Matthew 28:11-20 (NIV)
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards
went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything
that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with
the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large
sum of money,
13 telling them, You are to say, 'His disciples came during
the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 If
this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and
keep you out of trouble.
15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews
to this very day.
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they
worshipped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
__________________________________________________________________
The young son of a Baptist minister was in church one morning
when he saw, for the first time, baptism by immersion. He
was greatly interested in it, and the next morning proceeded
to baptize...his three cats in the bathtub.
The youngest kitten bore it very well, and so did the younger
cat, but the old family tom cat rebelled.
The old feline struggled with the boy, clawed and scratched,
and finally got away. With considerable effort the boy
caught the old tom again and continued with the "ceremony."
But the cat acted worse than ever, clawing and spitting,
and scratching the boy's face.
Finally, after barely getting the cat splattered with just
a little bit of water, he dropped him on the floor in disgust
and said, "Fine, be a Presbyterian if you want to!"
(Received from You Make Me Laugh)
When it comes to baptism there are certainly different
understandings about procedure but most Christians recognize
the importance of the event.
This is a wonderful time in the life of our congregation.
On Easter Sunday we received new members. A couple of weeks
ago we baptized James. Today we have baptized Jamieson.
It is in these ways that our Church grows in numbers—receiving
new members and the Sacrament of Baptism. In a real way
these events are an expression of our willingness to obey
the Great
Commission of our Lord as found in Matthew 28:
Mat 28:19-20 (NIV) "…go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you."
Matthew ends his Gospel on this powerful, demanding note.
It’s not a request of Jesus for the Church to consider.
It’s a command!
It’s our duty!
In our tradition baptism is a sacrament that symbolizes
the sign and seal of the Holy Spirit. As we baptize an
infant we are recognizing that, in a special way, the Holy
Spirit
is at work. That’s a simple definition of the word “sacrament”.
God's grace is shown in the sign of symbolic cleansing by
water and the promise of God's care and concern for the little
one.
A child, of course, doesn’t understand all that is
occurring but God's grace and mercy have never been limited
by our lack of understanding. An infant who is baptized has
entered the Body of Christ—the Church.
The infant is also sealed by the Holy Spirit—just
as important documents used to be sealed by wax and a
stamp. The Holy Spirit has put His stamp on the child.
God, through the Spirit, recognizes, publicly, that this
child is a member of the New Covenant brought about by Jesus.
The everlasting promises of God's love, care, protection
and concern are now officially a part of the child's life.
They have always been there but now there is a public recognition
of an existing relationship.
All of this is God's action—God's work. Not our own.
It is God's gift of grace not requiring understanding or
confession of faith from the infant or young child.
The Holy Spirit also reminds us, by our baptism, that we
belong to God. It’s a reminder we can cherish as
we grow older.
Life is a process.
Some people, after baptism, grow towards faith.
Others reject the Spirit's hand.
Baptism doesn’t guarantee that a person will come
to individual faith but it does provide the person with the
resources of a faith community—the resources of the
Church and the Holy Spirit.
To give our little ones the best possible opportunity to
come to an individual faith there needs to be responsibility
shown in three areas.
The first is God's responsibility.
The second is the responsibility of the parents.
The third is the responsibility of the congregation.
Let’s look briefly at each.
First, God's responsibility.
We have said that baptism is the sign and seal of the Holy
Spirit. It is God's public promise that the child is loved
and accepted by God.
God promises to be with that child through the good times
and bad.
God promises to touch that young life and reach out to the
child.
God promises to knock on the door of that child's heart and
request entry when the child is old enough to make a personal
decision.
That means God won’t give up on the child nor will
God forsake the child and go off in search of people
with more potential or openness.
God's public promise is a promise of love and care.
A promise sealed in the life of that little one.
God's involvement.
God's promise.
God's responsibility.
The next area of responsibility is that of the parents.
Christian baptism is a sacrament. A sacrament, as I mentioned,
is a special offering of grace by the Holy Spirit.
Baptism is not a social expectation.
Unfortunately, we often confuse sacrament and expectation.
