The Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden                                                First Presbyterian

The Sacraments                                                                         1/9/11

 

Today as we celebrate the baptism of Christ, I want to spend some time looking at the sacraments and what they mean to our lives.  They are places and ways that God uses to speak to us out of the certainty of His love.  As we experience the Lord in deeper and deeper ways through the Lord’s Supper and Holy Baptism, our lives are changed and we become a greater reflection of God’s love and grace to others. 

            So we gather at the table of grace, just as Christ commanded us to come to remember -- to remember that God loves us so much that He would give us His only Son, and to remember that Jesus loves us so much that He would willingly die on the cross for us and our salvation. 

So Christ tells us to lift up this loaf of bread and see in it the very bread of life and remember as we break it that Christ’s body was broken for each one of us.  Then we are to pour out this cup of juice and remember that it is His blood that was shed for us.   

            And in those sacred moments when we eat the bread and drink the wine, the Spirit whispers God’s love to us in a very real way and Christ Himself is present. 

            That is the miracle of the sacrament, which literally translated means “the sacred moment”.  As Cyril of Jerusalem tells us, it is not how the bread and wine are changed or not changed.  The thing that is important is how we are changed and how that change is reflected in all we say and do.

            We are strengthened by the meal we share to go into a world that is literally starving for the love and grace we know in bread and wine and we are to bring God’s children in to the table. 

            Obviously the most meaningful way I see the sacred meal we serve is as “the Lord’s Supper.” But there are other images for the table that are just as meaningful.  One of those is Communion. 

We see in Webster’s Dictionary that one of the meanings for the word “communion” is “an intimate fellowship” 

How true, how precious, that is!  Take just a moment to let that seep in.  In this holy meal we are on intimate terms with God.  It is there that we see His heart most clearly and we are reminded that we are one in Him. 

Then there is also the word “Eucharist” which means “thanksgiving.”  Indeed this is our thanksgiving feast, our eternal banquet, greater than any meal we can celebrate on earth, and it is filled with joy at the abundant love of Christ. 

We often forget that we are to “celebrate” the Eucharist and not always weigh it down with sorrow and solemnity, as if it is a funeral dirge.   Just as we remember the great love and sacrifice of Christ for us, we must also celebrate our joy in our risen Savior --- the proof of God’s amazing grace. 

That grace is powerfully witnessed to in the sacrament of baptism.  I remember once when my friend Marge wanted her baby Sara to be baptized, but her husband Mike, who had never gone to church, didn’t believe in all that “stuff” and his response was “why?  What good does that do?  God isn’t going to love Sara any less if we don’t baptize her so what’s the difference? “

“Now,” Marge said, “I know that there’s a difference, and I know getting baptized is really important, but I couldn’t figure out how to explain it to Mike.  Can you help?” 

I don’t think Marge’s question is unique to her.  I think we all have questions like that.  Put most simply, baptism is a turning point.  It is about US far more than it is about God.  Mike was right: Baptism doesn’t change God’s heart or God’s love for us all.  God has always loved us and He will always love us.  Baptism doesn’t change God’s mind.

What it does do is declare that we have changed our minds about God.  It declares that we know how much God loves us and our children and that we want to love God back with all our hearts and that we want to teach our children about that love as well. It is an outward and visible sign of a change that has already happened by the touch of God upon our hearts.

It is our statement to our world, our God, ourselves that we have made a commitment to stand on God’s  side for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day hence for not even death shall put us apart. 

You recognize those words don’t you?  They’re from the marriage vows, but I think we could use them just as easily as our baptismal vows because they do the same thing --- they say that our love is a commitment – a promise – that we will spend our lifetimes worshipping God and working for His kingdom during the good and hard times of life, both in laughter and in tears.

But back to Mike and Marge and Sara.  If one of the meanings of baptism is a sign of commitment, then why do we baptize infants?  How can a baby possibly make a commitment to follow God? 

The answer goes back even further in scripture --- back to the fundamental nature of God and God’s claim upon our lives.  For you see, God loves us not because of who we are, not because of what we do, but because it is His very nature to love us.  Long before the beginning of time, God loved us and inscribed our names upon the palm print of His hand a hand scarred by the imprint of a nail.

This belief that God is with us through all eternity and has loved us since the beginning of time is firmly grounded in scripture, for in the prophet Jeremiah we read, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” 

What better way to acknowledge God’s claim on us than to baptize even a babe with the waters of grace in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? 

In many ways our baptismal certificate is our real birth certificate, our adoption papers into the family of God.  And as we remember our baptism we take our first steps of faith, love, hope and service. 

Baptism, like adoption, is a forever after event, and it happens only once in a lifetime, yet throughout our lives we may remind ourselves and be reminded of the commitments made on that day: a commitment to live, teach, and share the gospel with all of God’s children whether they be 5 or 95.  All of this is in response to the One who claims us with undying love.  It is our response to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who has come to save us from our sin.