Coventry Cathedral, baptistery window by John Piper
On Sunday, March 11th, we celebrated the sacrament of baptism as we welcomed Mason O'Casek into the family of saints here at Rehoboth Presbyterian Church. We also heard the story of Moses and the bronze serpent, one of the most unusual stories from the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as a very, very familiar passage from the Gospel of John.
Sermon
Good morning. This is a really special day in the life of
this congregation. Today we will welcome another member into the family of
saints here at Rehoboth Church when we baptize Mason O’Casek. In our tradition,
we recognize infant baptism and most folks who were raised in the Presbyterian
tradition were baptized as infants or small children. So, this is a little bit
different, but not completely out of the ordinary. But I have to tell you now,
I won’t carry Mason around the sanctuary after the baptism. I mean, I had some
good workouts at the gym this week. I could probably do it without hurting
myself, but Mason didn’t really want that, so I thought I should honor that
request. However, he will join me in the greeting line after worship, so you
can all meet him and shake his hand.
We have an interesting combination of Scriptures this
morning. Our lesson from the Gospel of John contains one of the most familiar
verses in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life.” And it’s paired with one of the strangest stories from the Old
Testament.
The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness and they’re
complaining about the food. It’s kinda of funny: “Why have you brought us up
out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and
we detest this miserable food.” There’s no food, except the food that they
already have—that they hate. They sound like teenagers, standing in front of a
full refrigerator, door open, complaining that there’s nothing to eat.
This is a familiar pattern in the Old Testament: the
Israelites seem to do little else while they wander. When they’re not
complaining, they’re asking Aaron to make an idol, a golden calf. Then God
punishes the Israelites, who later repent, and then God offers a way forward
for the repentant Israelites.
This is the pattern for today’s lesson from Numbers. First
the Israelites complain about the food, then God sends poisonous serpents to
punish the Israelites. After they get bitten by the fiery serpents, the
Israelites plead with Moses to intercede on their behalf: “We have sinned by
speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the
serpents from us.” And what does God do? God commands Moses to make an image of
a poisonous snake and put it on a pole, so that the people who are bitten may
look at that snake and be saved from the venom of the real snakes that bit
them.
Bronze Serpent of Moses, tapestry, Duomo Museum (photo by Jbribeiro1)
Wait! What??? Did God just tell Moses to make an image of a
snake? Didn’t we just hear a commandment forbidding anyone from making an idol?
Something about making an image in the form of anything that’s in heaven, on
earth, or under the sea? How is this image of a serpent NOT an idol?
The short answer is that, because God commanded Moses to
make the image, it’s not an idol, in and of itself. Thus,
the serpent is a symbol of God’s love and care for the Israelites; it’s a
symbol of God’s power to heal. While the “plague of serpents remained an
ongoing threat” to the Israelites, “the raised bronze serpent remained an
ongoing reminder to each individual of the need to turn to the healing power of
God.”[1] It
was a visible symbol for the congregation of the Israelites.
Still, it’s an odd story. The action of the story seems to
take place in a gray area that’s somewhere between idolatry and magic. The
story doesn’t really explain itself very well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to
walk through these challenging stories with you, but if you don’t have a pastor
around, or a bookshelf full of commentaries, then you might be confused. You
might even make up your own explanation, based on something you heard in Sunday
school ten or twenty or thirty years ago, or more!
When I was in high school, I went to an American Baptist
church in the South Hills. I had been baptized and confirmed in a Presbyterian
church, but when I was in ninth grade, my mom got a job as a paid soloist in
the choir of that Baptist church. And she dragged me to church with her.
It wasn’t very different—at first—and the kids were really
nice. Before long, I was in the youth group and the hand bell choir. Church
activities quickly became a big part of my life. Then one of the girls in the
youth group asked me if I was going to join the church. “Sure!” I said.
She told me I had to get baptized first.
“Well, I was baptized in the Presbyterian Church when I was
a baby.”
