I have baptized “new borns” – only “hours old” in the hospital and I have baptized people in their 80’s and 90’s. And I guess it is safe to say and a whole lot of folks – in between.
I waver from time to time – how I view and see Baptism. I have done them at church camps in the middle of a lake. I have done them on Sail boats in the middle of the Lake Michigan. I have used water from the Jordan River. And I have used lots of shells over the years for pouring. I have done them in Baptismal Fonts costing tens of thousands of dollars…and I have done them on carts with wheels. None of that seems to matter much.
I really am not a “sprinkler” when it comes to baptizing like some and prefer pouring and soaking and saturating… I like immersing most for the effect and the symbolism.
I have baptized plenty of folks who were kneeling on a kneeler with the 23rd Psalm open and their hands folded prayerfully.
I do not see it as being a warm and cozy and fuzzy event or experience…nor do I see it as being a time to shed tears, which happens more often than not…
Rather, I see it as being an “earth shattering and shaking event.” It is a “monumental moment” frozen in time. I see things and sense things that aren’t happening around me.
No not doves…descending and no voices either…but I do imagine the heavens being ripped and torn apart and their being an opening between here and there. A heavenly gap, if you will.
It is a “thinner space”…more holy…more “accessible”…more like an “encounter.” It is like the converging of two realms or a maybe even a collision.
I see God smiling with a parental kind of enthusiasm…with a puffed out chest and giving his approval and his two thumbs up and smiling. But I also sense other heavenly beings- present, perhaps a great cloud of witnesses who are also in attendance. I sense them all.
It is never a private act, but always an event for the “whole community.” And I see us, as being so privileged to be present and to be a part of it. We too, are vital and important witnesses.
I think there are implications here – that we fail to understand.
Baptism is meant to reorient our lives, our identity and our purpose. We not only live for ourselves now – but for God and the whole of his community…to which we are eternally linked. Our life at whatever age has a “new meaning.”
There’s a good story – that’s been around for a lot of years. It comes from Southwestern Oklahoma…a small town and a country kind of preacher.
Like most small towns there were like four different churches there, that pretty much split up the town’s population. Attendance rose and fell according to the weather…(just like here.)
It was said that the best attendance anywhere was always at “the local café” on Sunday mornings. All the local guys sat there and drank their coffee, while their wives and kids were at church. It was that way – forever.
One of the “patron saints” of the group was an old guy named Frank. He was a good man, a strong man, a big man, a family man and a hard working rancher, farmer and cattleman. Everyone knew he would never go to church.
He preferred his Sunday mornings the way they were.
One day in an encounter with the local preacher – he said, “Don’t talk to me.” I take care of my family. I own my own business. I don’t steal or lie. I am an honest man. I don’t bother anyone. Another word is not necessary.
That is why everybody in the town and from the café and “in the church” – was dumbfounded, shocked and surprised when old Frank at the age of 77 presented himself for Holy Baptism.
The local rumor mill and grapevine went crazy. He must be sick. He must be dying. He must have a fatal disease. He must have found out he’s got a bad heart. Maybe he’s got months to live.
And not only did he show up “that day,” but the “next Sunday” as well. And the “one after that,” too! And he listened to the Word. He was like a sponge soaking it all in…He seemed happier…more enlightened. His step was a little more brisk. People began to notice…
One day in town, one of the other farmers grabbed him in conversation and said…what happened to the guy who worked hard and took care of his family and didn’t lie and was honest and minded his own business?
Do you still say that? You bet I do, came the response. Then what happened? What’s the difference? Frank said, “I didn’t know what my business was.” I didn’t know what else I should be doing…I couldn’t put my finger on it. Something was missing.
Frank discovered what his business was. It was everything that he was doing before and more. He was here to serve others, too. He was now a child and a servant of God. It changed everything.
For Frank all the pieces finally came together. Tonight, we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.
May it be a blessing for you!