WADE IN THE WATER New Ark United Church of Christ 13 January 2019 The Written Word: As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15-16, 21-22) Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17) The Word Interpreted: “We are not our own... Earth forms us... Fruit of many generations, seeds of divine life. Through a human life God finds us; dying, living, love is fully known... we are not our own. Let us be a house of welcome, living stone upholding living stone, Gladly showing all our neighbors we are not our own!” If I were to sum up my message in a few phrases it would be through our hymns. But I’ll come back to the hymns. I feel the need to start with a brief contrast of my religious background and this faith community. I am born and raised Unitarian Universalist, that is also the tradition I am ordained in. The United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalism have much in common, more than just long names. They are both religions committed to the faith journey of each individual, to the importance and value of every single human being. We both recognize and Rev. Andrew L. Weber Wade in the Water Page 1 of 6 celebrate each others’ individuality and spiritual insight. Unitarian Universalists, however, do not follow a lectionary nor do we baptize. So when I saw the Bible passages set out for today, which are about baptism, I was both excited and nervous. What does a Unitarian Universalist have to say about baptism, and specifically about Jesus’s baptism? Well, through my research, prayer and singing I have come to a clearer understanding of what I understand baptism to be. In the UCC tradition, baptism is one of two sacraments, the other being communion. From the national United Church of Christ, “The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. Through baptism a person is joined with the universal church, the body of Christ. In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the spirit, and the knowledge of the call to be God's people always.” I find that a nice theological statement, but what exactly does that mean for us when we aren’t having a theological discourse? I go back to hymn we just sang “We are not our own... Earth forms us... Fruit of many generations, seeds of divine life. Through a human life God finds us; dying, living, love is fully known... we are not our own. Let us be a house of welcome, living stone upholding living stone, Gladly showing all our neighbors we are not our own!” Baptism is the outward and visible sign that we are not our own. We are part of a community which aspires to make the world a better place. We give ourselves over to a higher cause of justice, peace and love. Saying “we are not our own” is not a resignation, but a dedication - a dedication to bring about the best possible world we can for all people. Baptism is a sign, a symbol for something beyond our understanding. Which brings us more to the logistics as they relate to the theology. I understand that there was a lengthy discussion here about whether someone has to be baptized to become a member of the community. Baptism as “joining the universal church, the body of Christ.” Of course we would want to have that assurance and commitment for someone who is going to sign our membership roles, regularly attend and have a say in the goings on of this holy community. But on the other hand we also want to be radically inclusive just as Jesus was. We want to reach out in love to those who have no other place where they feel welcome. So what happens? The outcome of the discussion was that baptism is not required to be a member. And I commend you for that decision. I see that as a very difficult choice where you as a faith community came down on the difficult side of choosing the more loving but possibly more uncomfortable path. Rev. Andrew L. Weber Wade in the Water Page 2 of 6 I say that from a personal and from a pastoral perspective. I am not baptized. I was dedicated at my home congregation. My faith tradition holds ceremonies similar to baptism, but we frame them more as a blessing or naming ceremony for children. These are the words I use when performing a child dedication ceremony: This is a ceremony of blessings, but also of dedication and commitment. We dedicate ourselves to the growth and spiritual nurture of all within our congregation. When a child is welcomed into our community, we recognize them as one who will help create our future. And so we have a responsibility, this morning, all of us - parents, family, friends, this gathered community - to commit ourselves to the growth and spiritual nurture of these children, and to the ongoing creation of the world in which they will live. Dear friends, in the spirit of an age-old tradition and in recognition of the profound fact that they have brought new life into the world, these parents have brought their children before us to be blessed. This ceremony does not make the life of a child sacred. We believe that life is sacred inherently. We will work no magic upon these children. There is no magic save the infinite love and patience of parents for their children, the deep devotion of parents to the highest and noblest development of their children. And what exactly does that mean? At some point it seems to be semantics. Both ceremonies are one of blessing, commitment and dedication. The purpose is not salvation, but to bring a holy and divine life into a community of faith and love. The purpose is not that the person being baptized is now faithfully committed to their faith, since they are often at an age too young to make that promise. The purpose is, instead, for the community of faith to recognize their own commitment, their own duty to make the world a better place. At the end of the day I was sprinkled with blessed water, I was prayed over and my faith community dedicated themselves to making the world I was entering as loving as they could. So maybe I was baptized after all. I love theological discussions, and the more I have them the more I see that so much of our language gets tied up and messes up the reality. Who am I to say what the holy, eternal force of life wants for children and adults entering a faith community? Who am I to say what does or does not count as a baptism? In the passage from Luke this morning we heard John say, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his Rev. Andrew L. Weber Wade in the Water Page 3 of 6 sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Baptism doesn’t have to be with water, it can be with the Holy Spirit and - hopefully metaphorical - fire. The water and fire are both symbols for the holy spirit, for the hand of God, for the community of faith, for the spirit of love poured out into an already worthy and blessed life. Baptism can look like many different things, and I am not going to tell you that one action is baptism and another is not. And I’m also not going to say who can or cannot be baptized. There’s another theological statement we sang in a hymn today, “Wade in the water, wade in the water, children, wade in the water...” There are many different meanings of this spiritual: as a guide for slaves leaving bondage, as a remembrance of the Israelites leaving Egypt, as a call to all of us... The call I see is universal, to all children of the holy, all people at all times. And the call I see is one to enter into baptism. Baptism as a commitment to be in community with others, baptism as a commitment to strive for peace, justice and love. That is the call I see here. Come with me, wade into the baptismal water. But what comes next? “God’s gonna trouble the waters.” Again, this has many different meanings, but the one that resonates with me is that you are invited to wade in the water.