Texts:  John 1:29-41, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9                                                    W 2^nd Sunday in Epiphany

A Gift Full of Promises

            Dear friends sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  One of the results of being born and raised in the free market economy of these United States is that we have all learned to live by the maxim caveat emptor:  let the buyer beware.  It’s a lesson our parents try to impress upon us from early youth, but that usually ends up nevertheless having to be reinforced through bitter personal experience.  But we do learn – and what we learn is to be very cautious when we hear claims and promises that sound simply too good to be true because in fact they probably are. And so we know at once to be suspect of the wild claims of snake oil peddlers who go on about the miraculous power of their latest product.  “Yessir, here’s Dr. Makmuhd’s Egyptian Elixir, made from a secret formula known only to the learned physicians of the ancient Pharaohs.  It’s guaranteed to cure everything that ails you including colds, flu, asthma, rheumatism, arthritis, and lumbago; it reinvigorates, revitalizes, and enhances energy, clears up the complexion, and even restores hair.”  When we hear such nonsense, we’re not about to buy it.

Of course today’s sales pitches are little more subtle.  You’re watching TV and a commercial comes on that shows happy people doing exciting things that you’ve always wanted to do, and all the while it’s being hinted that they’ve arrived at this state of near perfect bliss because they’ve overcome some usually unspecified malady thanks to a wonderful new drug they’re taking. Then comes the question:  Have you asked your doctor if this drug is right for you?   And you sit their thinking, “Gosh.  I don’t know what those people were suffering from, but they sure look happy now.  And I’d like to be happy like that … maybe I should ask my doctor if that drug is right for me.  Fortunately, before the hook is set and you’re completely taken in, then comes the required-by-law precautions:  “People who smoke, drink alcohol, are pregnant, might become pregnant, or are thinking about becoming a parent or grandparent one day should not take this drug.  Common side effects include headache, jointache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.  In test studies, some people taking this drug have experienced difficulty breathing, heart attack, stroke, and in a few cases, death.  If you experience any of these latter symptoms while taking the drug, you should discontinue use” (sage medical advice there).  The one that really creeps me out is when they say the drug might cause “sexual side effects”.  I don’t know what that means – I’m not even sure I want to know – but one thing’s for sure, if those effects were positive in any way, they’d be marketing the drug expressly for that purpose – so you know it can’t be good.  After some of those ads, you come away with the impression that taking their drug is sort of like playing Russian Roulette (but hey, you have five chances in six to win, right?).  Though they don’t intend to, some of these advertisements reinforce the idea that pervades our thinking that nothing is ever as good as those doing the hawking promise it to be.

But while such cautious discernment is good in that it may make us savvy consumers, it can also be very bad when we bring it into the spiritual realm and try to apply it in our approach to the words and promises that God has made to us.  Then skepticism, doubt, and distrust can stand in the way of our fully grasping the gracious gifts of promise the Lord wants to give us:  gifts of peace, and of comfort, and the assurance of his love that he wants us to enjoy every day of our lives as we walk together with him.

And perhaps nowhere do we see this more clearly in the Christian church than in the promises the Lord makes in his gift to us of Holy Baptism.  Scripture is quite explicit:  it says Baptism saves, that it forgives sins, that it gives spiritual rebirth, that it conveys the gift of the Holy Spirit, that it clothes the person who receives it with Christ, and that it unites the person who is baptized with Christ is his death, burial, and resurrection to new life.  The Lord promises in his sacred Word that Baptism does all that and more.  But sadly, the greater number of Christians (in this country anyway) simply don’t believe it.  Instead they see Baptism as a law to obey, a tradition to observe, an empty ritual that only illustrates some spiritual event but that has no power in itself.  Baptism is called a mere outward sign or symbol of an inward change brought about by something else.  It really doesn’t do anything.  It only serves as a way to show the world what’s already happened through other channels, or to show your submission to Christ.  And to defend such blatant denials of God’s Word concerning Baptism, the rational minds of the skeptics consider the promises the Lord makes about it and demand to know: “How can water do great such things?”  “If you say that Baptism saves, aren’t you denying that a person is saved by grace through faith apart from works?”  “Isn’t, after all, Baptism a work of man?”  “And for goodness sake, what good could Baptism possibly do for a baby – a baby who isn’t even aware of what’s going on? – A baby who isn’t able to understand the necessary facts of the faith or to place any trust in the Savior?”

