SERMON FOR BAPTISM OF XANDER KEITH STANFORD, FEBRUARY 20, 2022
     Today Xander Keith Stanford is going to be baptized. We will be performing the baptism as a community, making a deeper commitment to a child we already love, sharing with him the grace that has shaped our lives since the day we were brought to the font, most of us as infants. Xander has a better idea of what’s going on here than those babies would have had, but still, he’s no expert on baptism. And that’s just fine. The sacrament is a gift. As with any gift, you simply receive what’s offered and then figure out what you will do with it. 
     God makes a commitment in baptism to grant forgiveness freely and to renew our lives again and again. Just as water washes away dirt and stains, God’s mercy removes the marks of sin and guilt. Just as parents give life to a child, God shares God’s own life with his mortal children here and now and forever. Baptism is a matter of a promise made by God and the assurance that God is true to his word. In the sacrament God not only tells us but shows us what his plans are for the one being baptized. And God invites us to share in those plans.
     In one of my favorite sermons on baptism, the preacher, Brian Gerrish, points out that there are actually three promises made in baptism: one by the parents, one by the congregation, and one by God. The parents are asked to give assurance that they will help their child grow in the Christian faith and in the life of discipleship. In Luther’s view, the role they play is essential to the spiritual as well as the physical welfare of the family. He writes: “Most certainly father and mother are apostles, bishops, and priests to their children, for it is they who make them acquainted with the gospel.” Jesus becomes part of the family circle through prayers and Bible stories and everyday conversation. Children will first hear the words of forgiveness and learn to speak them in turn from their parents. God’s love is first made known to them through the experience of their parents’ care and protection. None of us can force a child to embrace the faith; sooner or later every person has to decide that for him- or herself. But our example as mothers and fathers will matter when that time comes.
     The second promise is made by the whole congregation. We accept the responsibility for providing a Christian education for the children in our care. If they are to make the most of the gift God has given them, we must help them grow in understanding. We must show them how to use their baptism to sort through hard choices, to live through dark times, to abide in faith, hope and love. Each of us helps shape a child’s perception of what it is to be a Christian by the way we talk and behave and treat one another, especially when there is disagreement or hurt in our community. Do not underestimate the effect on children of the treatment they experience from a Sunday school teacher, or a pastor, or a council member, or the person sitting next to them in the pew.
     Parents, sponsor and congregation, God calls on each of us to do our part, and we can make our promises on Xander’s behalf with confidence because of God’s promise embracing all of us in baptism. Here I will share with you my favorite passage from Mr. Gerrish’s sermon: “That God makes this promise even to a helpless infant is a most eloquent testimony to the way in which God deals with humanity. When we were brought to the waters of baptism, we were quite unable to contribute anything to the ceremony — except perhaps a little mild resistance [or in Xander’s case a healthy dose of curiosity and a bright smile]. We knew nothing of what God was doing and had done on our behalf. How better could one picture a gracious God who in Christ did something for me without ever consulting me or waiting for my approval? It is never God’s way to wait for us to make the first move. No matter how early we get up in the morning, the grace of God has been at work before us. God loved us before we loved God, before we ever knew God or could know God. ‘We love,’ says John, ‘because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). That is the meaning of God’s promise in our baptism.”
     Luther often reminded himself, “I have been baptized.” This wasn’t to reassure himself of the requirement for salvation that he had fulfilled, as if it were something he had checked off his “must-do” list. He owned up to the fact that he could be very bold in public but in private he wrestled with crippling doubt and fear. Those were the times he leaned on his baptism. Of course he didn’t remember it; he was baptized the day after he was born. But he experienced it constantly. Being baptized isn’t a “been there, done that” event in time; it is an enduring condition, where God keeps his promise of forgiveness and rebirth every day. Amen.