Sermons from Church of the Incarnation, Dallas

We have baptisms this morning, and I'm reminded of the family that was in church

with three young children, including a five-year-old girl.

As was their practice, they sat in the very front row so the children could see the

service.

During this particular service, the priest was performing the baptism of an

infant.

The little five-year-old girl was well taken by this and observing that the priest

was saying something and pouring water over the infant's head.

With a quizzical look on her face, the little girl turned to her father and asked,

"Daddy,

why is he brainwashing that baby?"

Baptism, a very simple ceremony,

the most important sacrament.

As water is poured over the person, a few plain words are spoken, but as ordinary

and mundane as this is, it has a powerful effect.

Not only at the time of baptism, but one that reverberates

throughout our entire lives and into eternity.

Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, and the Gospel of Mark

records that immediately coming out of the water, he saw the heavens parting and

the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

And a voice came from the sky,

"You are my beloved son,

in whom I am well pleased."

Jesus's baptism served to inaugurate his ministry.

When he excuse me, when he came up out of the waters of the Jordan,

it was a seminal moment in which all of the anticipation and hope

surrounding his birth is in a realized epiphany in which we see

clearly that he is the Son of God.

God calls us to submit to His will,

and this will was proclaimed by John the Baptist.

Be baptized, and in so doing, God's plan for our life

and our eternal salvation is executed and fulfilled.

Today, as we celebrate the baptisms of Charles, George, James, and

Hudson,

we have the opportunity to reflect on what it means for us to be

baptized in the name of Jesus, and you'll have the opportunity to renew your

baptismal vows and reaffirm God's claim on your life.

But mark this, and mark it well.

Your baptism is the single most important event

that will ever happen to you in your lifetime. The most important.

Make no mistake, when you emerged from those sacred waters, your life was changed.

And from that very moment, it was changed for all eternity.

Your life was changed because God adopted you as His own son.

God adopted you as His own daughter.

Doubtless, some of you were baptized in your youth or as

adults.

Many of you were baptized as infants, which raises an interesting question.

Just how can babies, perhaps just weeks old, or a young child

barely able to read, possibly know what's going on?

Years ago, a couple of pastors in Missouri got into a debate with a noted

liturgical scholar named James F. White, and they asked Dr.

White, "Well, what if the child slept through the entire service?

Wouldn't that nullify the experience?"

And Professor White answered, "For all I know, I may have been asleep for

my baptism,

but God was not."

More often than not, God acts without our knowing it.

God's love is in no way contingent upon our

understanding or awareness.

You see, baptism is not about us. It's about God's saving act

in Jesus Christ. Every time we baptize an individual, whether it's a nine-week-old

baby or a 90-year-old adult, we proclaim the death and

resurrection of Jesus Christ, the resurrection by which we

are saved. None of us can possibly comprehend the scope of God's grace or

claim to be worthy of God's love. Yet

God claims us anyway and invites us into a loving, trusting

relationship with Him, not because we're deserving,

but because that's the very nature of God.

Think of it this way.

You love your children and your grands.

You loved them long before they were able to love you in return.

Doesn't it stand to reason that God,

being a loving parent, loves us long before we're able to love Him in return?

Jeremiah 5 reads, "Before I formed you in the womb,

I knew you, and before you were born,

I consecrated you."

Isaiah 45 at verse four reads, "I call you by name.

I surname you, though you do not know me."

The baptisms of Charles, George, James, and Hudson is the

single most important event that will ever happen to them

in their lifetimes.

Their baptism, your baptism, matter not just for the span of our lives, it

matters for all eternity.

And know that infant baptism is an important symbol of our relationship to God in

that it's not the infant who asks to be baptized, it's

the parents who ask on behalf of their child.

Acting in faith, they claim a place in God's eternal kingdom

for the child, and the child is made a part of God's great family of faith,

and it happens long before the child knows what's going on.

And there was a time when parents would approach me and say, "Shouldn't we

just wait and let the child grow up and decide for himself?"

No,

no, no, and no.

Look, you want the very best for your child.

You undertake to make the best decisions on their behalf.

