Acts 2:36-42
John 1:1-5, 10-14, 16-18
“We
believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith, and is a symbol
of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth
in Christ Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship.” ¶104, Article VI: The
Sacraments, pg 72, Book of Discipline 2012
The Word did not merely create a world we no longer
know. (Think, for instance, of how much
money is spent trying to go “back to nature”!)
The Eternal Word began a whole process
in which nature itself was set into motion.
The Word is thus dynamic. It is
not static; it does not just sit on the pages of a book. The Word is transformative. It not only created but is always creating
and restoring and renewing! The Word is
moving forward and is constantly beckoning us to something which can be
restored, the ideal of purity to be rediscovered.
The world of commerce cannot restore to us this world
we can no longer envision. No government
can grant to us more power than we already possess by The Word. It is the restorative power of The Word alone
that can show us what was once known to humanity but was ultimately lost due to
humanity’s distorted notions of usefulness.
The Church celebrates baptism in much the same
way. The entire congregation not only
rejoices in the baptism of a baby, a youth, or an adult; the entire
congregation also takes its own vow collectively
to nurture these new members in the faith, to love them, to look after them, to
care for them, to inspire them by examples of piety and mercy and justice, and
if necessary, to call them to account for the vows they made – or the vows made
in their behalf, notably parents who have their children baptized but do not
raise them in the Church.
Baptism does not strictly signify membership in a
local church. In our tradition and
according to the doctrine of the United Methodist Church, the newly baptized
become full members of the worldwide Church universal – for it is not merely “a”
church we enter into, but The Covenant of The Lord in the Body of Christ.
So baptism is a very big deal and is so emphasized
because it matters in the life of the disciple and the Church. Baptism is
in no way “incidental” to human notions of salvation. In Mark’s
Gospel, Jesus is quoted as having said, “He who believes and is baptized will be
saved” (16:16). The Great
Commission in Matthew’s Gospel
contains the phrase, “baptize them”, each seeming to indicate baptism as necessary
to discipleship and salvation.
But was Jesus referring to an event of water baptism?
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus
corrects the thinking of disciples who are requesting their own special place
with Him in the Kingdom to come (Mark
10:35-40). If they want that, Jesus
said, they will have to be “baptized with the baptism I am baptized
with”. It would be a stretch to
suggest Jesus was referring only to His own water baptism – on that one day –
in that single moment.
It must be said that baptism in the United Methodist
Church is not merely a “thing we do”, such an ordinance or a rule. As it has been held before, no doctrine is
useful if it lacks outward expression.
So baptism is to be understood as “beginning to become”.
We do not baptize because we think we’re already there (as some traditions seem to insist one
must be “saved” first. This does not
mesh with Jesus’ words at the end of Mark’s
Gospel: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”. So we baptize to signify we are on our way. And we do
it publicly so the whole congregation – which is itself renewed with every
baptism! - can know they have a new charge, a new responsibility, a new
opportunity to expand the Kingdom in their own renewal.
If we ask the question of whether personal salvation depends on being baptized, we’re probably
asking the wrong question and consequently missing the whole point. Recall that Jesus redirects the rich man’s
very question of what is needed for eternal life (Luke 18:18). Our Lord affirms
our need to respect and obey the commandments, as the rich man said he was
already doing. But then Jesus raises the
bar: rid yourself of this world’s
encumbrances, then you can follow Me rather than to expect Me to follow you.
There is no single
momentary “event” that defines the life of a disciple. Discipleship is a series of “events” in a life-long,
disciplined commitment to The Living Word which is Christ Jesus. It is not only acknowledging a relationship –
it is diving headlong into that relationship with the Whole Body and not just
the Head!
Our Lord’s claim is total. He does not want only a piece or a single
moment of our lives in the here-and-now while we spend the rest of our lives waiting
for death; He wants the whole enchilada, every waking moment. Not so He can “command and control” us, but so
He can truly lead us and guide us into blessedness and into the only real
Promise we can believe.
We should also bear in mind that Jesus taught such
things knowing He would soon be delivered up to His own death. Nowhere does our Lord suggest this holistic
approach to discipleship will no longer be necessary once He is crucified and
then raised up. We can do some
linguistic gymnastics with the epistles – and we do! – but we cannot overrule
the principles of discipleship taught by Jesus Himself!
The commandments still matter. Discipleship still matters. Accountability within the Body still
matters. Seeking treasure that “will
not rust nor moth destroy nor thieves can steal” becomes a life-long
quest – meaning we will not sufficiently “arrive” in this life that we stop
“going on to perfection”.
We do know Jesus was baptized, but we do not know
exactly how Jesus was baptized. We should then not be distracted by human
interpretations of what we think took place in that moment “down by the
riverside” between Jesus and the Baptizer.
It is important that we know Jesus was baptized; it is apparently not so
important to know what method was used. What
is most significant to us is
to know that Jesus was baptized before
He went into the wilderness to confront the evil one. It began
in that moment.
The doctrine of the United Methodist Church holds
baptism as a sacrament of the Church, a necessary rite of passage for all
Christians when Divine Grace is bestowed and one becomes a claimed member of
the Covenant. It is a Divine Act marked
by a human act. And because we believe
it to be a Divine Act rather than a human one, we believe baptism is better
done sooner rather than later.
Why delay accepting the Covenant offered to Jews and
Gentiles alike? We maintain, however,
that it is never too late to be baptized into The Lord’s Covenant. And because “we believe in one baptism for
the forgiveness of sins” (Apostles’ Creed), the doctrine of the United
Methodist Church prohibits re-baptism
– but - affirms our need to revisit our baptismal vows on a regular basis.
“Baptism starts
that process of breaking us away from sin’s power,” Director
of worship resources with Discipleship
Ministries of The United Methodist Church the Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards
clarifies, “but it is sanctifying grace throughout our lives that actually accomplishes it.” Burton-Edwards
explains, “Baptism is the ordinary means of rebirth and initiation into the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.” “Baptism is not an act
that imparts something only to [the individual],” Burton-Edwards clarifies. “It is an act that brings one into a
spiritual relationship with the whole body of Christ, in which one is becoming
one with the Body and the Body becoming one with the individual.”
There can never be enough said about the importance of
baptism not only as a rite of the Church but as initiation into the
Covenant. It is not for us to decide
whether it should be done at all, and it is certainly not for us to decide
others are doing it “wrong”. It is,
however, important that we not overthink it to the point that we decide for
ourselves it is not necessary. That
option is not on the table for those who will devote themselves to The Living
Word of God in the United Methodist Church.
We become one with the Holy God in Christ Jesus not
because we choose Him but because He loved us first. This is what makes it sacramental – an act of God to restore that which was once deemed
“good”.
Amen.
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