The Spiritual ABC’s of Baptism

Rev Dr Mark Porizky

1/7/07

Luke 3:1-22

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberi-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachoni'tis, and Lysani-as tetrarch of Abilene, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you."

Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."  So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.

But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodi-as, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,
added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

      John the Baptist was on a roll. For quite some time he had been preaching a fiery message to all kinds of people and with splendid results. They came to him in droves and responded to his message with genuine fervor. That is quite amazing given that John was not exactly what anyone would consider "seeker-friendly." Today most churches want to enfold visitors, give them a warm greeting. But that wasn't John the Baptist's style! He had too much fire in his belly to bother with what he might have deemed social pleasantries.

      When people came to him, John was not averse to sneering. "Well, well, well, here you all are trotting out to see me but do you know what you look like to me? A bunch of slithering snakes fleeing a burning field! Who told you the fire was coming up behind you? What brings you here anyway?" Probably not a few folks blanched and turned pale at such a greeting! Maybe some of them started to say something like, "Now just hold on there a moment, John. We're not pagans, you know. We're devout Jews, Abraham's children, heirs of the covenant. You can't talk that way to us! Save that for the Greeks!"

      But before they could get very far, John cut them off. "Hush up! I've had it up to here listening to talk of 'Abraham's children, Abraham's children!' God isn't interested in your family tree but wants you to be a living tree of faith right now, producing spiritual fruit. If God wanted motionless, non-productive people, he could create them out of these rocks. You people are not living examples of faith but are more like marble statues, monuments to bygone people of faith but dead as stone yourselves!"

      Now you might think that this would be such a huge turnoff that folks would flee and head back home. But mostly that didn't happen. John was so fiercely effective that before the people even knew what they were doing, they blurted out, "What should we do!?" John got through to them. He shook up not just untutored peasants but also tax collectors, well-to-do folks, and even strapping Roman soldiers. Think of that: John made armed men with shields and helmets quiver like scared children.

      In every case, when anyone asked John for advice on how to live better lives, John always came up with an answer. He encouraged generosity, honesty, fairness. He told tax collectors not to cook the books so as to line their own pockets. He told soldiers to stop shaking people down and coercing bribes. Basically John told the people to be nice, to tell the truth, to share.

      Who knows what the people thought he was going to say. Perhaps they anticipated some heavy-duty admonitions to do spectacular ministry like opening a leprosy clinic or establishing a relief agency for victims of famine. But no, John's advice was far simpler. Some years ago many of us looked at that book Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It was a pretty simple little book, almost trite in one way. Yet it sold well because it made a very good point: if we could just find grown-up ways to live out the Kindergarten virtues of kindness and sharing, the world would be a better place. So also with John the Baptist. The people expected John to give them graduate school-like spiritual direction so they could all earn their religious Ph.D's but instead John took them back to Kindergarten. John didn't promote spiritual Ph.D's but spiritual ABC's.

      We too often think that faith is complicated, that it requires some deep insight.  Instead, we ought to realize that the basis of faith is not some great knowledge that only the theologically astute can attain.  Rather, faith is predicated on a simple idea:  Do you believe that God delights in you?

      What is most important about our text for today is how it ends. After this remarkable transformation—from thunder theology into tender theology, after the metamorphosis of this abstract, awesome God into a fragile, flesh and blood God—it is then that the Creator God responds in a very particular way. Quite simply, God is delighted!

      If you have ever wondered if God is a mean God or a merciful God—if you have ever worried that God may blast us instead of bless us—if you ever have thought that God is a God of law more than a God of Love—well, the 22nd verse of the third chapter of Luke alleviates our confusion. The Voice of God speaks once again. But unlike the megaphone that we might expect given the run-up to Jesus’ baptism with John’s voice, this Voice is warm and welcoming. "You are my Son, the Beloved One; with you I am well pleased."

