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IIIM Magazine Online,Volume 4, Number 20, May 20 to May 26, 2002
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
A SERMON ON GENESIS 17:1-16
by Rev. Russell B. Smith
Before performing the baptism, the priest approached the young father
and said solemnly, “Baptism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?” “I think
so,” the man replied. “My wife has made appetizers and we have a caterer
coming to provide plenty of cookies and cakes for all our guests.” “I don’t mean
that,” the priest responded. “Are you prepared spiritually?”
“Oh sure,” came the reply. “I’ve got a keg of beer and almost a case of
whiskey.”
It’s one of the strangest things we do as Christians, and one of the least
understood. So today, we’re going to talk about baptism. To be up front, I know
we have a lot of folks in our congregation who were raised in Catholicism and
other folks who were raised in the Baptist church. We have widely divergent
views of what baptism is and why we do it. I don’t believe that a theologically
precise understanding of baptism is essential for salvation, but I do think it helps
us understand who we are as the people of God. Hopefully, we’ll answer some
questions today about what baptism is and why it is important.
First off, baptism is a sign and seal of inclusion within the family of God.
This inclusion within the family is important because it speaks to one of the great
problems of our time — isolation. Students of western culture over the past 500
years will be aware that one of the driving trends in our culture has been the
trend of individualism, but along with that has come an increasing isolation and
the sense of being cut off from the possibility of meaningful relationships. There
is a deep yearning to be fully known and accepted for all that we are, and yet, we
are increasingly denied that opportunity. Stephen Crane, the 19th century author
best known for Red Badge of Courage, articulated it in this brief poem:
A man said to the universe
“Sir, I exist”
“However,” replied the Universe...
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”1
Do you hear the feeling of being alone against the weight of the universe?
This sense of isolation was captured in the film Being John Malkiovich. I don’t
recommend you see the movie — it’s an abysmal film, but the entire premise
strikes at the sense of isolation out there. A man finds a portal that when you go
through it, you are inside the brain of actor John Malkiovich for a few minutes.
Then suddenly, when your time is up, you are dumped out beside the New
Jersey turnpike. He gets the brilliant idea to sell the experience to people. And
they come in droves — why? Because they’re searching for something real —
they’re searching for some kind of connection with another human being, even if
it is only for a few minutes inside his brain. It’s a terrible movie, but it articulates
the loneliness and isolation that many feel in this accelerated and frenetic culture
in which we live.
This is why baptism is so important. Baptism is a sign that you belong —
you are a part of the family. You will never be alone. Not only do you belong to
God, but also you belong to the people of God. You will always have a place with
us. Reading our text (Genesis 17:1-16) for the day:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and
said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my
covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant
with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called
Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many
nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will
come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between
me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be
your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan,
where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and
your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you
and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant
with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every
male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to
come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,
including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreignerthose who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with
your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an
everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in
the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to
call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a
son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of
peoples will come from her."
Look at the promises God gives Abraham. He promises abundant
posterity — a large family. He promises an everlasting covenant — a covenant is
a special relationship of mutual commitment. He promises Abraham the land.
And he promises to be the personal God of Abraham’s descendents.
God gives similar promises to Sarah. She will be blessed with abundant
posterity, and will share the same promises that were just made to Abraham.
What does God require, according to verse 1, is obedience. In verses 1014, he requires a sign and seal of the covenant. The blessings of having the
special relationship with God and the special relationship with God’s people are
to be appropriated by Abraham through obedience and receiving the covenant
sign. Notice that the covenant sign here is to be given to every male in the
household at the age of eight days. This is regardless of whether the male was a
child or a slave, or whether the covenant leader fathered him or not.
Now God realized that we would not be able to obey him perfectly, and
that’s why Jesus came. Jesus did obey God perfectly and he gave his life to pay
the penalty for our own disobedience. He paid the price so that we might enjoy
the blessing of the covenant. The death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ
opened up this covenant to all people, regardless of their birthplace. In other
words, through faith in Christ, anyone can literally be adopted into the family of
God and receive the blessings of relationship with God and relationship with the
family. However, because the faith is revealed to all, a better (see Hebrews),
non-gender specific sign was needed to replace circumcision — and that sign
was baptism. Look at Acts 2:37-39. This was Peter speaking to Israelites — they
would have had an understanding of the covenant sign. See now that it is
administered as baptism, but it continues to be for all the generations. Or look at
Galatians 3:26-29 as Paul talks about how when we are baptized into Jesus
Christ, we are baptized into the family of Abraham.
