Baptism of forgiveness. What does that mean? Or what does it mean to me? I had to look up baptism. I wanted to be sure I had the right connotation. I always figured baptism meant water was poured on us and it was the water that made it baptism. I discovered that baptism in the Greek means to identify oneself with or be made one with. That makes sense because when we are baptized we then become One Body with Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him. And in the ceremonial act of becoming one with Christ, we are touched with water – by immersion, a pouring of water over our heads, or in other circumstances, sprinkled water. But what is a baptism of forgiveness? What does it mean when we are touched by forgiveness – whether it be little sprinkling forms when we bump into someone, say a quick, “I’m sorry”, and are rewarded with a “that’s okay” to the bigger immersing forms of really hurting a loved one and sincerely apologizing for our wrongdoing and receiving their wholeheartedness forgiveness?
And then repentance of sins. Repentance means to change one’s heart, one’s mind, purpose, life depending on which form of the Greek word is used. Sins are those thoughts, words, or deeds which separate us from each other and from God. Those very same “trespasses” or offenses we refer to when we say the Lord’s Prayer. It is anything which causes an unkindness or hardness in our hearts, thereby separating us from the love of God.
And in the two Gospels – Matthew and Mark – John called his listeners to change their ways because they became separated from their own people and from God. They became so immersed in following the Law they forgot to love Him and their neighbors.
So why does John preach a baptism of forgiveness for the repentance of sins? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? We normally first repent or apologize and then receive forgiveness.
Except that sometimes we need the forgiveness first. It can be helpful to know that you are guaranteed forgiveness no matter what you’ve done wrong. And that’s what we have in the gift of God’s grace. It is there for us. The only thing we have to do is to love Him by accepting Jesus as His Son, accepting that He lived and died for us. We are forgiven our countless and endless trespasses, sins, or offenses. God offers that to us.
John is telling the crowd that he has come to preach about being forgiven. And perhaps from that they will learn the cost, the meaning, the value of repentance. We know it didn’t happen that way to all of them back then. Some did not understand what Jesus was telling them.
But it can happen here today. We can forgive those who haven’t apologized, who haven’t repented or offered to make reparation.
Offering forgiveness first can be a crucial step in learning to repent. But forgiveness offers us something else. When we make the first step, when we forgive without the other even asking, then we heal in tremendous ways. And the healing done in that moment can be more powerful than the normally accepted mode of apology followed by acknowledgement. I know I myself have felt deep shame in how I once wronged someone and was too mortified to speak up and apologize. So my offense was doubled – first by the act and then my inability to offer an apology. But the other person came to me instead and, by doing so, lifted that huge burden from me. What a gift they gave me!
Forgiveness heals. It allows the process to begin whereby hurt feelings, broken hearts and shattered relationships can have the salve it needs to heal. There is no way of knowing whether the mend will bear a scar or be knit stronger but at least it will no longer burden us with its pain. We then become a little closer to that other party, don’t we? Don’t we become one in spirit in that one, brief, flitting, encompassing moment! Our hearts are so filled with love that we are one. We have just been baptized with forgiveness!
God is calling us to forgiveness, to be healed. We are a people too long separated from Him. And like the child who has done something wrong that separation is as painful for him as it is for the parent. The healing begins with forgiveness.
In the process of... 
