Our Baptism Stories Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:4-11 January 11, 2015 By Dr. David B. Freeman, Pastor Weatherly Heights Baptist Church The Gospel of our Lord has been called the greatest story ever told. And indeed it is. It is actually a collection of many great stories. We ve just spent time during Advent talking about some of the stories surrounding Jesus birth: the miraculous conception, the visits by angelic beings, the journey to Bethlehem, and the birth of the Christ Child and his placement in a manger. Of course, the Gospel of our Lord has many other stories: the storm at sea, healing the Garadene demoniac, and many wonderful parables. And then there are the stories of the garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Jesus, his trial and crucifixion, and then the glorious story of his resurrection. All these stories together make up the greatest story ever told. You and I have a story too. From the beginning of our lives to end, we are a collection of stories. One of the stories that makes up our story is our baptism. Some of you have shared your baptism story with me and given me permission to share it today. One of my favorites belongs to Preston Augustus. As most of you know, Preston is from Nigeria. A part of their custom in the Nigerian Baptist churches is to give the newly baptized person a new name. He or she will then go by that new name for the rest of his or her life. Candidates are supposed to choose a Hebrew name and come to baptism with that name in mind. Preston was a freshman in high school when he was baptized, and didn t give due consideration to his new name. As he was being baptized, the pastor said to him, So from now on you will be named and waited for him to announce his new name. Since he had not given forethought to a new name, all he could think of was the first name of his school principal and said, Preston. Preston Augustus, we love you even more now because we know this part of your story. Bonnie Garrett s daughter, Sherry, was four years old when she witnessed her first baptism in big church. The curtains opened, revealing the pastor and the baptismal candidate standing in the water. The pastor pronounced the baptismal liturgy and dunked the candidate. Then the curtains closed. Four year old Sherry looked up at her dad and asked in a
voice loud enough for those around them to hear, Daddy, was that a commercial? Lucy Thrasher and Alice Caruso share a baptism story. When Alice gave her religious autobiography a few years ago, she told of being baptized in Big Wills Creek in Etowah County. When Lucy heard that, her ears perked up because she too was baptized in Big Wills Creek but not in Etowah County, in Dekalb County. It was the same creek, the same flowing water, but in different counties. Alice and Lucy have formed a close bond because of this shared baptism story. Through the years, though, I ve observed that some people s baptism story has a measure of distress associated with it. Most people who join a Baptist church from another Christian denomination are required to be rebaptized. Many people feel like that requirement invalidates their original baptism, as if it wasn t real or significant to them. Aleta Hunt s mother had such an experience. She was reared Methodist. When Aleta was five years old, her family moved to Spanish Fort, Alabama, and began searching for a new church. They decided upon a Baptist church. A requirement of that church was that Aleta s mother be re-baptized. Aleta s mom was not one given to anger, but this requirement upset her. She was more offended than angry. Are they saying I m not a Christian because I wasn t dunked under the water? she asked. She went through with the baptism, though she wasn t happy about it. As Aleta put it, She went through the motions with a frozen, stoic face. In my opinion, that Baptist church failed to honor the deeper, symbolic meaning of baptism and inflicted unnecessary distress on Aleta s mother. Now, you need to know something about our church. We do not have that requirement of people who join this church from other denominations. It is written into our constitution that we offer only believer s baptism by immersion, but if you join our church from another denomination and your baptism in that denomination is meaningful for you, we do not require you to be re-baptized. That is a way we affirm the broader Body of Christ. That was Martha Olsen s experience when she joined our church. She too grew up in the United Methodist Church and was baptized as an infant in that church. Her parents stood before their congregation and promised to 2
God and the church to rear Martha with Christian values. They did, and at age 12 she went through a series of classes called Confirmation, where she embraced faith as her own. So the story of Martha s baptism is one of thankfulness for the role that her parents played in directing her from infancy towards Christian faith. How dare any Baptist church attempt to invalidate her experience! Do you remember what we say at baptism? I want to read the vows that are made at baptism. They may not be exactly what you said at your baptism. That s okay. They ll be similar. As I read these vows, I invite you to remember your baptism. It may take you back many years, even decades. It may take you to a creek. To another denomination. It may take you to a Sunday last year in this baptistery. Remember your baptism, and in your heart of hearts, I invite you to renew your baptismal vows. Do you come to be baptized as a sign of your commitment to Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life? Do you also come to be baptized as a sign of commitment to serve Christ through the church? I baptize you in the name of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Spirit of God our Sustainer. For us, baptism is the outward expression before the congregation, for the world to see of the inner grace that has occurred in our lives. It is filled with symbolic meaning. The water represents a grave, the tomb of Christ. Sometimes you will hear people refer to the baptistery as the water grave. When we are lowered into the water, we enter the grave, the tomb with Christ. But we do not stay in the grave. Like Christ, we are resurrected to new life. That point of resurrection is a line of demarcation. The old life is behind us. A new life in Christ is before us. The mistakes, the failures, the blunders, the sins of our past are left in the water grave. The hopes, the dreams, the possibilities of the future await us as the water drips from our chin and elbows. Here s how Paul explained it to the Romans: We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 3
Something important happened in the baptism of Jesus that you wouldn t notice if you don t know the Greek language. John the Baptist, that wilderness character who wore camel s hair and ate locusts and wild honey, was preaching and baptizing his followers. Mark says that Jesus arrived and was also baptized by John in the Jordan River. Notice this. When Jesus came up out of the water, one of the older translations (RSV) reads, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. That is a weak translation. One New Testament theologian translates it this way: As he (Jesus) was coming up out of the water he saw the heavens in the process of being ripped apart (Williamson, Interpretation, p. 34). That verb is in the passive voice, meaning it was something being done to them. The heavens were being ripped apart by God. This is the same verb that is used at the other end of Jesus life as he hung upon the cross. When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple that separated the room where God lived, the Holy of Holies, from the people was torn in two. The curtain that separated God from God s people was in the process of being ripped apart. Here s what s so important. In both cases, at Jesus baptism and at his death, what had long been sealed was suddenly being flung open (Ibid.). The heavens were ripped apart. The curtain in the Temple was ripped apart. God, who had been remote, separated from humanity, was coming close, even as one of us. God chose to identify with the mistakes, the failures, the blunders, the sins of humanity in order to create hope, dreams, the possibilities of a new and wonderful future for humanity. The Tucker family has several stories related to baptism. Ray and his daughter Joie were baptized on the same day. I remember it well. Lisa grew up here and was baptized as a teenager. Steven and Charlene Pinke s oldest son, Chris, was baptized the same day. Then Matthew Tucker made his profession of faith on Mother s Day and was then baptized the next Sunday on Graduate Recognition Sunday. Wonderful stories! We could probably spend the afternoon here telling the stories of our baptisms. Rather than do that, I ask that you remember your baptism, if you can. Some of you cannot remember your baptism. That s okay; God can. Remember your baptism, if you can, and in your heart of hearts, renew your baptismal vows. 4
Do you come to be baptized as a sign of your commitment to Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life? Do you also come to be baptized as a sign of commitment to serve Christ through the church? I baptize you in the name of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Spirit of God our Sustainer. Closing Prayer We have followed your example, Lord. We have followed you in baptism. May we feel afresh your grace, as sink beneath the surface of the water grave. Amen. 5