"The Purpose of Baptism"

January 12, 2020 Mark 1:18-25

Deborah Laforet Luke 1:26-38

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“The Purpose of Baptism”

Desmond Tutu was once speaking to a gathering of Christians during the height of South Africa’s apartheid regime.  “What keeps you going?” he was asked.  “What makes you so sure that justice will prevail?” He let go with that infectious laugh of his and threw up his arms and said, “But I’m baptized!” The audience was stunned.  He laughed all the more and continued, ‘Baptized into Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.’  This is God’s promise to us, my friends.  God is faithful and God does not break promises.  Remember your baptism!”

Imagine having such confidence in the promise that comes with baptism.  Imagine that confidence pulling you through oppression and struggle.  Desmond Tutu’s baptism was not insignificant for him.  It had profound meaning for his life and his actions.

Desmond Tutu lived out his baptism in a very concrete way.  His baptism reminded him of God’s promises and God’s faithfulness, to all people, Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, which for him meant his black skin was to be loved and accepted just as much as someone with white skin, and that his struggles in the anti-apartheid movement were filled with God’s grace.

What would you say if someone asked you what your baptism means to you?  Many of us were baptized as babies, so there is no memory of our baptism.  A few of you may recall our baptism, and others of us may be able to recall our confirmation, or another time when we renewed your baptismal promises.  Do you remember it being a powerful moment?  Maybe you remember it as something you did because it was expected or you felt obligated by your family.  For many, the baptism ritual is only a rite of passage, a ritual to introduce a child to a church community or a ritual used to become a member of a community?  Do you feel that your baptism is significant and meaningful for your life today?  Like Desmond Tutu, does it keep you going and bring you assurance that justice will prevail?  

Let’s start with a more basic question.  What does it mean to be baptized, particularly in our United Church context?  For this question, I picked up a book called, “Eager for Worship.”  It’s a book to which I was introduced in my ministry studies.  It was written by Diaconal minister, Dr. Charlotte Caron.  She writes that in the United Church, there are four main views around baptism: 1) a theology that focuses on grace, 2) a theology of covenant, 3) a theology whose emphasis is on belonging, and 4) an understanding of baptism as a rite of passage.

I’ve already touched on the rite of passage, and I think a lot of people outside the church see baptism in this way.  For some, it’s not necessarily a religious event or an event that means they now have to start going to church and following Jesus.  For many, it’s a way of acknowledging the awe and wonder of the birth of a child.  Caron writes, “People with and without religious views are awe struck by the power of seeing the birth of a child and know inherently that somehow it needs public acknowledgement, public affirmation of the presence of this new creation in our midst.” (pg 42-43)  There is also some residue of a theology that has mostly been dismissed in the United Church that an unbaptized child is not ‘saved’ and could go to hell.  So, some want their child baptized just to be safe.

I find the covenant view and the belonging view to be similar.  The covenant view sees baptism as a point of entry to the church.  A covenant is an agreement, usually an agreement with and before God, so a covenant view holds that we must honour our agreement.  God is faithful to us and we are to respond with our faithfulness to God.  Churches that hold to this covenant theology usually have firmer rules in place when it comes to who will be baptized in the church.  These churches want families whose actions show a commitment to their faith and an interest in church.  It’s about authenticity in the promises that are being made.

The belonging view, rather than focusing on the individual or the individual’s parents and their commitment, has more to do with the church community and their commitment to the one begin baptized.  Just as a child is raised in a family and learns the traditions and stories of the family, a child in a church also learns the traditions and stories of the Christian family or community.  William Willimon, an American Methodist, says that “it is as much the responsibility of the church as of the parents to be sure that nurture into mature faith happens.  He notes that the church needs to be assured at baptism that the child will experience God’s affirmation and love as the child grows up.” So again, churches that hold to this belonging view stress in a baptism the importance of faith involvement by the family and the church community.

The last view of baptism holds a theology of grace.  I’ll be up front in saying that although I hold some aspects of each of these views, this one is my favourite.  Caron shared a quote by Pamela Moeller that I found very powerful that I’d like to share with you.