            These are questions that we who sincerely desire to stand on the promises of God concerning Baptism should be able to answer – for if we can’t, it could very well be because we ourselves are underestimating or neglecting to appreciate the gifts of grace that God gives and continues to give us in Baptism. And if that’s the case, then, at least to some degree, we are in the same boat as the skeptics who deny the promises altogether.  So, inasmuch as today we have witnessed a Baptism, and that our readings have quite a bit to say about Baptism, and that you don’t have a prophet to forecast that this may very well be the year of the Baptisms for our congregation, I thought that it would be good for us to review what it’s all about.

            We find a big part of the answer in today’s Gospel reading.  John, the great forerunner of the Lord, is at the Jordan River where he is baptizing.  And as we heard in the readings throughout the season of Advent, John’s is a Baptism of repentance to prepare people for the coming of the Lord.  John is the original hellfire and brimstone preacher, and his scorching outbursts are intended to help people see how completely sin-filled their lives are so that they also see their need to turn back to the Lord and receive his forgiveness.  When they enter the water they are confessing their shame, their absolute helplessness to change themselves, and their desire for God’s grace and power to begin anew. And that’s great – but if that’s where John left them, his job would only be half done.  If he sent them off like that telling them, “Okay, it’s good that you repented.  Now try real hard to live a better life for the Lord”, he would only be returning them to the same sin-filled hopelessness they knew before.

            No, all this pertains to his work of preparation.  It’s the necessary first step; but one that only means anything at all unless it finds its fulfillment in the second, which is John’s mission of revelation.  John came to bear witness to Christ.  That’s what we heard him say this morning:  “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he (speaking of Christ, the Lamb of God) might be revealed.”  John knew that people need a lot more than repentance from sin; they need a Savior from it.  And that’s why John was continually telling the people he was baptizing to turn their attention to the greater One who would follow him.  So, even as they were being baptized, their trust and hope were being turned to the Lamb of God that John spoke of.

            But there’s a supernatural spiritual dimension to this that we don’t want to miss. John says twice that he did not know that Jesus was the Christ he spoke of, indeed, that he would not have known unless it had been revealed to him by God. Seeing who Jesus really is comes only by divine revelation.  The Spirit of God must show you.  And it’s critical that you see that this revelation comes to John in the context of Baptism.  It’s while he is standing in the water … with Jesus … and with the Spirit descending … that it is revealed to John that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that he’s been talking about.  And remember that John said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you”. He was right.  And let me suggest that at this point he is – all the components are there:  the repentant person, in this case John, the water, the Word, the physical presence of Jesus, and the Spirit hovering over the water.  All that comes together and now John sees what he did not – could not – before.  In a very real way, it is as much John’s Baptism as it is Jesus’.  

            And what’s really interesting is that this is not the first time that John had such a miraculous revelation that allowed him to recognize Jesus for who he is. Recall that the first time was when he was quite a bit younger – yet three months away from being born to be precise.  He was still in his mother – in the water, of all places – when the voice of Mary was heard – Mary who had only recently conceived herself and who was then bearing the Christ child.  At that time, John’s mother, Elizabeth, speaking under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit told Mary, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”  Now, unless we are prepared to call the Holy Spirit a liar, we must conclude that John’s joy came from his recognition that he was in the presence of his Savior.  In that very baptismal moment, Christ was revealed by to him God.  Again, all the components were there:  water, the Word, the physical presence of Jesus, and the Spirit who had come upon his mother – and who entered John himself so that he could know supernaturally what could not be known any other way.  This is what we believe and teach about every Baptism. Baptism saves precisely because it reveals Christ supernaturally by the power of God’s Holy Spirit to the person being baptized.  And in revealing Christ, the Holy Spirit creates faith in him in the heart of recipient. Baptism saves because it creates faith in Christ.

Still, someone may protest, “This makes a little sense for an adult who can understand what’s going on, but surely it can’t work for a little baby.  How can a baby have faith?”  Good question.  Let me respond first by saying that it’s obvious that John had faith in Jesus before he was born – that’s why he leapt for joy.  Secondly, recall that when asked who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus held up the example of a very young child saying that he who had the faith of little child was the greatest.  So, it’s clear that infants can believe.  But part of the problem here is that we tend to think of faith mostly as the apprehension of certain facts.  That’s not right.  Instead, faith is primarily the personal knowledge and recognition of Jesus Christ and trust in him.