There is a view in our society that children should be baptized
by a certain age—it’s expected.
Babies reach a certain stage and it’s time to buy
them their first pair of shoes. They reach a certain point
and
we expect them to talk and walk.
Many confuse baptism with these social and physical milestones.
Some parents seek to have their child baptized, simply
because they feel it’s time to have it done.
As well, some believe baptism assures a place in heaven
should the child die.
Baptism, then, becomes a magical insurance policy that really
doesn’t recognize that God already loves and accepts
the child.
It isn’t the ritual of baptism that protects and saves.
It’s God's love that assures God’s care in
the event of a tragic loss.
Unfortunately, some people have these views of baptism.
It's unfortunate and it isn’t really their fault.
Too often the Church has allowed baptism to slip from
being clearly
understood as sacramental to being considered just another
step in the progression of a child's life.
And so, parents, who bring their child for baptism, have
responsibilities to their child, to their Church and to God.
Here at St. Timothy’s, we take the parent's responsibilities
very seriously.
At least one parent must be a member of the Church in regular
attendance. This is because parents must stand before the
congregation and God and make vows of commitment to Christ
and the Christian faith. Any vow before God is a very serious
matter. We cannot and should not take them lightly or without
careful consideration.
Baptism of children places great responsibility on the parents.
The child is unaware of what is happening. Despite all
eyes on the child, it’s really the parent's faith and
commitment to Christ's Church that is centre stage here.
The parents
are saying that their faith and involvement with the
Church are so important to them that they want their child
to grow
up and make those commitments his or her own. They want
to be a part of the Church family and they want to make their
home a place of Christian teaching and witness.
There was a little boy named Richie. Two special events had
taken place in his life and both had impressed him very
much. First, he had recently been baptized, and second,
he was the proud brother of a baby boy named Stevie.
One Sunday his father asked if he wanted to go to church.
Richie's answer was an enthusiastic, "Yes. And let's
take Stevie and get him advertised, too!"
Commitment to Christ and commitment to our children go hand
in hand in this wonderful sacrament as we advertise our faith.
The third area of responsibility is that of the congregation.
We, in the Presbyterian Church, do not conduct private baptisms.
Private baptisms rule out the important role of the congregation.
Baptism brings the child into the Church. As such, the Church
has its own very important role. It has responsibilities
to the child and to the parents.
The congregation's vow means that they will provide a welcoming
atmosphere where Christ is taught and lived so that the child
has role models to help as he or she grows older.
It, therefore, is up to the congregation to make sure that
Sunday School and children's programs are provided.
It’s also up to the congregation to offer to support
the family in times of crisis and turmoil. Acting as
a true family in Christ, we are united by His love and called
to
show it in actions as well as words and programs.
That’s a reminder for us on this Christian Family
Sunday. Not only is the nuclear family important and to be
celebrated but our Church Family also plays a unique role
in our lives—a role of care, support, nurture and
witness.
What a wonderful lesson we can offer our children by making
sure they know that people in the congregation are there
for them and their family.
What a wonderful witness to what we believe when our children
can learn to assume that the Church is a place of safety
and security, of love and concern.
We praise and thank God for God’s commitment to us
by showing our commitment to Jamieson, our other little
ones and their parents.
I want to conclude with a beautiful poem written by Thom Shuman, a minister
in the US. It summarizes just how special all our responsibilities are:
“a drop of water from the sea,
where all life began,
on your forehead, beloved,
to pour abundant life into you
all the days to come.
a drop of water from the sky,
bringing relief to the parched,
on your forehead, my beloved,
that your spirit
would never thirst
for God's grace.
a drop of water from my heart,
overflowing with joy,
on your forehead, our beloved,
so you feel God's hope
holding your hand
with every faltering step you take.
one drop from the sea,
one drop from the sky,
one drop from my heart
mingle with Father, Son, and Spirit,
the living waters
flowing with you forever,
Beloved of God.
Amen.”
(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman
Greenhills Community Church, Presbyterian
Cincinnati, OH
(Used with permission)
(1681)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
