An Exchange of Vows

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC January 9, 2022, The Baptism of the Lord. “Shine On!” series.

Texts: Isaiah 43:1-7, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Some of you may be familiar with the phrase “setting intention.”  The core of Christian Centering Prayer (a meditative form of prayer) is to set your intention to be present to God.  For those of you who practice yoga, you will know that as you begin, the invitation is often to “set your intention” for your practice that day.  In other words, as you move through the practice, what do you want to work on?  What do you want to hold in mind?  What is your intention?  For me the language and practice of “intention” has become so important in my life.  I want to be intentional about my living, my choosing, my priority-setting, my loving.

In our United Methodist wedding liturgy, immediately following the welcome, is something called the “Declaration of Intention” in which the persons being married are asked to affirm things that sound like traditional marriage vows. It’s a part of the ceremony that often elicits questions during preparatory conversations with the couple. It’s not always clear why this shows up so early in the service. The backstory of this part of the ceremony is that it replaces the old “who gives this woman to be married” part—a practice grounded in patriarchal understandings of women as property, as persons without their own agency or voice. In our current service, those standing at the altar say right up front that no one is forcing them to get married and that they have chosen the person they’re marrying. That’s what those “vows” are all about. They are clearly stating their intention to freely enter into union with the person who stands beside them and to share the joys and sorrows of the relationship no matter what the future will hold. 

The parents and families and the whole congregation are also asked to affirm their blessing and support—their intention for their own relationship with the couple.

Whether it’s in prayer, a spiritual practice, or entering the covenant of marriage, our intentions are what we want to try to do or to be. And the truth is that we never know how things will play out in an unknown future. But in these key moments of our lives, we set our faces toward the vision we seek, with as much clarity as we can muster, and then…we try. 

Today is traditionally known as “Baptism of the Lord Sunday.” Many congregations, Foundry among them, include on this day an opportunity to reflect upon and participate in a reaffirmation of our baptismal covenant. For those of us who are baptized, it was either the intention of our parents when we were infants or our own intention as youth or adults to enter into the covenant of Baptism, into a more intentional relationship not only with God but with the people of God in the Body of Christ. 

And today, on this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we stand at the banks of the Jordan River, that historically powerful place of crossing from the wilderness into the promised land, that flowing symbol of passage from one life into another and we witness Jesus baptized by John.

What was Jesus’ intention when he wandered into those waters? Why was Jesus Baptized?  Luke doesn’t tell us. But in Matthew’s account (3:15) Jesus states his intention is “to fulfill all righteousness.” Whenever we receive the word “righteousness,” think: “right relationship.” Some will disagree with me on this, but I think Jesus could have avoided the river Jordan, that he could have chosen not to pass through those waters into the life for which he was created, that he could have avoided his responsibility to fulfill “right relationship” and, instead, used all his considerable mojo to live whatever life he wanted. But, as the one who shows us what perfect love is and does, he humbly offers himself to John’s hands.

In most Christian circles, we believe that Jesus came into the world as the Chris