What Pleases God?
A sermon by Brent J. Eelman
January 13, 2008
Abington Presbyterian Church

Matthew 3: 13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’*
 

Who moved the Baptismal font to the center of the church? I know that some of us will complain that it is in the way, or it doesn’t quite fit architecturally. I sometimes wonder if the reason that we shove the font off to the side is because our own baptisms are peripheral to our lives: shoved in the corner, with the only visible manifestation of them being a certificate that was filed in our lock box along with some other papers. Today, my sermon uses this change (the moving of the font) as a symbol for our own baptisms. Three points: 1. Baptism should be in the center. 2. Baptism is often in the way. 3. It pleases God.

I

Baptism is in the center. In the early church, this Sunday, the Baptism of our Lord, was much more important than Christmas, (if Christmas was celebrated at all.) Consider, the birth of Jesus is only in two of the gospels, but the story of Jesus baptized by John Baptist is the beginning of his ministry in all four gospels. Today, the baptismal font has come out of hiding, and is placed in the center of the church. I suspect that if we truly understand our faith, that is where it should always be. Jesus’ baptism is where it all began for him and where it also begins for us.

In our western Christian culture, there are three days that are celebrated in worship, usually within the church walls: Baptism, Marriage and the Funeral. (I am sure that there are some who only show up for those three days.) But we should note that baptism is at the center of each one of these crucial events of life: Birth, marriage and death.

In baptism as parents we declare that the child belongs, not to us, but to God. When I was teaching the baptism class here, one of the questions that I would ask the parents is, “are you ready to say that this child is not yours, but Gods?” At the heart of baptism is our calling or vocation, (which is Latin for calling). It may be a calling to the ministry, but more often than not it is manifest in our other life’s callings. When a couple gets married, the ceremony celebrates that marriage is not merely a relationship, but primarily a calling that has its foundation in baptism. We ask both individuals: “In your baptism you have been called to union with Christ and the church. Do you intend to honor this calling through the covenant of marriage?

Then there is the funeral: The call to worship is often from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “When we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death.” The traditional prayer for the dead that is offered at the conclusion of the funeral begins with these words: “We thank you for your servant, whose baptism is now complete in death.”

When we ordain and install elders, we recall the event of baptism. It is at the center of all that we do. Baptism declares that first and foremost, we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to follow him.

In June, we will commission over thirty members of our congregation who will be going to Guatemala as a faithful response to their calling as Christians. If we use the Presbyterian commissioning service it will also declare this calling to serve others is rooted in baptism.

My older brother, who probably does not do a lot of theological thinking, found his calling fulfilled in the work he did on his church’s property committee and also in the ability to generously share through faithful stewardship. My younger brother, an Episcopalian, is a verger.. that means he makes sure that everything is running well in the church on Sunday morning, (not unlike what Jean McDevitt does here.) When we are baptized, and affirm it in confirmation, we are declaring that our life is no longer our own.. we belong to God, and are called to fulfill God’s purposes. Baptism is at the center.

II

Baptism gets in the way. I know that sooner or later someone is going to say to me: “We have to move the font back to where it was, because it is ‘in the way’.” Our baptisms often get in the way of what we would like to do, what we would like to pursue, and what we would like to have.

I know I have told this story before, but it is worth telling again. William Willimon, the former chaplain of Duke University, shared a story about some irate parents who came to see him. What was the cause of their anger? Their daughter, a brilliant student, told them that she felt called to the ministry. The parents went to see chaplain Willimon and wanted to know what he was preaching that could lead their daughter to give up a promising future. Why was she going to throw away her education and future to become a minister? Willimon pondered with them for a few moments and then asked, “Did you have her baptized as a child?” Their response was, “Of course.” To which Willimon responded, “There’s your problem. It took.” God took her baptism a bit more seriously than the parents. The story illustrates the intimate relationship between our baptism and our calling, and how it gets in the way of some of our dreams and desires. Baptism also gets in the way of the dreams and desires that we have for our children.

It may not just be a call to ministry. There are other ways, seemingly everyday things when our baptism calls us to act in a different way than we might. When my daughter was an adolescent, she played organized softball. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed practicing with her, but we realized that if her team succeeded and made it to the tournaments, they would play on Sunday and she would miss being part of a worshipping community. The struggle was not how we would get her to the games, but rather what it meant to be a Christian and part of a worshipping community. I was struck by irony. Her coach announced at the beginning of the season that if she missed three practices, she would be off the team. No one batted an eye at that. Can you imagine if we announced to parents, if their child missed three Sunday school or confirmation classes, they would be barred from church? How dare we ask for commitment! It gets in the way.

Baptism gets in the way of how we spend our money. (You remember the hymn: “We give thee but thine own….”) Discipleship that is faithful to baptism makes choices about how to use the wealth that God has given to us. Many of us struggled with that 18 months ago, when we made decisions to support the capital stewardship drive. Some people put off purchases for a year or more, (things that they wanted!) so that they could support this project. They were answering the call of their baptism. I am sure that you get the point. Baptism, like our font in the center the church, often gets in the way.

III

Now the good news: It pleases God. When Jesus was baptized he had yet to preach a sermon. He had not performed a miracle. He had not healed anyone. He had not told a parable. He had no followers. This was the very beginning. Yet, after Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened and the voice of God declared. “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am pleased.” That is one of the most amazing declarations in the scriptures. Jesus, to that point had done nothing to earn the favor of God, but God made three declarations: This is my son: God claimed as his own child. This is my beloved. God’s love was and is unconditional… in other words, it is not love that earned, but love that is given. And third, He pleases me. This is an extension of the first two statements… my child does not have to earn my love. His mere existence brings me joy and pleasure.

In our baptism, God declares the same. You are my children. I love you unconditionally. You are the source of my pleasure and joy. This is the good news of the Gospel. Amen.
 

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org