By: Pastor David Grousnick

Last Monday was Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, when we traditionally celebrate the arrival of the wise men and also celebrate the baptism of Jesus.

You may wonder what baptism is all about, so let’s get into it, a bit!

Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They have already attained new life through being baptized and symbolically washing away the past. But they do need to nurture that their new life so it can grow and mature.

That’s what church is for. That’s what Bible study is for. That’s what prayer is for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few grew into maturity. The rest withered and died.

Many people often search for new meaning in life but often for the wrong reasons.

A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child.

“Why aren’t you out fishing?” asked the businessman.

“Because I caught enough fish for one day, “replied the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch some more?”

“What would I do with them?”

“You could earn more money,” said the businessman. “Then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish.

“Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money.

“With that money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

“Then what would I do?” asked the fisherman.

“Then,” said the businessman, “you could really enjoy life.”

The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, “What do you think I am doing now?”

See what I mean?

The baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. When we live in the baptism of Jesus, we touch the hearts of others and help open them to the Holy Spirit and new life in Christ.

So, now the question becomes, are you living and growing in the new life you have been given?

Some of you may have seen the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. This is a whimsical retelling of Homer’s Odyssey set in 1930s Mississippi. Three hapless escaped convicts – Everett, Pete and Delmar – are hiding out in the woods, running from the law.

There they encounter a procession of white-robed people going down to the lake to be baptized. As they move toward the water they sing, “Let’s go down to the river and pray.” As the baptism ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the beauty and the mystery of this rite. He runs into the water and is baptized by the minister.

As he returns to his companions, he declares that he is now saved and “neither God nor man’s got nothing on me now.” He explains that the minister has told him that all his sins have been washed away. Even, he says, when he stole the pig for which he’d been convicted.

“But you said you were innocent of that,” one of his fellow convicts exclaims.

“I lied,” he says, “and that’s been washed away too!”

Later the three convicts steal a hot pie from a window sill. The one who felt that his sins had been washed away returns and places a dollar bill on the window sill.

You see, Delmar wasn’t made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us are made perfect by our baptism. But he was conscious that it was time for him to make a new beginning. That is why in understanding baptism we begin with the washing away of our sins.

Charles L. Allen once told about a wild duck. This duck could fly high and far, but one day he landed in a barnyard. There life was less exciting but easier. The duck began to eat and live with the tame ducks and gradually he forgot how to fly. He became fat and lazy.

In the spring and fall, however, as the wild ducks flew overhead, something stirred inside him, but he could not rise to join them. A poem about this duck ends with these lines:

He’s a pretty good duck for the shape he’s in,

But he isn’t the duck that he might have been.

Maybe you are not the man or woman you intend to be. And certainly, none of us are all God intends for us to be. Fortunately, such a state of perfection is not a requirement for baptism. Indeed, baptism is an admission of our need for God’s mercy and grace.

Now, that is something worth considering as we begin a New Year!

David Grousnick, is the Pastor at the First Christian Church in Artesia.