            And with that understanding, it’s a little easier to see how an infant can believe. Consider this:  only with its natural abilities, it’s usually a matter of hours, or perhaps a few days that a baby shows that it knows its mother and is able to distinguish her from other people.  How does it learn this?  It’s through physical contact, through hearing her voice, and being held in her arms and fed.  I’ve actually seen some studies that indicate a baby recognizes the voice of its parents while still in utero – and oddly enough, even more so the father’s voice because the characteristically deeper tones carry better through the amniotic fluid.  But take it a step further.  The baby does more than simply recognize its mother – it trusts her.  That’s why it cries specifically for her – and if you’ve been around babies, you know what I mean.  Though it can’t express it words, the baby’s cries mean, “I have needs and you are the one, mom, I’m counting on to take care of them.”  That’s all faith is – the only difference is that Christian faith is directed toward the Lord.  Now, if we accept that a baby can have faith in its mother with its natural abilities, why is it so hard to accept that with God’s Spirit working supernaturally in its heart the child has faith in the Savior?  At Baptism an infant is presented to Jesus.  It’s his voice that is heard since the words are his. And he is truly present in his Word – even becoming tangible for us in the water so that his presence is not only heard, but also felt – felt cleansing, washing away sin, and giving new life.

Okay, there’s one more objection I need to deal with before getting to the good stuff, and that’s the one that says if you say that Baptism saves, then you’re saying that people are saved by works, something they do, rather than through faith as the Scriptures clearly assert.  Now, if you’re still with me, you know that’s not the case.  We’ve already seen that Baptism saves precisely by creating faith. The point to be clarified is that Baptism is God’s work, not man’s.  Consider Moses at the Red Sea when the people were being pursued by the Egyptians. God told Moses to spread his arms out over the sea and the waters parted, creating a safe channel of dry ground through which they could pass.  Now, here’s the question:  Were the people saved by the work of Moses or God?  If I were to argue that it was the work of Moses because his spreading his hands caused the miracle, you’d tell me I was nuts.  The Lord merely used Moses as the physical agent but it was it was his work – his power – that held back the water and opened a way for his people to pass through to safety.  That’s what I’m saying about Baptism.  These hands have never baptized anyone – they’ve only been the physical agents through which God did his work of Baptism. 

What is this work? Well, we’ve answered part of that already.  First Baptism reveals Christ as Savior and creates trust in him.  That’s most important.  But this created faith opens the door for so much more of God’s work promised to the believer – a lot of which just happens to be mentioned in today’s Epistle lesson.  Paul writing to the baptized believers at Corinth enumerates several of the blessings God promises through Baptism.  He says, for example, that they have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.  We usually think of holiness in terms of moral perfection; but that’s really not the idea.  To be sanctified or made holy is to be separated out for the Lord and set aside for his purposes.  Baptism accomplishes this in that through it we are divided from the rest of fallen humanity and made the children of God through the washing of rebirth, just as John the Apostle wrote in the prologue of his Gospel,  “Children born not of natural descent, nor of a human’s decision, nor husband’s will, but born of God.”  In Baptism, God became our Father.

And as our Father, he extends to us the gifts of his grace and peace.  Grace, being his undeserved favor – the sort of favor a father has for his child simply because it is his child; and his peace being the assurance that for the sake of his Son, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world by dying in our place, we are completely forgiven of all our sins.  And this is an ongoing promise.  Every time you fall into sin and become concerned that the relationship you have with your heavenly Father has been broken, you have only to return to your Baptism and the promises God made to you then.  They still stand – and they will as long as you continue to trust in him who made them to you.  God is faithful.  And so, as Paul writes, we lack no spiritual gift as we wait for Christ’s return.  God who has made himself our Father in Baptism holds nothing back from us that we need to persevere in his grace and faith until the end. 

And Baptism contributes to that perseverance.  One way is in its constant remembrance.  As has been stated, whenever the promises of Baptism are reviewed, they are in effect renewed.  But another way Baptism helps is in the appointment of sponsors.  Today we celebrate the spiritual birth of a child; but just as you must feed the child to cause it to grow strong and healthy physically, so you must also feed the spirit given life here today.  If not, it could die of starvation.  That’s what sponsorship is all about.  It’s primarily the responsibility of parents to see that their children’s souls are fed with God’s Word, which is the Bread of Life. But because we recognize that this is so important, we appoint a separate set of parents to assist, support, and to fill in if necessary to ensure that the life of faith begun here today continues to be given what it needs to grow healthy and strong. “Godparent” is not just a title, but it’s a sacred responsibility to see that a child is raised in the fear and love of the Lord.  And all of us share this responsibility, because in Baptism we are all one family in Christ.  So we look out for each other as brothers and sisters, admonishing, encouraging, and helping each other as we press on toward the goal.

Together we will make it. We have God’s Word’s on it – the Word and promise he gave us in Baptism.  May we then continue joyfully in the baptismal grace he has given us so freely, confident that so doing, he will keep us strong to the end so that we will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In his holy name.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!