Baptism: A Call to Resist Injustice and Dehumanization

"Called to Resist, Called to Love" by Rev. Gilbert Martinez

Sermon Summary

Jesus arrives not at seats of power but at the river’s edge, deliberately entering the margins where the wounded, fearful, and forgotten gather. Standing in the Jordan, Jesus refuses exemption or distance; baptism is shown as a radical solidarity with vulnerable bodies rather than a retreat into law or empire. That act reframes baptism as more than ritual memory: it names who a person is before the world declares them disposable and calls those baptized into costly public fidelity—renouncing fear, selfishness, and injustice and committing to courage, truth-telling, and communal care.

The collision between divine solidarity and contemporary systems of dehumanization is made urgent by the recent death of Renee Good in ICE custody and the ease with which excuses replaced accountability. Such incidents expose a pattern of selective outrage and the cultural inclination to measure whose lives merit defense. The baptized vocation, then, includes an ethical refusal to accept compliance as holiness, a refusal to hide behind obedience when systems are weaponized against the vulnerable. Baptism summons a prophetic posture: to resist tyrannical structures wherever they grind people down and to insist that dignity precedes legality.

This calling carries practical consequences for ecclesial life. The community is urged to move beyond nostalgia and cautious preservation into deliberate boldness—welcoming those displaced by closure, stewarding transitions, and sustaining ministries that align with baptismal vows. Love here refuses silence; compassion is not neutrality that tolerates injustice. Anger and grief are validated as faithful energies when they are refined into sustained courage and stubborn love, held together by the mutual support of the body.

Ultimately, baptism reorients hope: the Spirit descends, water names the beloved, and despair does not hold the final word. The baptized are sent armed not with certainty of ease but with a vocation to walk together—mourning losses, resisting cruelty, and building practices that live as if every person bears God’s image. In prayer the community asks for wisdom, steadiness, and a courage that acts, not out of bravado, but out of love that will not let injustice stand.

Key Takeaways
  • 1. Baptism chooses the river margins Baptism is not a retreat into respectability but a deliberate identification with those at society’s edges. It refuses theological insulation and models a holiness that stands where wounds are confessed, where systems are most visible, and where courage is costly. This choice reframes spiritual identity around solidarity rather than status. [00:10]
  • 2. Refuse compliance with unjust systems Obedience to law cannot be the final ethic when the law is used as a tool of oppression. The baptized are called to discern when legal compliance perpetuates harm and to practice prophetic nonconformity rooted in God’s justice. Resistance becomes an expression of fidelity, not rebellion for its own sake. [01:36]
  • 3. Beloved identity precedes worldly judgment The vision at the river—heavens opening, Spirit descending, a voice naming “beloved”—places identity before verdicts of society. That naming grants dignity independent of citizenship, productivity, or public approval, and it supplies the moral imagination needed to defend those deemed disposable. Remembering that origin sustains action when institutions fail. [08:35]
  • 4. Resistance is an expression of love Refusing tyranny is not optional for the baptized; it is part of loving one’s neighbor. Love here requires truth-telling, public courage, and sustained communal support, not sentimental quietude. When grief and anger arise, let them be refined into persistent care that seeks justice and restoration. [09:49]
YouTube Chapters
  • [00:00] - Welcome
  • [00:10] - Jesus at the River’s Edge
  • [00:24] - John’s Resistance, Jesus’ Resolve
  • [01:07] - Entering Vulnerability and Solidarity
  • [01:23] - Dehumanization and ICE Accountability
  • [03:03] - Baptism as Call to Resist
  • [04:08] - The Weight of Baptismal Vows
  • [10:12] - Church Life, Loss, and Opportunity
  • [11:15] - Love That Does Not Dehumanize
  • [11:48] - Anger, Grief, and Hope
  • [25:17] - Prayer, Sending, and Renewal

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

Matthew 3:13-17 (NLT)
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” 15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him. 16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Micah 6:8 (NLT)
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Observation questions

  1. In Matthew 3:13-15, what is John’s initial reaction to Jesus’ request for baptism, and what reason does Jesus give for why it must happen?
  2. Jesus chooses to go to the river’s edge and the margins [00:10] rather than the temple or the houses of power. According to the account, who else is gathered at this location?
  3. What are the specific vows mentioned that define a baptismal commitment to the community and the world? [04:08]
  4. According to Matthew 3:17, what does the voice from heaven declare about Jesus’ identity before he begins his public ministry?

