Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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Time Magazine published the shocking photograph some years ago. A dying man is lying on the beach, in the shallow surf. He has been attacked by a shark. Kneeling next to him, and leaning over his body, a young woman in a bathing suit holds her dripping hand above his head. The caption says she is a nurse who happened to be on the beach that day and has come to his aid. But she is not tending his wounds. She knows he cannot live. She is baptizing him. I can still see the picture. Such a simple act, to baptize someone -- requires only water and the words, "Father, Son and Holy Ghost." In the absence of a minister or priest, anyone can do it. But such a beautiful and profound thing to do! So full of God's grace!

This morning we baptize little Carl Stephan Maxin and add his name to those of millions and millions who have been baptized in Christ. By happy coincidence, this is also the Sunday on which we remember the baptism of Jesus, by John the Baptist, in the waters of Jordan. This event marks the formal beginning of Jesus' ministry. It is here that Jesus receives his divine commission. It is here, some say, that he was ordained. So it is a good day to baptize someone, and to talk about this simple and profound sacrament.

BAPTISM IS A SYMBOL OF GRACE

Baptism, first of all, is a sign of God's grace. (John Calvin called it "a token and proof of our cleansing.")   "An outward and visible sign of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ," the Methodist order of service says, "through which grace we become partakers of his righteousness and heirs of life eternal." Words carefully parsed so that no one should think it is the baptism that saves, but rather God's grace in Christ, of which the baptism is a sign. Baptism, first of all, then, is a symbol of grace.

INITIATION INTO THE CHURCH

And then baptism is our entree into the church. Years ago, my mother and father carried me, and my twin brother, down the aisle to be baptized. They answered the questions of faith for us. They took responsibility for our spiritual upbringing while we were children, just as they took responsibility for our physical well-being by taking us to the doctor, and for our mental development by sending us to school. They did not wait for us to decide the merits of such things for ourselves, thank God!

INFANT BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION

Calvin, again, arguing for infant baptism, said, "The children of believers are baptized not in order that they may then for the first time become children of God (as might be the case in adult baptism), but rather that, becausethey already belong to the body of Christ they are received into the church with this solemn sign." Once again, it is not the baptism that saves. Babies already belong to Christ. It is a sign, outward and visible, something we can see representing something we cannot see. Later in my life, of course, I was called upon to "confirm" my baptism. (That's why it's called "confirmation.") I had to answer the questions of faith for myself, this time, and was then received as a church member. Since then I have renewed my baptism each time I have witnessed it. It is only a sign, but signs are important -- they point us.

REPENTANCE AND CLEANSING

Baptism is also an opportunity for repentance. It is, after all (whether we like it or not), a cleansing. On the subject of repentance we pull no punches. We do not underestimate the power and presence of sin. Sin is all around us and through us. What can we say? It doesn't matter if we're a drunk in the gutter or a saint of the church. "All we like sheep have gone astray," says the ancient prayer. "We have followed the devices and desires of our own hearts.  There is no health in us."

St. Augustine read the story of Adam and Eve and saw, better than anyone before him, its terrible implications. Once sin happened, he said, human history was forever changed. "No child is any longer born into a situation of innocence. The sins of the society, and the sins of the parents, precede the child and corrupt the child." So that the human race, with all its members, is trapped in endless cycles of sin, destined to repeat the same destructive behaviors. We are hopelessly lost. Only by some intervention from the outside can we be saved. And, it is that intervention, God's gracious coming in Jesus Christ, that we symbolize and celebrate in baptism. When we see God's grace, we repent. It is automatic, really. When Peter saw Jesus walk on the water, he didn't applaud, he didn't stand up and shout. He said, "You better get out of here, Lord, for I am a foul-mouth man." When we find ourselves in the presence of God power and grace, repentance comes naturally.

THE SAD REALITY OF OUR FALL INTO SIN

We always look for theories that tie facts together, so that the facts make sense. The only theory I know that ties together all the facts about humanity, as I perceive them, is the theory of original sin: that somehow mankind is trapped in evil, prone always to hatred and revenge, unable fully to love and be loved, bent to all manner of mischief and mayhem. We are made succors by the allure of worthless things. We follow their beckoning even when we know it will lead us to destruction and death. We cannot get beyond ourselves. That is how I see the human race. I resisted it for years, but it is the only theory that explains the facts. I'm sorry, it's not complimentary to either of us. That is why my baptism is so crucial to me. It leads me to repentance by showing me my sin. And then it re-enacts my salvation.

SYMBOLIC BAPTISM OF THE ONE WHO WAS WITHOUT SIN

If baptism is an invitation to repent, then (as Christian understand things) it is also an opportunity for forgiveness and redemption. Jesus didn't leave Peter; he made him an enormous human being. We never speak of sin except as "that from which we have been delivered." We never repent without hope. There is an interesting moment in the story of our Lord's baptism. Jesus shows up in the crowd one day and gets in line to be baptized, but John recognizes him right away as the Messiah.

Now this presents a problem for John, for he knows that Jesus has no sins to wash away. And (I picture John whispering to Jesus, when Jesus comes down to the river), "You should be baptizing me!" And Jesus whispers back something quite mysterious: "Do it anyway; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." What does that mean? Wesley paraphrases it like this: Do it "that I may perform every part of the righteousness of God's law." Or, in another translation, "It is fitting for us to perform every righteous act." The one who is sinless still does the prescribed things, still does what is right and proper. Sets a good example, perhaps. Or (a more profound thought) Jesus takes upon himself, in this opening moment of his ministry, the sin of all mankind and comes to be cleansed. He is redeemed by God, and can, thus, go forward. Just as, in baptism, we are redeemed, we get beyond the barrier of sin, and can go on to a deeper faith.

IMPROVING OUR BAPTISMS

The Westminster Catechism speaks of "improving our baptisms." I love it! A lifetime occupation it is: to grow in Christ and in Christian living. In our own ritual we pray that the baptized child, "as he grows in years may also grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." This simple sacrament, you see, is to be the beginning of a new life, and (as such) it is an ethical act. It assumes that its beneficiaries will go on to improve their baptisms, to strengthen their relationship with God each day, and to live by his law. If baptism doesn't lead to something, if it doesn't change us, we've got it wrong. Someone said to the great Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, in the 1930s, that to be baptized was important for everyone. "Why?" Barth asked, "The Pope is baptized, Hitler is baptized, Stalin is baptized. What difference does it make?" Have our baptisms made a difference in us?

REMEMBERING OUR BAPTISMS

We, like Jesus, are born of water and the spirit. Jesus was baptized with water and immediately the Holy Spirit, like a dove, descended upon him. We baptize a baby, and pray immediately that God will bless him with "the renewing and restraining influence of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is God -- the power of God, the energy of God, God at work among us. Remember your baptism, receive the Holy Spirit. Accept the days and hours you have left as a sacred trust. "We ain't got long to stay here."