Kind of a cute little story, that I recently came across…talks about a young boy who had been at home all day with his mother. He was a handful, to say the least.
He was into this, he was into that, a mess here, a mess there…and seemingly he would not listen. He had been a terror, a living-terror all-the-day-long.
With each and every incident throughout the day, the mother responded, “You just wait, until your father gets home.”
It seemed to have no effect, whatsoever.
Evening came, dad got home from work and immediately the mother started dumping…and making mention of all the day’s activities and upheaval.
The father looked at his wife, looked at the boy and sighed heavily. But before he could say anything…the young boy blurted out, “You can’t touch me, I’ve been baptized!”
But, as we know, that is not “how,” Baptism works.
Were that it was that easy, that clear, that simple. I wish I could say to the sorrows and losses of my life, “You can’t touch me, I’ve been baptized.”
I wish I could say to the struggles and difficulties in my life, “You can’t touch me, I’ve been baptized!”
I wish I could say to all the changes and all the challenges of this life, “You can’t touch me, I’ve been baptized.
But sadly, that’s not how Baptism seems to work. Were that it were – otherwise!
Despite being a baptized son or daughter of God, his adopted children…we still suffer – sorrows and losses in this life, we still encounter all kinds of difficulties and struggles to over- come.
There is a great deal that we would rather avoid, if we could.
Despite our baptisms we have stuff that we have to go through.
In the case of the little boy in the story, it was a time-out and no I-Pad time for a week.
And yet, this little boy, probably unknowingly spoke a deep truth. He is absolutely right, he is untouchable. Kind of…
At some level he seemed to know that his existence, his identity and his value are not limited to time and space…to the things that he has done…or left undone. He seemed to know himself to be more than just a biological existence. He seemed to know himself to be a beloved child of God. An adopted child of God… God is his heavenly father. He knew about and believed in “the gift of Holy Baptism…”
But he still had a time out, and he still had to give up I Pad time for a week…
Baptism does not eliminate our difficulties, being baptized does not fix all of our problems…
Being baptized doesn’t take away the pain of a broken rib, nor does it stop the pain experienced by a broken heart.
Those things we were meant to feel.
Instead, what it does do-is it changes us and offers us a way through the difficulties, problems, sorrows and circumstances of this life.
In the book of Isaiah, the prophet wrote in the 43rd chapter, “Do not fear for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name and you are mine.”
Baptism when taken seriously offers to us, a different way of looking at things and indeed at life, itself.
Bumps in the road happen to everyone, they are experienced by all. But if you are Christian, you should at some point realize that when we pass through the waters of sorrow and difficulty that we are not alone. God is with you. Faithful to his word… Faithful to his promises…
The rivers that can drown will not overwhelm us. When we walk through the fires of loss and ruination, we will not be burned. The flames that destroy cannot consume us. For he is our God and we are his people… We belong to him…and He is with us…every step of the way…
To know this, to trust this, to believe this is to experience the “gift of Holy Baptism.”
The waters of Baptism that at one time symbolized only chaos, death and destruction, now symbolize life, life with God forever…
We long to have the “sanctified and holy waters of baptism” roll over us again, cleansing us and offering us forgiveness for our many, many sins. But Baptism is a one-time only event, as we say in the creeds, “We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”
Ritually we are baptized only once, yet, throughout our lives, we are to die daily to sin…we are to become more, better…
There is truth in what the little boy said, “You can’t touch me. I’ve been baptized!”
Feel the affirmation of our God for you, “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased!”
So, relax and know that you are a baptized child of God. Amen!