Sermon – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 – Baptism with the Spirit

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 – Baptism with the Spirit
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dan Presbyterian Churches
January 10, 2009

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Today is the Sunday the church traditionally sets aside to think about baptism. We usually look at one of the scripture texts describing Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by John. For those who are not baptized this is the time to think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to consider making a public declaration that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and obtaining membership in the church through the sacrament of baptism. For those who have been baptized in the faith this is a time to remember your baptism and consider the way the Holy Spirit is transforming you to new life. But before we talk about baptism and what it means, please pray with me.

Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 5 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." … 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

John the Baptist was a prophet who was called by God to bring good news to the people living around the Jordan River in middle of the first century. The people then and there had been living lives that displeased God. They thought that they were ok with God. After all they were descendants of Abraham and were chosen as God’s own people. What did they have to worry about? But John told them that it was time to worry because tensions were building with the Romans and God’s people faced possible destruction by the Roman Empire. The people needed to prepare themselves for the coming crises and that meant getting right with God. John pointed out their lack of generosity with the poor, and told them that God’s righteousness demanded that if they owned two coats, one should be given away to someone who needed it. So John told them to change their behavior and go a different way, to repent, and God would forgive what they had done. To symbolize this fresh start John brought the people to the banks of the Jordan River where he baptized them with water symbolically washing away their old sinful lives and restoring them as God’s good creation. The people thought that John might be the messiah, the anointed one, they had longed for, for generations. But John said that he was only getting people ready for the real messiah who was coming soon and would baptize not with water but with the Holy Spirit.
So there is a difference between John’s baptism with water and Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit. And the church has debated, for two thousand years, what these differences are. This, in part, accounts for the fact that there are many churches here in Pocomoke City today because each one has a slightly different explanation for the difference between water baptism and Spirit baptism.

If you go down to the Roman Catholic Church and ask the priest to explain the difference between water and Spirit baptism he will probably say something like this: Water baptism is when an infant is presented to the church by its parents and God parents. Spirit baptism occurs when that child has grown up and is able to have faith for himself or herself. The water baptism is then confirmed by the Spirit baptism.

If you go over to the Assembly of God Church and asked the minister about the difference between water and Spirit baptism he would probably say: Water baptism is the process by which you join the church. Spirit baptism is the work of the Holy Spirit and the bringing of spiritual gifts from God to the believer such as speaking in tongues. And you will know that Spirit baptism has taken place when you begin to use these gifts of the Holy Spirit.

At the Methodist Church the minister would most likely tell you: Water baptism is the means by which you join the church. This is followed by a second baptism of the Spirit when all desires of the flesh are removed and you begin to live a holy life free from sin. When you stop smoking and drinking and having sex outside of marriage you know that you have received baptism of the Spirit.

An evangelical pastor would reverse the order and tell you: Baptism in the Spirit occurs, when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is then followed by water baptism for initiation into membership of the church.
In our Reformed tradition we see water baptism as a sign of God’s love for us, God’s desire to forgive us, and as a seal of our participation in God’s covenant with Abraham when God promised to bless us so that we would be a blessing. Spiritual baptism refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in a life long process of transforming the lives of baptized believers into what God had created them to be.

I think that there is a growing ecumenical consensus on all of this, that water baptism is a work of the church symbolizing what God has done for us, and Spirit baptism is a work of the Holy Spirit upon us sanctifying us, and making us holy. How and when this happens can be different with different individuals. And people tend to join churches with others who have experienced Spirit baptism in the same way.

My own experience of baptism, both water and Spirit, fits the Reformed model. I was baptized by water as an infant. Both of my parents were both believers and they brought me the church pledging that I would be raised in the faith. I attended Sunday School regularly my entire childhood receiving the nurturing in the faith that my parents had promised. When I was older and could understand my faith I confirmed my baptism and joined the church. This began a lifelong project of the Holy Spirit to transform me into what God wanted me to be.