Who deserves this profound, life-giving love?  Not the twenty-seven day old infant not yet capable of knowing right from wrong; not the faithful initiate who has studied and worked ever so hard to become a good church member; not the sweet soul whose life has been a godsend to everyone he met, nor the irascible, impossible to satisfy curmudgeon making everyone’s life miserable - not any of these.  All of these.  Because deserving isn’t what matters.  Joining the church isn’t what matters.  What we think isn’t what matters.  No, we are baptized because God loves us, because we are born of God, because from womb to tomb and beyond, God knows us, identifies with us, claims us, loves us.  Baptism tells us that.  But it doesn’t make it so.  God makes it so. (pg 38)

This is what we call grace.  In the churches that hold to this view, everyone who asks is baptized, regardless of their actions or their commitment to the church.  No one is turned away.  Baptism is a symbol of what already is.  We are all children of God.  We are all God’s beloved.  We all belong in this body of Christ, whether we donate, whether we volunteer, whether we attend on Sunday mornings or read our bibles or pray, or even, whether or not we believe in God.  We are loved.  This message becomes particularly important when we are with those who have been given the message that love comes when it’s deserved, belonging comes after a set amount of time and the completion of a list of actions, and that being a member of the body of Christ is restricted to only the most respectable, the most generous, the most reliable, and in some churches, those who are male, white, educated, straight, not too young and not too old, the most put together, and the most righteous.  Grace though is when we are loved, whether we feel its deserved or not, feeling like we belong, immediately, without restrictions, and that we are a part of the body of Christ, regardless of who we are.  Grace, lived out in a community, is messy, chaotic, unreliable, frustrating, beautiful, peaceful, love-filled, and full of promise.  

Regardless of our view around baptism, whether one is baptized in a Lutheran church, a Catholic Church, or a United Church, and whether the view is grace, covenantal, or belonging, because of an agreement within the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, one’s baptism is always recognized and never has to be repeated.  We acknowledged Hannah’s baptism this morning because she was already baptized in December at a Catholic church so that she could attend a Catholic school.  Hannah and her family are a part of our community, and as such, we acknowledged her baptism and we acknowledge our part in her life and in her growing faith, which, by the way, very much connects with the belonging view of baptism.

The Acts of the Apostles is a book with stories mostly about Jesus’ followers and what they did after Jesus' death and resurrection and how they shared the good news with others.  In the story we heard today, Peter, for the first time, is walking into the home of a Gentile, or someone who wasn’t Jewish.  In this story, while Peter is still speaking, the Holy Spirit falls upon all who hear the word.  It says that Peter’s friends were astounded to see that the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on these Gentiles.  Now, I have no idea what this looked like.  Were they talking in tongues?  Were they shouting and praising God?  Was the Holy Spirit pushing them to stand and shake the hands of their neighbours, whether male or female, free or slave?  Whatever it looked like astounded Peter and his cohorts and prompted Peter to ask, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” He then ordered these Gentiles to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Notice the order of these events.  In the first story, we hear that after Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit came down and a voice was heard that said, “This is my beloved.”  But in this case, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard Peter speak before they were baptized.  It was after Peter and the other believers saw evidence of this Spirit within these gentiles that Peter wonders why they would not baptize these people.  

It’s not the action of baptism that fills them with the Holy Spirit.  It’s not the action of baptism that finally makes one a member of the church and a part of the body of Christ.  It’s already so.  Baptism is a sacrament, which means it is the action or ritual that makes visible what is invisible.  Baptism makes visible God’s loves for us.  Baptism makes clear that we are born of God.  Baptism tells us that God knows us and claims us, just as Jesus was known and claimed:  “This is my beloved with whom I am well pleased.”  

Remember that you are baptized.  Remember it during times of joy and celebration.  Remember it especially during times of struggle and difficulty.  Remember Tutu’s words that our baptism reflects God’s faithfulness and that God’s promises are never broken.  Remember Pamela Moeller’s beautiful words, “We are baptized because God loves us, because we are born of God, because from womb to tomb and beyond, God knows us, identifies with us, claims us, loves us.  Baptism tells us that.  But it doesn’t make it so.  God makes it so.”  Remember God’s words when Jesus was baptized, words for us: “You are my beloved and with you I am well pleased.”

I’m now going to offer everyone a baptismal benediction, a blessing.  I’ve asked the choir to sing it along with me.  You may bow your heads or you may choose to keep them raised.  These words are for you as you remember that you are baptized.  The words are on the screen.

Baptismal Benediction (VU 454)

May God who creates you give you light;

may God who sustains you make you wise;

may God who protects you give you joy;

may God who surrounds you give you peace.

May it be so.  Amen.

Deborah Laforet