“That doesn’t count,” she said. “You have to be baptized by
immersion in order to join this church. That’s what we believe. If you don’t
get baptized you can’t join. But you really should do it, you know, so you
don’t go to Hell.”
Wow! My head exploded. Just a little. I told her I wasn’t
really sure, that I’d have to think about it. At the time, I thought that was
way too literal and I couldn’t understand why baptism had to be by immersion in
order for salvation.
Now the truth is, neither of us had the theology or the
doctrine exactly right. I now understand that the Baptists practice a doctrine
that’s called believer’s baptism, in which an individual has to be old enough
to profess the faith and choose baptism. Immersion is just the way that
Baptists and other denominations celebrate this sacrament. What’s most
important is the public profession of faith.
Of course, I didn’t know any of that in 1985 or 86. It just
seemed odd; I didn’t realize how Presbyterian I was.
I can tell you that the Presbyterian Church recognizes
baptisms from any Christian denomination. We believe that baptism is the sign
and seal of our incorporation into the Body of Christ, and the sacrament is for
the entire community of believers. That is, it’s a visible symbol of the faith
and it’s celebrated for all who are assembled. It’s not a private ceremony.
God’s grace does not depend on the human action of presenting a baby for
baptism, nor for pushing an adolescent through a confirmation class.
To suggest that the act of baptism is a precondition for
salvation is a profound misunderstanding of the sacrament of baptism. But
misunderstandings are pretty common in churches. They’re pretty common in the
Bible, too.
Our lesson from the Gospel of John is also a story about a
misunderstanding. It’s part of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Remember, Nicodemus is a Pharisee, one of the religious leaders. He has seen
the signs that Jesus has performed and he knows there’s something special about
Jesus. Nicodemus visits Jesus at night, so the other religious leaders don’t know
that he’s visiting Jesus. He doesn’t truly comprehend the nature of Jesus:
Nicodemus simultaneously
speaks the truth about Jesus yet reveals his misunderstanding of what it means
for Jesus to be “from God.” Nicodemus states the truth that Jesus is from God,
but he grounds that belief in the signs that Jesus does.[2]
Nicodemus doesn’t
understand that Jesus is not just “from God,” but that Jesus also is God. The signs are not, in and of
themselves, the end or the goal toward which Jesus is pointing. Rather, the
signs demonstrate where Jesus comes from and what his true identity is.[3]
That’s what baptism is for us. It’s a reminder of our true
identity in Christ. It reminds us that we are to walk through this life in the
way that Jesus walked. It reminds us that we are to die with Jesus, and that we
are to be raised with Jesus. Baptism is a sacrament because it is the sign and
the seal of our connection with Christ.
With that connection comes a sacred trust and
responsibility. We are responsible for the stewardship of this community, so
that we can continue to instruct those children whom we baptize into this
relationship. We have to teach them to be disciples. Stewardship for this
community also means we care for those who have been a part of this
congregation for a long time, as well as those who are in need of physical or
emotional support. As we do those things, we must also live into the calling to
go forth and make disciples of all nations.
To do that, we need visible signs and symbols; we also need
conversations and relationships. We need to have conversations and
relationships with people who are outside of our walls. We need to have faith
conversations. We need to invite people into our space. And we need to offer
relationship to those who come to visit. Thanks be to God. Amen!
Benediction
Now, beloved, as you depart from this place, remember that
we are called to be the Church, the body of Christ in the world today. We are
called to go forth and be instruments of God’s love and peace and love and reconciliation.
This is how we live into God’s covenants. Do not return evil for evil to any
person, but know that we are all loved by God, and that we are called to
reflect that love to everyone we meet. Go forth and be the salt of the earth
and the light of the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, let all
God’s children say, Amen!
[1]
Dennis T. Olson. Numbers. Louisville,
KY: John Knox Press (1996), 136.
[2]
Karoline Lewis. John: Fortress Biblical
Preaching Commentaries. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2014), p. 46.
[3]
Lewis, p. 46.
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