God speaks aloud only twice in the synoptic gospels. The first time God speaks aloud from the heavens is at the baptism of Jesus. The second and final time God speaks is when Jesus is transfigured on top of a mountain in the presence of Peter, James and John. In both utterances, God says basically the same thing.
At Jesus' baptism, God pronounces, "You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased."
On the mountain of the transfiguration, God pronounces, "This is my son, my chosen, listen to him!"
In both utterances, God is announcing that Jesus belongs to God. God is saying, "YOU ARE MINE."
When a person is baptized, this is what God says to that person. "You are mine. I claim you as my own forever." Immediately after each baptism, the priest is to anoint the child or adult with holy oil and to pronounce these words, "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever." Marked as Christ's own forever.
In the book of Revelation, it says that the souls of the faithful have marks on their foreheads. We are branded as baptized ones.
That means that when someone asks you who you are, the first thing that should come to your mind is this: "I am a baptized one." Not "I am a lawyer or a business man or a nurse." Not even "I am a wife or a husband or a son or daughter." Before you are any of these important things, you are first and foremost a baptized one.
I was given an eye-opening article this week. It was in Boston magazine. It was written by a brilliant woman, a Harvard graduate who is a writer, a wife and mother of two children. She is also what she calls a NONE. This is a new term, none, it means that the person has absolutely no religious affiliation. They are not Christian or Jewish or Buddhist or Sikh. They are not even atheist or agnostic. They just don't care. They are nothing. Nones. And they are proud.
Sadly, this woman has memories of being in the very church that I grew up in, Trinity Church-on-the-Green in New Haven, Connecticut. She actually really liked it there but never was baptized and never made a commitment. She goes to religious gatherings occasionally to see if anything appeals to her, as if she is buying a bar of soap or seeing a movie. She invests in sports and even Chinese lessons for her children after school but sees no value in any kind of religious instruction. Her children went to a Jewish Sedar and when asked what they were thankful for, one of them said he was thankful for Jesus, because he had heard something about Jesus in school and had no idea that Christians worship Jesus and Jews do not.
One of our members brought her unchurched granddaughter to the Cathedral a few weeks ago. The girl looked at the nativity scene and said, "Oh, look! There is baby Gino!!"
The article in Boston magazine reported that the nones are growing (that's N-O-N-E not N-U-N). That means that more and more children are being raised with absolutely no religious affiliation. What does this mean? It means that baptism is becoming more rare and more of a choice. Today, as we baptize these children, and they are marked as God's own forever, they will take an action that defines them more than it has in previous generations. To belong to God in a day and age and in a country which is rapidly becoming more secular is to identify yourself with Jesus is a powerful way.
And you will take important vows today as parents and as a congregation. You will vow to raise these children as Christians. That means that they are to come to church. Parents, do not neglect to bring these children to this place, for we cannot fulfill our vow to them if they are not here. They will grow learning the story of Jesus, being a part of a community that is focused on something more than just making them happy or well-educated or fit. They will learn that they are part of something larger, a vision for a kingdom where there is true peace and joy. They will learn that they are not to serve only themselves in this life but that their first and most important priority must always be God. For they belong to God from this moment on.
And most importantly, and most mysteriously, today these children enter into eternal life. They need never be afraid of dying, of pain, of anything. God has claimed them and welcomed them home. They are members of heaven and the gates are open to them, all they have to do is follow the path that leads through those doors.
And every time they have to make a decision in life, the first question that they should ask is this, "What would God have me do?" or I love the popular phrase, "What would Jesus do?"
Our whole lives, from the moment that we are baptized to this very moment, are spent in response to that question. For we are the baptized ones.
Who are you?
Say it with me, proclaim it to the hilltops!
I AM A BAPTIZED ONE.