Interpretation questions

  1. Jesus insists on being baptized to "fulfill all righteousness." By choosing to stand in the water where "vulnerable bodies stand" [01:07], how does he redefine "righteousness" as something different from mere legal or religious compliance?
  2. The divine naming of Jesus as "beloved" [08:35] happens before he performs any miracles or resists any authorities. How does this "beloved" identity provide a foundation for dignity that is independent of a person’s legal status, citizenship, or productivity?
  3. Baptism involves a vow to "resist tyranny and evil in any form" [09:28]. In a world that often equates holiness with being quiet and obedient, how does the act of prophetic nonconformity become a requirement of faith?
  4. Loving compassion is not the same as "neutrality" or "silence" [11:26]. How can anger and grief be interpreted as "faithful energies" rather than a lack of faith when witnessing injustice? [11:48]

Application questions

  1. We often view baptism as a personal or symbolic ritual, but it is actually a deliberate identification with those at society’s edges [00:10]. How does your own commitment to follow Christ change when you view it as a "radical solidarity" with the vulnerable rather than a retreat into safety?
  2. It is easy to feel "mentally exhausted" [06:17] by the relentless news of dehumanization and broken systems. When you feel this weight, how can you distinguish between a despair that gives up and a "stubborn love" that is refined into courage? [13:56]
  3. There is a constant cultural pressure to "defend systems that grind us down" while calling it patriotism [08:06]. Are there areas in your life where you have prioritized "following the law" over defending the "dignity" of a neighbor? How can you begin to shift that priority this week?
  4. The "Us versus them" narrative is a lie used by the powerful to keep people divided [07:27]. In your daily interactions—at work, school, or in your neighborhood—what are tangible ways you can "live as if every person bears the image of God"? [12:41]
  5. Sometimes "waiting too long even with good intentions" [10:12] can lead to endings we didn't want. Is there a "bold move" or a transition in your life or ministry that you have been putting off out of caution? What would it look like to act with "boldness in both timing and belief" [10:57] right now?
  6. Many people feel "disposable" [05:25] because of their background or status. How can we, as a small group, better "walk together as one body" [09:28] to ensure that no one in our circle of influence feels they have to carry their fears or their "wounds" alone? [00:10]

Sermon Clips

Jesus does not exempt himself. Jesus does not distance himself. Jesus does not say the law will protect me. Jesus steps fully into the waters where vulnerable bodies stand, and that matters especially now. Because today, we are drowning in dehumanization. This past week, Renee Good was killed by ICE, and almost immediately, the excuses began. She should have complied. She knew the risk. She broke the law. [00:00:54] (40 seconds)  #HumanizeNotDehumanize

So allow me to ask the question I carry every day as pastor. How do you speak hope to someone when the system has already decided their outcome? How do you sit with someone who feels disposable? I ask this because last week someone did go see a lawyer, and that's exactly what they were told. We can go through the process, but you might as well pack bags. And they're here legally. They're just not a citizen. [00:05:20] (48 seconds)  #HopeForTheMarginalized

See, they don't hate us, but because they are witnessing a nation that claims moral authority while abandoning moral responsibility. That is their response. This false Us versus them narrative is a lie. The truth is this, the rich and powerful are not fighting for us. They never have. They never will. See, and there's a meme that I saw last week that pretty much summarizes what's going on, and it captured it painfully well. [00:07:12] (44 seconds)  #ExposeFalseNarratives

``Beloved, baptism names who we are before the world tells us who we are not. And baptism commits us to something costly. We bow. Do you choose the way of Christ, the way of courage, compassion, truth telling, and the healing of the word of the world? That is not a comfortable way. It is not a safe way. It is not a guarantee of approval. [00:08:57] (31 seconds)  #BaptismCallsUs

But loving compassion does not mean silence. We are called to resist because we love. We are called to love because we resist. So hear this today. If you are angry, you are not faithless. If you are tired, you are not weak. If you are grieving the state of this nation, you are not alone. A baptism reminds us that despair does not get the final word. [00:11:30] (40 seconds)  #ResistanceIsLove

So wake up. Wake up to the lie that obedience will save us. Wake up to the myth that cruelty is strength. Wake up to the call we made when water touched our heads and truth touched our souls. We are called to resist. We are called to love, and we are called together to live as if every person bears the image of God. [00:12:17] (29 seconds)  #WakeUpAndResist

Before we move into prayer, I wanna say this, the anchor many of us carry does not mean we have lost our way. It means we still care. It means our hearts have not gone numb, but anger alone cannot sustain us. We steady ourselves in the truth that we are not called to carry this work alone. The waters of baptism that claim us also remind us that God's spirit moves ahead of us, besides us, and behind us. We do not leave this place without the answers. We do not leave without grief, but we leave remembering who we are and whose we are. [00:12:54] (56 seconds)  #AnchoredInSpirit

And even when that individual was gunned down last year, that was a loss of life. Whether we agreed with him or not, family mourns him. Friends mourn him. It is not for us to make fun of him. Yet, endlessly, since the moment she was shot and killed, Renee's name has been drug dragged through the mud. How would that make you feel if that was a loved one of yours? [00:17:30] (55 seconds)  #HonorEveryName

Ask a question about this sermon