

that the entire

Godhead

is all in

on this ministry

of Jesus'

solidarity with us.

There's also

something else

for us to consider

when we

read of Jesus'

baptism

and that is

we're reminded

of our own

baptism.

And just as

Jesus'

baptism

is a means

of his

solidarity

with us

our baptism

brings us

into solidarity

with him.

Starting

in the

300s

or so

when

Christianity

was

growing

and expanding

across the

Roman Empire

the church

began

this massive

building

campaign

which included

constructing

these beautiful

baptisteries

some of which

we can still

see today.

And when you

look at them

and you see

the baptismal

pools

designed

around those

baptismal pools

were vivid

frescoes

or mosaics

of

Jesus'

baptism.

So that

as converts

go down

into the

pool of water

they do so

against a

backdrop

of Jesus

standing in

the Jordan

with John

while the

dove of

the Spirit

is coming

down.

And so

at their

own

baptism

of adult

believers

they are

themselves

literally

entering

into the

story

of Jesus'

baptism.

And then

just before

they're

baptized

they would

make

baptismal

vows

using words

very similar

to the words

that we use

in our

baptismal

vows

today.

They would

say I

renounce

the devil

and all

the spiritual

forces of

wickedness

that rebel

against God.

I renounce

the empty

promises

and deadly

deceits of

this world

that corrupt

and destroy

the creatures

of God.

I renounce

the sinful

desires of

the flesh

that draw

me from

the love

of God.

I turn

to Jesus

Christ

and confess

him as

my Lord

and Savior.

I joyfully

receive the

Christian faith.

I will

keep God's

holy will

and commandments

and walk

in them

all the

days of

my life.

And then

they were

baptized.

And they

understood

that they

were being

baptized

not just

with water

but baptized

in the

Holy Spirit.

John the

Baptist

himself

said of

Christ

I baptize

you with

water

but he

will

baptize

you

with

the

Holy

Spirit.

And so

scripture

is clear

that

baptism

is not

just

a

outward

ritual

or a

kind of

institutional

formality.

A person

who is

baptized

in water

whether

that person

can remember

it or

not

whether

it seemed

momentous

or not

whether

they were

adults

or

adolescents

or an

infant

that person

is also

baptized

into the

Holy Spirit

and then

immersed

into a

new realm

the realm

of Christ.

In Galatians

3

Paul writes

that the

believers there

he says

all of you

have been

baptized

into Christ.

In Romans

6

Paul writes

do you

not know

that all

of us

who have

been

baptized

into

Christ

Jesus

were

baptized

into

his

death.

In

1 Corinthians

12

Paul says

for in

one spirit

we were

all

baptized

into

one

body.

What

might

that

mean

for us

today?

Let me

suggest

two things.

baptism

first

some of

us may

come from

traditions

in which

baptism

doesn't

feature

as prominently.

We may

be inclined

to talk

about

decisions

we make

for Christ

or accepting

certain truths

and all

of that

is important.

All of that

is valid.

But throughout

church history

and from the

very start

of the

early church

onward

baptism

was of

great

importance.

At

baptism

we are

immersed

or doused

in a

new

reality.

The reality

of the

Father,

the Son,

and the

Holy Spirit.

And

understood

in this

way

salvation

is not

just

the forgiveness

of sins.

It is

that.

but salvation

is also

about human

persons

entering

into a

new

reality,

the relational

dynamic

of the

Trinity.

And over

time

we begin

to undertake

certain

activities

such as

learning to

pray without

ceasing

that enable

us to

participate

in that

relational

dynamic

in increasingly

deep ways.

second,

there are

opportunities

at various

points in

the church

calendar for

congregations

to renew

or reaffirm

their baptismal

vows.

Often that's

done at Easter

but it can

also occur on

other feast

days such as

Pentecost Sunday

or All Saints

Day.

But

there is

another way

that the

church fathers

say that

our baptism

can be

brought

into

the present

and that

they say

is through

the practice

of

repentance.

One of the

desert fathers

was known

as

Mark

the

ascetic.

He was a

disciple of

St. John

Chrysostom.

He lived

in Egypt

in the

400s

and Mark

writes this

at baptism

Christ

comes to

live in

the innermost

part of

our being

without

our realizing

it at

first.

And we

only become

conscious of

it over

the course

of our

gradual

transformation.

And a key

component of

that transformation

he writes

is repentance

which he

calls the

renewal of

our baptism.

and he

writes that

there are

two kinds

of repentance.

The first

he calls

liturgical

repentance

such as

what we do

here on

Sundays

or what

we would

pray in

the daily

office from

the book

of common

prayer.

And the

second kind

of repentance

is a repentance

that becomes

increasingly

habitual

in our

hearts.

where we

become more

aware of our

shortcomings

and failures

and we

experience

greater humility

in our

efforts to

grow and

we become

more attentive

to the

slow

often

imperceptible

work of

God's grace

in our

lives.

And over

time

we develop

a posture

of repentance

in our

hearts

that gives

God more

space

to work.

But here's

what's

interesting.

The fathers

say that the

second type

of repentance

the habitual

heart level

repentance

is built

on and

depends on

the first

type of

repentance

which is

formal

and liturgical.

Regular

formal

repentance

they say

can create

space

for deeper

work

to occur.

prayer.

So what

this means

practically

is that

when I

pray the

morning

office

when I

open up

the app

on my

phone

with

morning

prayer

on it

and the

confession

of sin

is right

there at

the beginning

every

single

morning

in

morning

prayer

that

confession

of sin

is something

I can

kind of

rush

through

as a

rote

prayer.

Almighty

and merciful

God

we have

erred and

strayed from

your ways

like lost

sheep

we have

followed too

much the

devices and

desires of

our own

hearts

we have

offended

against your

holy laws

I can do

that as a

rote prayer

or

it's an

opportunity

to slow

down

and reflect

to repent

specifically

and daily

of what may

sometimes be

just

simply

hidden

selfishness

but which

creates

barriers

to me

becoming

more like

Christ

using

liturgical

prayer

thoughtfully

and reflectively

can

over time

create space

in our

hearts

in which

deeper

transformation

can occur

and where

Christ begins

to shine

in our lives

that much

more brightly

repentance

is a way

of bringing

our

baptismal

vows

forward

and

activating

the grace

of baptism

given to us

with the Holy

Spirit

right in the

present

and in this

respect

then

new beginnings

are not

just

limited

to

New Year's

Day

or birthdays

or new

semesters

or Mondays

the gift

of daily

repentance

which begins

and remains

liturgical

but increasingly

becomes habitual

and from the heart

is one way

of putting

into practice

that reminder

from Saint

Benedict

always we

begin again

always

we begin

again

and so

perhaps

we can

ask ourselves

at this

start of the

new year

as we

reflect on

Jesus'

baptism

and our

own

where do

I want

to grow

this year

where do

I want

to become

more

free

where do

I long

to become

more like

Christ

and then

we seek

to live

out our

baptismal

vows

with the

power of

the Holy

Spirit

through the

practice

of daily

repentance

we know

that we'll

fail

we know

that the

path

to

transformation

is long

and slow

but we

will also

remembering

with each

faltering

step

that

Jesus

who began

his

ministry

standing

in line

with

sinners

is

standing

right there

beside us

amen

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