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Connections&
January 13, 2002--Baptism of the Lord
After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:13-17
Tattooed and Branded by God
Tattoos have gone mainstream. College student and business professional alike have subjected themselves to hours of needle pricks to adorn every imaginable body part with colorful geometric designs, flowers and images--some that are better left unsaid from this pulpit.
Now those who stay ahead of the trends are getting branded rather than tattooed. As you can imagine, branding hurts quite a bit, and once you are branded, you are branded for life.
Anyone considering getting a tattoo or brand are warned to be sure that they really want the mark they are getting and to consider it permanent. To get rid of a tattoo involves painful surgery that leaves a scar. A brand is itself a scar and can only be removed through expensive laser surgery.
Whatever symbol a person chooses says something about him or her. That's why tattoos and brands are chosen in the first place--as a mark of identity. An Olympian sports a set of Olympic rings. Lovers inscribe each other's names on their bodies. The occasional "on-fire" Christian gets an icthus or a cross.
Pain, indelibility, identity--these are the central aspects of what it means to be marked. If it didn't involve pain, it wouldn't be indelible: marks that don't hurt are the ones that wash off. If it were not indelible, what it reveals about a person's identity wouldn't be so critical. Tattoo your arm with "Roseanne" in your 20s and you better still be married to her 30 years later.
[From "Branded by God" by Stacey Elizabeth Simpson, The Christian Century, October 18, 2000.]
CONNECTION: In baptism, we are "tattooed," branded by God and in God. Baptism is not just a simple ritual or milestone: it is to be transformed in the spirit of Christ the suffering, humble servant of God and to resolve to pay the price for living that spirit. Baptism is to take on a faith that becomes part of the very fabric of our lives, to embrace an identity in which God and the things of God become both our life's journey and destination. On this feast of Jesus' baptism, let us sense once again the pain and cost, the indelibility and the identity of our own baptisms, to renew our baptismal vow to declare--in every decision we make, in everything we do--that we are disciples of the Jesus of the Gospel of justice, reconciliation and servanthood.u
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