When you received your baptism, you didn’t just have a little water
sprinkled over your head. It was a spiritual event where you were marked by the
Holy Spirit as a child of God and a member of the family. When we baptize
children, as we hopefully will do later in the year, we’re not just dedicating them
to God. We proclaim that this child is an heir to the promise of life. We proclaim
that this child is one of ours and we are going to do everything in our power to
pray for, instruct, and raise that child with the knowledge of their birthright so that
when they grow up they will confirm that birthright with mature faith.
But it doesn’t just stop there. We pledge to look out for each other as
baptized members of the family. It is well attested that the founding fathers of our
nation were reared in a Christian environment — it is no surprise then that at the
end of the Declaration of Independence we read those marvelous words “And for
the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance upon the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our
sacred Honor.” It is this relationship with God — the protection of Divine
providence — and a supporting relationship with one another that is precisely
what we commit to in the church when we baptize.
There are any number of ways that we live out this commitment to God
and one another. Every time we come together for group worship, we live it.
Certainly every time we participate in a baptism service, we reaffirm our
commitment to this concept. But let me challenge you with something else.
This congregation is uniquely blessed with being multi-generational. We
have a good chunk of people in the older generation and we have a good chunk
of people in their 20s and 30s. And then there are those Baby Boomers who are
in between. If we pledge ourselves to one another as part of the family, then a
significant portion lies in investing in the next generation. The best way to do that
is to have someone you meet with on a regular basis to guide them in what it
means to be a Christian. Part of what it means to be the family of God is that the
older people help raise the younger people. The technical term is discipleship.
To the older folks I say that if you don’t have someone younger into whom
you are pouring yourself — someone who you meet with regularly, pray for
regularly, and guide through the Christian life — then you are wasting the
precious gift of your experience. You may say “Well, I don’t feel qualified — or “I
don’t feel called to do that.” Hogwash and rubbish. I know you — many of you
have been walking with Christ longer than many in this room have been alive. It
is a crime and a shame for you not to share your experience. Be open to the
opportunities and seize them when they come your way.
Gen-Xers and Millennials — Young professionals and students, here’s
your challenge. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can get by on your own
wits and intelligence. I know — I’ve been there and done that. Right now, I’m
trying to work my way through the book of Proverbs, and the themes I encounter
again and again is that the young should sit at the feet and learn from those who
are older. I have 10 older people that I consult with in a regular capacity on
various issues of life and faith. All I’m asking for you to do is find one. There is a
wealth of experience and knowledge and faith assembled in this congregation. If
you don’t avail yourself of it, then you are missing a fantastic opportunity for
growth. You need to take the initiative — you need to identify someone of the
same gender you’d like as your spiritual mentor and approach them. Ask them
out for dinner or breakfast. Then negotiate the relationship “We’ll meet together
once a week for the next six months” or “We’ll meet once a month for this whole
year.” Whatever works for you — just do it. Ask them questions about what it
means to pray, how to handle life issues that you are going through, how Christ
got them through tough times. I guarantee you that if you take action on finding a
spiritual mentor, you will both be blessed more than you can know.
Now for you baby boomers — you need both — you need a mentor. You
need someone who can teach you how to look at the second half of your life
through new eyes. But you also need to be pouring yourself into the next
generation, preparing them for the journey you’ve just finished.
This is the level of commitment that we sign on to when we are baptized in
the church. We’re not just a collection of people who share this space for an hour
on Sunday — we’re family.
My dear friend, Lee Porter, who has sat beside the deathbed of more
people than he cares to remember, said to me, “Russell, I’ve learned that you die
like you live. If you live a life of loving and caring and pouring yourself into other
people, you’ll die surrounded by loved ones. If you live a life for yourself, you’ll
die alone.” Brothers and sisters, don’t miss out on the opportunity to pass on the
heritage that you have been given. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy the
riches of the wisdom of the past. Don’t miss out on affirming your place in the
family.
Notes
1. A Treasury of American Poetry. p 339. Ed. by Nancy Sullivan. Pub. by
Doubleday.