Part 5: Matthew 3:13-17

Spiritual leadership begins when we claim the power of baptism.

Claiming the power of baptism

I remember the first time I baptized a child, nearly 19 years ago. What makes the memory especially vivid is that it was the first time I ever held a baby while standing up. As a child, I held my newborn niece while sitting on the side of a bed. But several years had passed since that moment, and I had forgotten the technique.

My preparation for this significant event in my ministry began in my apartment the night before. I cradled a wrapped loaf of bread while standing over water in the kitchen sink. The loaf of bread was baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The next morning all I could think about before and during the worship service was my anxiety about holding the baby at the baptismal font. Finally, the moment came to hold the child. I cradled her, silently praying that she would not move.

God was gracious to me that morning. As I poured the water on the baby's head, she remained quiet. The clerk of session handed me a towel so I could wipe the water from the child's head. Instead, I immediately handed the child back to the mother, and wiped the perspiration from my own forehead. In my haste to return the child to her parents before any mishap occurred, I forgot to wipe the forehead of the child.

Even though I have participated in many baptisms since that time, the sacrament has never become routine. Each time I witness or participate in a baptism, the nervousness reoccurs. But now it occurs because I am acutely aware that we are called to nurture the life of the baptized individual as part of God's covenant community.

Not about being good
Jesus' baptism also marked his identity with God's covenant people. Baptism signaled his calling to enter into the lives of a community of people for the sake of God in the world.

The Son of God was born to live a life free of sin, yet he submitted himself to a baptism for sinners. Struggling with the status Jesus brought to this experience, John emphatically spoke of his unworthiness to baptize the Son of God: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (Matthew 3:14).

But Jesus recognized the spiritual significance of the moment. He responded, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (3:15).

In both Greek and Hebrew the word righteousness carries the connotation of justice. A commitment to fairness and advocacy on behalf of others accompanies the act of baptism. All of us who are engrafted into the body of Christ at baptism are called to "do the right thing."

Christian leadership is not simply about being good. It is about being good for the sake of witnessing to the love of God. Baptism commits us to stand for a higher justice that affirms the authority of God in our lives. God's authority outweighs our passive posturing, our tendency to keep silent to avoid conflict. Spiritual leadership begins when we claim the power of baptism, even in moments of tense and uncomfortable interaction with others. The power of baptism is revealed when Christian leaders do justice amid shameless acts of inhumanity.

"Striving Christians"
There is nothing magical about the sacrament of baptism or the water used. Baptism represents the beginning of a process of "becoming." By claiming the power of our own baptism, we express a commitment before God and our church community to be "striving Christians."

Jesus knew that through baptism he was committing himself to stand with God's community, claiming residence on the side of righteousness and truth. We too can claim residence on the side of righteousness and truth. We can commit to being used by God despite our limitations, our sinful and broken nature.

The gifts of spiritual leadership are affirmed in us each time we remember our baptism and positively respond to doing the will of God. Baptism is our reminder to be more like Jesus.