Singing the Catechism: Holy Baptism

Baptism is a most joyous event since it is the extension of God's promise to yet one more specific individual, but it is joy that is marked with real-life rejection and controversy.

Philippi was a cosmopolitan place with a touch of sophistication.

It had been founded and settled in the century earlier by retired Roman soldiers.

Thus, as in any founded Roman city, there are two main streets crossing at right angles and buildings laid out in blocks.

Still today one can walk on the stones which make up the ancient Roman road.

There is a swamp on the south side of the town and a steep mountain-side on the north side, so that all the East/West foot or cart traffic must go on the single Roman road, right through the town.

It passes the magistrates platform (bema,) and immediately on the other side of the street is the jail/cave.

The jailer was responsible for the inmates and would pay with his life if they escaped.

But in his encounter with Paul, he gives his life to a new master, the Lord Jesus.

Our preparation for baptism of adults may be many months or years.

The early part of his catecheumenate before he was baptized was very short, measured in hours, in which his terror was turned into joy.

And then certainly there would be much to think and learn and do in the time that followed.

Of course the question will be what happens next with him and with his family?

It is not an easy transition from the multiplicity of gods to trust in the Lord Jesus alone.

We do not encounter this man and his family again in scripture, and we wonder how they managed the transition.

Were they able to maintain that trust?

How severely was that peace and joy tested as life in that Roman city of Philippi went on?

What was life like for them?

Might they have later faced martyrdom for their faith?

We likely do not have such dramatic stories about our baptism, but the questions are there for us as well.

What shall we do now that we have been baptized?

Does it make any daily difference?

What do we do when we cannot maintain the emotional and spiritual high of the baptismal experience itself?

In the early centuries, there were some who tried to solve this problem by delaying baptism until shortly before their deaths, so that afterward they would not be able to do things to endanger their salvation.

Of course that might be a little tricky to know just when one was going to die so that baptism could be scheduled at the right moment..

Most of us wrestle with the problem throughout long lives after baptism as a child.

The opportunities for going astray are many and varied.

Luther recognized the problem, and one portion of his dialogue on Holy Baptism in the catechism responds this way:

Baptizing with water signifies that the old Adam in us, together with all sins and evil lust, should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance and be put to death, and that the new man should come forth daily and rise up, cleansed and righteous, to live forever in God's presence.[SC.IV 12]

It is an ongoing process; it involves daily sorrow, and daily repentance or turning around.

How can we ward off evil and move in godly directions?

Whenever we are threatened or tempted to sin, Luther bids us in the Large Catechism to retort But I am baptized, and if I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life in soul and body. [LC. IV. 44]

I am one of those for whom Jesus suffered and died; I am one of those who has gladly received his promise of true life.

I am one of those whom he loves despite my trying to run away from him; I am one of those whom he calls back to himself again and again.

I am beloved of the Lord Jesus, and this is stronger than anything that Satan throws at me.

We can have our joy restored, renewed, made ever fresh.

And that joy can lead us to sing, an activity which really annoys Satan.

Late in his life, Luther did write a hymn about baptism.

It is at LBW#79, To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord.

It is another of those which we have not yet learned, more difficult than some others.

The first four stanzas review the scene of Jesus' own baptism at the Jordan, and this is likely why the hymn is in the Epiphany hymn section rather than in the Baptism category.

The final three stanzas seem to be a little more connected with the paragraphs from the catechism.

The fifth stanza gives the “so what”: baptism is another of those things that Jesus does to show us the way through death to new life.

And our joy at this bubbles over into invitation to all who will listen, to all peoples and nations.

Stanza six reminds us that this is God's work in us, and our own efforts cannot accomplish it.

In the final stanza, we rejoice that the love of God is thus revealed in Holy Baptism.

The hymn that we sang a few minutes ago is by Thomas Kingo, a Scotsman who emigrated to Denmark, and became the first great hymn-writer of Denmark in the 17^th century.

85 of his hymns are included in a hymn-book edited by Kingo, a book which served the Danish church for over a century.

In their church-order, this hymn is specified to be sung after baptisms.

The melody is even older; it is from 15th century Germany and appeared in the first Lutheran hymnals of 1524 with the text about justification as God's gift of grace.

We have it at Hymn 297 Salvation Unto Us has Come.

The joining of this venerable melody with the Kingo text sets off powerful associations about grace, baptism, God's promises, and joy.

Whether it is the 1^st, 15^th,,17^th, or 21^st centuries, baptism is an occasion of joy.

There will be opposition to face, perhaps even persecution and death, as we name in the Prayer of the Church week after week without ever repeating a name.

The night-time baptism and feast in the jailer's house sets the pattern for the bizarre celebration of God's kingdom which began then and continues even now.

The Good News is announced, and some will hear it gladly, and be led to baptism and communion.

What better way of pointing to the life-changing nature of these sacraments than by having a Roman jailer and his family throw a midnight party with Paul and Silas, two battered but rejoicing heralds of Christ the King? Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.