LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

The First Sunday after the Epiphany – The Baptism of Our Lord

Preached at Saint Paul’s Church, Lake James, NC + 1/13/08

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate this Feast of the Baptism of Jesus today, it seems timely to review what the Anglican Tradition teaches about the Sacrament of Baptism.

In the book of The Acts of the Apostles, there is a description of the first Christian Pentecost when some 3,000 people gathered. Although they had been converted to the Christian Faith by the preaching of St. Peter, they had not yet been baptized. St. Luke, the author of the Book of the Acts, makes it clear that later, they did receive that sacrament and became united to Christ as members of His holy Church. From St. Matthew’s Gospel, we know that Baptism was instituted by Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension as Jesus commanded the Church to “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Book of Common Prayer tells us that two things are generally necessary for those who are to be baptized: (1) faith, meaning acceptance of Jesus as Lord and an openness to his teachings, and (2) repentance, meaning true contrition for one’s sins. Actually, faith and repentance are both needed, not only when one receives baptism, but also when receiving Holy Communion, Confirmation, Penance, or any of the other sacraments as well. If that’s so, some ask, why do we baptize infants and young children who are not old enough to understand what’s happening, or to have either faith or repentance? Here’s where Sponsors or God-parents as we call them, come in. The Church expects that those chosen to be God-parents will not only themselves be people of faith, but will make promises on behalf of the infant or youngster. It is expected that, as time goes on, they will do all in their power to see to it that as he or she grows, the baptized child will be taught about the Faith and become a regular part of the congregation so that worship becomes a normative part of his or her life.

Under the Covenant between God and the Jewish People, male children were admitted to membership in the People of God by the rite of circumcision, usually conducted when the infant was 8 days old. The early Church believed that being admitted to the blessings of the New Covenant, should not be harder than the requirements of the Old Covenant. They also remembered Christ’s own words: “Let the little children come to me, do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Also, the Gospel accounts of Jesus taking youngsters into his arms and blessing them showed the early Church leaders that it was quite possible for God’s blessing to be given even to those who might have little or no conscious understanding of what they were receiving. From the writings of the Church Fathers, we know that those very points were highly significant in the early Church’s practice of baptizing infants. But, perhaps most important of all, infant baptism emphasizes that, as in all of God’s dealing with humans, the beginning is never with humans, but always with GOD – and isn’t that fortunate! If it were the other way around, we’d all be in quite a mess!

After many years in the priesthood, one of the things I have come to realize is that, very often, conversion may take place long after baptism. In our American culture, for the past few centuries at least, being a Christian has not only been acceptable, but in many places, socially quite desirable, so that many people were baptized as infants but later received little or no instruction in or real understanding of the Faith, and then drifted into disbelief or at least unconcern with belief, and thereby losing much of any connection to the Church and the regular worship of God.

Some years ago, a fascinating book appeared entitled “Modern Canterbury Pilgrims.” It consisted of articles by converts to Anglicanism from such backgrounds as Judaism, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Atheism, and Agnosticism. Each story was powerful, but the one which captured my attention most was the piece by the noted poet W. H. Auden. He described his conversion from being a nominal Anglican to becoming an active, believing Anglican. He had been baptized as an infant in the Church of England and, along with his family, always went to church on Sundays. As he grew a bit older, although he continued to attend services, his connection to the church became less and less, because he never found anything of importance or meaning in it. He said that, at that time, “It was the appropriate and proper thing to do, rather like brushing one’s teeth!” Then, in the midst of his adult years, he suddenly discovered there was something to it after all. He wrote of being overwhelmed by the sacramental life, especially receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, and having his sins really forgiven by God through the sacrament of Confession. He said “The way of salvation stopped being just words and instead, became experienced, lived reality!” A theologian might say that the flame of grace he had received at baptism, long dormant like embers in a fireplace, had suddenly burst into life. Auden simply said that he had come to know and love the lord. But what happened after that? That same poet was not especially known for living the most saintly of lives, even after his mid-life conversion He struggled with sin and self for the rest of his life, sometimes quite publicly! But he did so as a believing Christian, one to whom Jesus really mattered! My wife describes the impact he had when, as a Visiting Scholar at Smith College, he quietly showed up every Sunday at the Altar rail – sometimes still wearing his slippers! But he, the famous poet was there, humbly receiving Christ in the Eucharist.

For many, if not most people, conversion is not a once-and-for-all event, after which we can relax and enjoy our holiness, but rather, it is the beginning of a new, exciting relationship with God and his creation, very much including other people of all kinds. It’s quite like falling in love, and then having to work at the relationship if one follows. If we think about it, we may realize that, whether God brought us into that special relationship with him and other Christians through baptism as infants, or as youngsters, or as adolescents, or as adults, we are never so ready, never so perfect in our faith, never so unmixed in our repentance, that we earn a right to baptism or any other sacrament. That is always God’s gift. On this Feast of the Baptism of Christ, may we ponder anew what happens in that holy sacrament, and what happened when we were baptized.

Then, the petition in today’s Collect may become especially meaningful for us, because we prayed that “all who are baptized into the Name of Jesus will keep the covenant we have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior.”

To be faithful to our baptism vows, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s a good summary of what being a Christian is about, isn’t it? May it also be what our lives are about! It’s even something much more meaningful than brushing our teeth!

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Reverend Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr.

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