The process of the Holy Spirit making me holy, or sanctified, was not instantaneous. At age 18 I went off to college and forgot all about church. Saturday night frat parties left little time for Sunday morning worship. I became an occasional church attendee sometimes showing up at Christmas or Easter. But the Holy Spirit did not give up on me.
In my late twenties a tragedy hit my family. My mother died suddenly of a heart attack. This caused me to rethink my life and the place of God in it. I realized that I missed the church and I missed worship. So I went back to church. I was there every Sunday morning. During this time my faith was intensely personal. I did not want to share it with anyone. So I found churches were I could sit in the back, anonymously. I didn’t talk with anyone. I just wanted to be alone with God to pray and worship. The Holy Spirit had me in its arms and would not let go.

Another ten years passed and the Holy Spirit was ready to continue its work of renewing my life. I was single and wanted a wife, but nothing I tried seemed to work. So I turned to prayer and one day I heard the voice of God give me the answer I had been searching for. God said, “It’s in the book.” I was sitting in church when I heard God’s voice and reached down to pick up the Bible in the pew. As I looked through it I realized that I knew some of the stories, but I did not really know what this book was all about. So the next Sunday I started attending a Singles Sunday School class, I went on an all church retreat, and I enrolled in a two year Bible study called the Bethel Bible Series. For the next two years I experience the transformative effect that the study of scripture has on the believer. I was trained by my pastor as a teacher for the Bethel Series and I taught Bible to people at National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC for the next four years. The Holy Spirit was transforming me into an entirely new person, but it had not yet completed my transformation to new life.

Six years ago I began of processes of discernment to understand where God was leading me. I had finished my term as a Deacon of the church. And the Bethel class I was teaching was coming to an end. I needed something new to do in service to God’s church. It was at this point that the Holy Spirit began to direct me toward seminary and ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. I enrolled at Fuller Seminary to continue my education in the Bible and theology. I developed my multicultural abilities by teaching Bible to a group of international students learning English. And I married Grace who has opened for me a love of Korean culture and a passion for the church. Though all of this the Holy Spirit was transforming me into someone who was pleasing to God. The Holy Spirit had worked on me for over 50 years preparing me for service to the church, and the most exciting transformation was yet to come.

Two years ago I was ordained by the Presbyterian Church as a pastor and I was called by God to serve a small church in Los Angeles. God’s call was simple. Here was a very small church and most of the members were in their 80s and 90s. Their money was running out, and they feared that their church might be closed. God called me to build a multicultural church on this site that would reflect the surrounding community, and that is exactly what happened. I began the revitalization of the church by launching a web site, putting signs on the building, joining the Neighborhood Council and passing out fliers. I started two new contemporary services on Sunday afternoons and evenings followed by a fellowship meal. And I prayed for the church every morning at 6AM. The results were stunning. God sent people to the church for worship. New people were coming every Sunday. The fellowship hall was filled with over 60 people each week at dinner.

I realized that the church I was building truly reflected the community and this was frightening. Los Angeles has over 20% unemployment. People have lost their homes. Many are living in their cars. Some are sleeping in the park. They are hungry and trying to get by on $200 a month and some food stamps. And they started coming to my church. Two thirds of the new people were homeless and I was their pastor, a least for a little while. Last fall, after much prayer, I decided that God was calling me elsewhere. So I asked the pastor of a Filipino church meeting in our building to be the pastor for the whole church. God’s call was complete. I had created a church that reflected a community of aging whites, younger Filipinos, and the very poor, and had given me a way to make it continue even as I moved on to a new call.
The work of the Holy Spirit is never finished. Spirit baptism is a lifelong process of transformation. It begins as you pass through the baptismal waters. It requires your awareness of where God is leading you. If you let the Holy Spirit work in you heart you will be transformed into what God created you to be. And this will be the most exciting experience in your life.

Holy Spirit, come to us now with the baptism of fire. Grab hold of our hearts and transform them with your love. Make us into what God created us to be. And we pray this in the strong name of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.