      Even before Jesus has done anything noteworthy or worthwhile God praises him. God affirms that Jesus is precious, that he is unique, that he is loved—not for what he does but for who he is. In this baptism scene, God echoes the divine delight and pleasure that was expressed in the very beginning days of creation. After the creation of the sea and the dry land, God said, "It is good." After the creation of the light and the dark, the star and sun and moon, God said, "It is good." After the creation of the birds and the animals, the plants and the trees and the fish of the sea, God said, "it is very good." And after the creation of man and woman in God's image, God said, "it is good. It is very, very good." And after the baptism of Jesus, after this total immersion into the human condition, God says, "This is good. This is delightful. This is the Beloved, who beings me great pleasure. This is very, very good." So it is with each one of us when we are baptized. We too are blessed as the Beloved. We too bring pleasure to God.

      If you receive nothing else to start the new year, receive this, you are a child of God, beloved, delightful.  Not because of what you have, or have not done, but because you simply are.  You exist, and God delights in your existence.

      One story brings this home to me more than any other.  A retired preacher named Fred Craddock spoke at a preaching conference I went to last May.  He told this story.

      It seems Craddock was vacationing in the Smokey Mountains area of Tennessee .  He and his wife, Nettie, had gone to eat at a place called the Black Bear Inn.  And he told of his experience in this way:

"We were seated there and looking out at the mountains when this old man, with shocking white hair, a Carl Sandburg looking person, came over and spoke to us. He said--'You're on vacation?'  We said--'Yes' ...and he just kept talking.

'What do you do? he asked.  Well, I was thinking, mused Craddock, that it was none of his business--but I let it out that I was a preacher.  He said, 'oh, a preacher--well, I got a story for you.'  He then pulled out a chair and sat down.  'Won't you have a seat at our table', Craddock added!  Craddock found out later that he was a sort of welcome wagon at that restaurant, and that he was over 80 years old.  He began,  

"I was born back here in these mountains and when I was growing up I attended Laurel Springs church.  My mother was not married and, as you might expect in those days, I was very embarrassed about that-- at school I would hide in the weeds by a nearby river and eat my lunch alone because the other children were very cruel to me with their comments.  And when I went to town with my courageous mother I would see the way the people looked at me trying to guess who my daddy was.

But one place I did enjoy going to--I did enjoy going to that Laurel Springs church. The preacher there fascinated me, but at the same time he scared me.  He had a long beard, a rough hewn face, a deep voice, but I liked to hear him preach.  But I didn't think I was welcome at church so I would go just for the sermon. And as soon as the sermon was over, I would rush out so nobody would say--What's a boy like you doing here in church?

The old man continued, 'One Sunday though I was trying to get out but some people had already got in the aisle so I had to remain. I was waiting, getting in a cold sweat when all of a sudden I felt a hand on my  shoulder,  and I looked out of the corner of my eye and realized it was the face of the preacher.  And I was scared to death.

The preacher looked at me--didn't say a word, he just looked at me and then he said , 'Boy, who’s your daddy?  Wait, I know, I recognize the family resemblance.  Well, boy, you're a child of.., why, you're a child of God!  I see a striking resemblance boy!'  ...and he swatted me on my shoulder and said 'Go claim your inheritance.' 

      And this old man who was telling this story, said to Fred Craddock,   "And I was born that day".  Then the man got up and left.   When Craddock asked the waitress who that man was, the waitress replied that he was Ben Hooper, the former two-term Governor of the state of Tennessee, the one whom some called 'a bastard' named Ben Hooper. 

      Later Craddock went back to visit that old man and encouraged him to write up that story so that upon his death it could be published with his official papers.  However, Ben Hooper's two daughters were embarrassed by it and had it removed.   

      Too bad.  Ben Hooper’s story is our story.  

      This morning’s Scripture asks us to remember the most basic ABC’s of faith.  Each one of us is reminded of God's Voice in our lives. You are my child, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased. Remember your baptism, my friends. Remember that you are blessed. Remember that you belong. Remember that you are the beloved. And remember that it is a gracious God that has taken delight and pleasure in who you are and who you are becoming. This profound gift changes us. This profound Gift defines us. This profound gift is what we have to share with the world.

      Will you pray with me now?

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Groton , CT

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