THAT BAPTISMAL VOW

Dr. Richard J. Henderson January 10, 2010

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Isaiah 43: 1-7
Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

Introduction

In the middle of the worship service the pastor announces that a child will be baptized. The parents come forward with their baby. Holding the baby in her arms the mother is clearly more nervous that the child. The tiny baby, whether boy or girl, is dressed in a long silk gown. The dad holds the hand of the older brother, who could easily come up with a dozen places he'd rather be.

The pastor speaks words about Jesus baptism and what it means to be part of this sacrament. Listening to the questions, the parents try to get the wording of their responses exactly right. An elder asks the congregation to stand, then asks if they promise to tell the good news to this child, if they promise to support and encourage her as she grows up in this congregation. The people answer, "We do."

The minister takes the baby, puts water on her forehead in the sign of the cross, and says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

I

Today is the Sunday in the church when we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. It's a time to look at what baptism means, and how you and I are involved in baptisms. Vows are made at baptisms. Parents reaffirm their faith in Jesus Christ as lord and savior, and they declare that they intend their child to be a disciple of Christ.

The congregation promises to teach the child and through their fellowship strengthen the child's relationship as a child of God. I'd like you to think with me this morning about those vows that we, as a congregation, take at each baptism. That pledge affects each and all of us.

In that vow we promise to tell those baptized the good news of the gospel and by our fellowship to strengthen their family ties with the household of God. We promise to teach, encourage, and support them and make them part of our church family.

II

We think right away of the role of Sunday school teachers in fulfilling this vow. They teach our children in the classroom, tell Bible stories, and help the children apply the lessons of the Bible to their everyday lives. We can't thank these dedicated servants enough for all they do.

Maybe we also think of the staff of LOGOS. Preparing Bible study classes, coming up with fun recreation projects, fixing dinner in the kitchen, and leading singing in choir all help fulfill our vows to teach and encourage. Several of the volunteers at LOGOS don't have kids in the program.

Music is an important part of a child's development; not just the song that is sung, but the words they learn. Sometimes we learn about faith without realizing it. We might have a difficult time memorizing a Bible passage, but we know the words to a song without even thinking about it. "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." "Red and Yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." I sang that song for years before I saw how it applied in the world. But I had already learned as a young child about the Bible's demand for freedom, fairness, and justice, because I learned that little song in church.

People from our congregation help our kids learn through confirmation, Vacation Bible School, Advent Workshop, and each of our youth groups. These dozens of volunteers help us fulfill our vow to the children of our church.

III

But it isn't just in the classroom that children learn about faith. They learn from all of us. They sense how welcome they are. They realize how important they are in our church. They are aware of the friendship and trust and warmth we offer them.

There are lots of you who see children at church, and they run up to you and throw their arms around you. They have done that since they were able to walk, and now that they are older students, they still give you a hug every time they see you. That means as much as all their lessons in the classroom.

One of the things they teach in LOGOS is that Christianity is more caught than taught. More people become Christian because of the influence of another Christian than from reading books about Christian doctrine. Almost all faith comes through relationships. The wonderful and scary fact is that our children are watching us all the time, learning what it means to be Christian.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas says, "There is no salvation outside of the church." The odd thing is that he means it. He now teaches ethics at Duke, but he grew up in a family of brick masons. His father and his grandfather were brick masons.

He says you don't just decide one day to be a brick mason and go out and start slapping bricks and mortar together. First you have to learn how do to it right. Then you work with a mason who shows you what to do as you begin to lay bricks. Finally you are apprenticed with a crew of people until you know how to do it well.

Hauerwas says that's what it's like in the church: you grow in faith by learning and watching your mentors. You not only learn about your faith, but more importantly, you understand how to live it everyday. We learn but we also watch others to see how faith is lived out. We watch and learn from each other as we mature in faith.

I wouldn't say "there is no salvation outside the church" (I don't think it's a good idea to try to tie God's hands!). In the church we not only are taught about Christianity, but we have the chance to learn from each other what it means to be Christian. Children learn from adults; adults learn from children. We are all examples of faith to each other.

IV

We promise through our congregational life to strengthen the baptized child's bonds with the household of God. In our confirmation class each student gets to choose a mentor; someone who will talk with them about faith, will help them with the class and their project, and will share their faith with them.

The reality is that we all are mentors for each other. A child watches to see how we welcome new people, how we forgive, how we handle difficult situations, how generous we are, how well we walk what we talk. It's not just what we say that counts, but how we act. And it's not just children who are watching and learning.

A friend of our son's went to a new church. It was a mega-church with offerings for every age group. He went into the church service while his son went to the youth worship. Jon's friend said he was very impressed by the pastor's message. He talked about living more simply, letting go of the ornamentations of life, being content with what you have, getting back to basics. The sermon really inspired him.

After church, his son's program ran late so he waited outside. While he was standing there he noticed the pastor come out of church with his family. They went to their car, which was an enormous, black, Cadillac Escalade with fancy chrome wheels. The pastor and his family got in and drove away. Our son's friend never went back to that church again.

It's not just what we say that counts.

Conclusion

This past Christmas I was struck by the number of adults who didn't have any children in the program but came to the Children's Christmas pageant. Several Prime Timers were there. Some single adults came. Some adults who have older children came.

They came to see the kids, to encourage and support them in what they were doing. Just their presence says that they care about what our kids are doing. It was a strong message of encouragement. And I'll bet every adult there learned something about the joy and excitement of faith from those kids!

That kind of support is what our baptismal vows are about. It's providing support, warmth, encouragement, and an example of what it is to be Christian.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2010