Readings: Acts
8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
What strikes me about our readings this morning is that
in both cases there is a – perhaps very surprising, but clearly articulated – need
for ‘something more’. It seems, in both
cases, the act of baptism alone is not enough.
Such an idea flies in the face of those who use baptism as a ‘test’ of
whether or not you are a true Christian.
There’s more to it than that. These
unsettling readings challenge any sense of complacency we might hold about our
own baptism; they remind us our life is not static, but rather a journey – one for
which we have only the sketchiest of maps – but along the way, there are
sign-posts which provide amazing hope for that journey.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we
hear the response of the Jerusalem Church to new Christians in Samaria. The more established church takes responsibility
to assist the newer community – baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, was
insufficient – more was needed... and so Peter and John, senior leaders of the
Jerusalem Church are sent to Samaria to provide for the lack – to touch,
inspire and enthuse the new Christians into a dynamic and active faith – ensuring
that these newly baptised Christians are not alone and will participate in the vibrant
Spirit known through being part of the universal Body of Christ. I wonder what that might mean for us as a Christian
community.
In the Gospel reading, John the baptiser senses this
need for more, when he announces “I baptise you with water; but [that won’t be enough,
you will need more, for] the one who is coming ... will baptise you with the
Spirit and fire.” I wonder what that
means for this community who profess to follow Jesus? In what ways have we received this baptism of
Spirit and Fire?
I don’t think it is just an accident that this need
for something more, leaps from the lines of our readings today. For, doesn’t this sense of lack and need sum
up, in so many ways, the experience of the human condition? Isn’t this our personal and communal experience? Isn’t this why humans engage in actions as
diverse as global warfare, consumerism, loving relationships and religion? We seem to be hard-wired with needs – to want
things to be different – to want something more than we have. We yearn, we long for and we hope for
something more. Sometimes that longing
takes us in directions of destruction and despair – other times, our yearning
is the impetus for a transformative, hope-filled journey. As I reflected on our readings for this
morning, what surprised me was to find this clear evidence of lack and need at
the heart of what the church has turned into one of its central acts – the sacrament
of baptism. Surely, I reflected, baptism
is almost set in stone – is it not a useful and valuable marker, a once and for
all monument to commemorate a commitment made by an individual (or their
parents on their behalf) – a one-off historic ritual to which we might look
back – sometimes with inappropriate pride, sometimes with deep gratitude and
sometimes with the sure knowledge that this was a turning point in our lives –
but that was all, wasn’t it? The more I thought, the more I realised what a
limited view this was of baptism. The
more I continued to ponder, the less surprised I became that this morning’s
readings summon us into a consideration of baptism as an ongoing opportunity to
participate in something much more.
As a reformed church, we have only two sacraments – that of baptism and of communion. The latter we celebrate regularly; but baptism is less commonly celebrated in these more secular times and perhaps less understood. In writing about sacrament, Brazilian theologian Rubem Alves suggests “When things awaken longing remembrance and cause the memory of love and the desire for return to grow in the heart, we say that they are sacraments. This is a sacrament: visible signs of an absence, symbols which make us think about return.”[1]
Sacraments are not perfunctorily performed rituals
set in stone but actively engaged yearning in which our heart and emotions
propel us into transformative action.
I think all of us who were present when we recently celebrated
the baptisms of L and J, M, D and T, were deeply moved as two
adults and three young children heard those words of God’s unconditional grace and
love as they were welcomed into and embraced by the universal church. It may have been difficult for us to put into
words, the feelings we experienced but somehow that moment - that sacrament –
encapsulated something of our longing and need: in that moment, the sun burst
through the grey clouds of our everyday lives as we caught a glimpse of
something more – more than we had even expected. Here, in our very midst was a visible sign of
an absence – a symbol which made us think about returning to Love itself. When the gospel writers wrote about Jesus’
baptism they described it as the heavens opening, the Holy Spirit coming down like
a dove and a voice being heard declaring Jesus to be God’s beloved child. One might say I T was the gospel
writer at last month’s baptism – with his artistic eye and sensitive camera-work,
I captured the moment when D was being baptised. Her older brother M had just received the
waters of baptism – and her twin sister T was waiting her turn. Standing on
each side of D, M and T reached out to each other, linking hands
around their sister’s back, holding D within the warm embrace of Love. “This is God’s beloved child in whom God is
well pleased.”
It is no mistake that in our baptism service we wait
until after the actual baptism, for the vows to be put. It is
after we have experienced God’s grace and loving kindness, that the baptised face
‘the more’ and are asked to respond to God’s love. Let me remind you of what is asked – and as you hear these
words, I invite you to consider your own response, should you be asked these
questions right now.
Those who have been baptised share a responsibility
for living out their commitment to Christ through ministry in the world. I
therefore ask you to commit yourself to Christian ministry. Do you promise to live your daily lives as people who
follow Jesus?
Do you promise
to be faithful members of the Christian community: sharing in worship and
supporting the work of the church with your time, talents and money; helping to
care for God’s creation, loving and forgiving others, working for peace,
justice and reconciliation, developing your gifts and sharing your faith?
This morning, after the Affirmation of Faith, there
is an opportunity for you to re-commit yourself to your baptism... or if you
haven’t been baptised, to commit yourself to following the way of Jesus. When you do that, you will be reminding
yourself of these baptismal promises and committing yourself to the more – to participating
in the vibrant Spirit of Fire and Love.
You will be saying ‘yes’ to doing your part to provide a nurturing, welcoming place for all people in this
community – or your home church; When
you recommit to your baptism, you are remembering the call to part of a loving
community - nurturing one another in
faith, upholding one another in prayer and encouraging one another in service.
It’s quite a lot
more than a one-off ritual; but it provides a horizon of hope where nurture,
compassion and creativity thrive. May it
be so.
[1] Rubem Alves I Believe in the Resurrection
of the Body (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), p.14.
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