“Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou” is one of my favorite movies. And I particularly love Delmar’s baptism scene.

As you watch the scene unfold you see the human need, the tugging of the heart and spirit as Delmar sees and recognizes the baptismal procession. He instinctively recognizes his need for spiritual cleansing and renewal. And he acts upon it.

And then there’s that last line of invitation, “Come on in, boys, the water’s fine!”

I love that. That’s the invitation from God, “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

Every time we have one of those moments where our lives are renewed through a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, that’s the invitation from God, “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

For those who have already been baptized it’s an invitation to remember and be renewed.

For those who haven’t been baptized, it’s an invitation to take the plunge. “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

Even Jesus, the Son of God, felt that need and was baptized. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 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.”

We may not hear the words God spoke to Jesus, but God is always pleased when we “Come to the Water” and dive in.

Part of the reason God is pleased is because in Baptism we discover that Baptism Claims Us.

Baptism Claims Us, because Baptism is about what we believe. And we believe that there are second chances in life. Our God is a God of second chances.

Something wonderful happens to us when we are baptized. When we are baptized, we identify ourselves with Jesus.

We publicly declare our intention to strive to be like Jesus and follow God’s will for our lives.

When we are baptized, our lives are changed. We see things differently than before. We see other people differently than before.

Baptism empowers us to do the things that the Christ wants us to do here and now. We are able to identify with Jesus because he was baptized.

And we are taught to love as he loved. Such identification is life changing. That kind of identification shapes what we believe and claims us. BAPTISM CLAIMS US.

SECONDLY: Baptism Names Us, and tells us who we are.

In our baptism, we hear the voice of God saying: “This is my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.” I am a child of God! 

Baptism Claims Us, Baptism Names Us, and finally Baptism Aims us. Baptism tells us what we are called to do. That is: we are called to reach out with the Good News of God’s love.

Christ changes our focus outward… When we are Baptized, we are Aimed outward. We are Aimed toward the world that God so loves. We’re called to reach out in love with the Good News of second chances through God’s Grace.

All we’re doing is focusing outward and loving people as Jesus did.

You may never know what impact you might have, simply by being a Good Neighbor. You can let the signature of God, written on your heart, that is the love of Jesus lived out and shared with a neighbor.

It could like a high school English teacher. A few days before the start of a new school year one of her former students visited her in her classroom.

She did not recognize the young man who knelt down beside her to thank her for all she had done for him.

He proudly told his former teacher, “I have a good job, a wonderful wife, and two little girls,”  

She desperately wanted to remember who he was, but she couldn’t. Over the years there had been so many students that she lost track.

He told her, “I came to tell you that I graduated from high school because of you. I knew you loved me when I was your student because you would walk around the room while you lectured, and you would stop at my desk and put your hand on my shoulder.”

“When you returned my papers and they weren’t very good, but you always wrote something encouraging.”

This young man’s high school years were very difficult. He told her that his father had shot and killed his mother in a drunken argument.

“The other teachers acted as if they despised me, but you kept on treating me as if I was somebody. I wanted to thank you for loving me. It’s made all the difference in my life.”

The teacher hadn’t even known that tragedy had happened to this young man. She had simply loved all of her students, because the love of Christ had Aimed her outward.

When we are baptized, we align ourselves with Christ Jesus, and we reach out. We reach out to others with the love and the hope that God in Christ has shared with us.

In Baptism God claims us, names us, and Aims us.

SO… “Come on in, the water’s fine!” Remember the day when your life was renewed through a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit.

Closing Prayer

Dear God, we have heard of your light, showing the path to your son and to you, a light to become a beacon, guiding us in the darkness. Help us draw near.

We have heard of your grace and truth revealed in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of your Son, a grace to overcome our sin, a grace to shield us through the trials of this life and into eternal life.  Help us to trust in your forgiveness, to forgive others and to forgive ourselves.

We have heard of your healing powers, evident from Christ’s touch and words that through the ages have overcome sickness in body, mind, relationships and spirit.  Help us to turn to you as the healing salve in our lives and to heal the others we silently name now in our hearts and minds.

We have heard of the promise of peace, which can end war and daily violence.  Help us to be agents of your peace by the small and big actions we can take today in our families, in our communities and world.  Help us to lean into your peace, which can overcome our fears and fill all our lives with hope.

We have heard of you and pray to you today with the words your son has taught us throughout the ages:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Almighty and Everlasting God, even in times when it seems you are silent and visions are rare, you call us by name.  How sad it is to know how often we do not answer, or misunderstand the source of the call.  Draw nearer to us, O LORD, during this time of worship.  Attune our hearts to your voice and allow us the privilege of responding, “Here I am, LORD.”