The sermon begins with the Affirmation of Baptism
Renunciation of Evil
P Brothers and sisters in Christ: In Holy Baptism our Lord Jesus Christ received you and made you members of his Church. In the community of God's people, you have learned from his Word God's loving purpose for you and all creation. You have been [nourished at his holy table and] called to be witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, therefore, I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the Church, the faith in which we baptize.
Do you renounce all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises?
R I do.
Profession of Faith
P Do you believe in God the Father?
C I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
P Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
C I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
P Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
C I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
Commitment
P You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in Holy Baptism: to live among God's faithful people, to hear his Word and share in his supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
R I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.
Prayer of Blessing
P Let us pray. Gracious Lord, through water and the Spirit you have made these men and women your own. You forgave them all their sins and brought them to newness of life. Continue to strengthen them with the Holy Spirit, and daily increase in them your gifts of grace: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
C Amen
Do you renounce all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises?
Of all the questions we are asked in this place shouldn’t we answer that one question with great conviction? Shouldn’t our answer be a loud and booming: “I DO”? Shouldn’t we be clearest about rejecting all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises?
In the early church, when there was a baptism, before the candidate for baptism was brought into the door of the church an exorcism was performed. Because baptism marks us as belonging to God and God alone.
The world tries to claim us… but we belong to God. You see, we are baptized and then sent out into the world: the wilderness and what we do we face in the wilderness? Temptations by Satan and wild beasts.
And there are plenty of temptations out there: money, expensive things, gossip, lies, adultery, sugar, drugs, prejudices, hatred, intolerance, slander, and the list goes on and on and on…
And there are plenty of wild beasts… waiting for opportune moments: those people who would abuse us, mock us, devour us.
We are baptized and then sent out into this wilderness of the world where too many things are out to get us.
“9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts…”
In those days, before Jesus’ ministry began, when John was in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus went to the Jordan River to be baptized. For centuries scholars have tried to answer the question why Jesus needed to be baptized. If he was free from sin, why did he need to undergo a baptism of repentance?
Whatever the reason, Mark tells us that Jesus hears a voice from heaven telling him, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” God claims Jesus in that moment of baptism and affirms God’s love for his beloved son.
And then immediately the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness. The same word for what the Spirit does in Greek is exorcism. Jesus is exorcised into the wilderness.
And in the wilderness Jesus is tempted by Satan. The other synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke) tell us how, but Mark just gives us the fact that it happened; Jesus was “tempted by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts.”
This is the hard reality about baptism. We are baptized and told we are God’s children. We think: Fantastic… now life is all good, no worries, I am protected by evil!
But that’s not what happens at all. We are baptized, claimed by God and sent immediately out into the wilderness… driven out… exorcised out into the world to face all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises. And it’s not always easy to say, “I do, I do renounce them.” Certainly it’s not easy to say that with great conviction when fear and doubt and uncertainty smack us in the face on a daily basis. Certainly it’s not easy when temptations of status, popularity, and power feed on us like wild animals.
So what good is baptism then? What good does it do us?
The world tries to claim us… but we belong to God.
Baptism means that no matter where we go, what trials we face, or what evil tries to eat us we belong to God.
Baptism means that no matter what situations we are sent into, or which temptations lure us, or what calamities, sorrows, or sufferings seek to devour us… Jesus has been there first.
Jesus was claimed by God, in baptism, so that we had assurances that we would also be claimed in baptism. Jesus was sent out into the wilderness because we are sent out into the wilderness. Jesus was tempted because we are tempted. And how could we say with any conviction that we renounce all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises if Jesus hadn’t already defeated the devil, if Jesus hadn’t already destroyed all the empty promises that are made to us?
How could any of us say, “I do” with any conviction if Jesus had not already defeated death and rescued us from hell and damnation?
And if that’s not enough, remember that Jesus was not alone in the wilderness with the wild beasts and Satan tempting him. God sent angels who waited on Jesus through his trials and tribulations. God did not leave Jesus alone. And if God didn’t leave Jesus alone, God won’t leave us alone either.
God sends his angels to wait on us, to keep us firm in our faith so that when you are asked: “Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in God the Son? Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?”
You can answer with conviction: I believe that God is my creator, I believe that Jesus was born and suffered and died for me. That he was willing to go anywhere, even hell, to save the lost and imprisoned. And he will come again.
God sends angels so that we can be firm in our conviction that we are made holy by the Spirit, that we are gathered and enlightened by the work of the whole Church. And that we are forgiven of our sins, and raised from the dead into life everlasting.
God sends us angels, and sometimes we are angels to others. Angels who are called to remind those what are lost in the wilderness to repent and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news that we are God’s beloved; the assurance that we are never left alone to fend for ourselves in the trials and temptations that face us. The good news that gives us the courage to answer the question:
Do you renounce all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises?
I DO!
Amen.
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