You attempt to instill in them beneficial habits.

You don't let them decide what foods to eat.

You don't let them decide what inoculations to receive.

You don't wait until they prove to be responsible before making a place for them in

the family. They belong from day one, and they learn to appreciate

what that means as they get older.

How old you are has nothing to do with receiving a gift.

If a parent opens a bank account for their child and puts $10,000 in it,

that gift is a good and valuable one, even though the child doesn't

have any idea what the gift means.

It's as the child grows older, and the parents explain to them about this

gift, that the child comes to realize its value.

Needless to say,

if the parents never told the child about the treasure,

if they didn't tell them, it would be a wasted gift.

That leads me to say that the role of parents, godparents,

and parishioners are very important.

Unless we follow Christ's command to teach those who are baptized, the gift that

God has given at baptism has become an unappreciated,

unrealized gift.

Experts tell us that the basic traits of children's personalities are formed by the

time they are five years old.

By the time they get to be teenagers, their faith or lack of faith is

already decided, and if not by you, by someone else,

and that should be alarming. The point is, we want our children to know from the

very start that God loves them. That's what baptism is all about,

to know beyond all doubt that you belong to

God.

And so we baptize our children at the earliest age possible.

At the same time, we pledge to do everything within our power to help them

grow in the knowledge of God's love,

trusting that they will make their own profession of faith as they grow older.

So whether you were baptized as an infant, youth, or adult, whether or not you

remember your experience, whether or not you have a baptismal certificate to

prove it,

I assume most of you have been baptized.

So the question is,

what does it mean?

What difference does it make whether you were baptized or not?

Does it make a difference if these children are baptized or not?

My friends,

it makes all the difference in the world, not just because it's the eventual

pathway to heaven, but because God promises to be with

you in every situation and circumstance that you will

face.

Here's what God proclaimed in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, "Don't

be afraid, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by name. You

are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you. And through the waters, they will

not overflow you. For I am Yahweh, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your savior."

And in Psalm 23, King David wrote in pertinent part, "The Lord is my shepherd,

and even though I walk through the valley of the very shadow of death, I will fear

no evil, for thou art with me."

So to be baptized in the name of Jesus is to share his victory over sin and

death, and to know that no matter how deep the water may get,

He will be with you to keep you from going under.

Because see, the waters of chaos, they continuously threaten to overwhelm us in one

way or another throughout our lives.

Some days we're strong and able to withstand the current.

Other days it feels like

we could go under at any moment.

Now, God doesn't necessarily take the waters away, but He does give you

a promise, "I will be with you."

The baptism of Jesus is the key. His grace will always be

sufficient for your every need. "When you pass through the water," says

the Lord, "I will be with you."

Psalm 121 gives us some assurance of God's protection, "I lift

up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord." And the Psalm continues, "The

Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth

and forevermore."

Now, sisters and brothers, you are gathered here today to witness the events of

this day.

Shortly, you will make a promise to do all in your power to support

Charles and George James and Hudson.

You will do all in your power to support them in their life in Christ.

Tell them about this day.

Tell them what happened to them this day.

Tell them that the Holy Spirit moved over the baptismal waters this day.

Tell them that there was jubilation and rejoicing in the heavenly realm this day.

Tell them the very gates of heaven were open to them this

day, and tell them that there were witnesses to the events of this day.

Tell them that their family was here. Tell them that their friends were here.

Tell them brothers and sisters in Christ were here.

Tell them that angels and archangels and the host of heavens was here.

Tell them that the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was here, and tell

them that God Almighty was here. Amen?

Amen.

Charles, George, James, and Hudson, my soon-to-be

brothers in Christ,

though you may not hear me now,

your Christian family does,

and I say to you, trust in the Lord.

And to all of you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, I charge you to teach them

how to rely on their Savior.

And in the words of that blind musical theologian,

Stevie Wonder

"Don't you worry about a thing."

Charles, George, James, Hudson,

know that this day God speaks to you,

just as He speaks to each and every one of us in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah,

"Because you

are so very precious in my eyes

and I love you,

fear not, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by name.

You

are mine."

In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.