St. John's Episcopal Church

Sermon for Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 (Year B, Epiphany 3)

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  (Mark 1:14-15)

This has been a week of beginnings.  On Tuesday President Obama was inaugurated in front of over 1 million people in Washington, and millions more watching on TV.  It was about as perfect as such an event can be, save only for Chief Justice Roberts leaving his cue card at home.  (Alas, I know too well how my own brain sometimes slips into neutral at inconvenient moments.)  Since then our new President has been a whirlwind of activity, signing executive orders, swearing in staff, holding meetings, and jawboning legislators.  Mr. Obama promised a fast start.  With economic problems deepening, that activity in Washington gives at least a glimmer of hope.

In one of those curious parallels which I’m sure is accidental, our gospel this morning describes what we might call “the first 100 days” of Jesus’ ministry.  As a storyteller, St. Mark wastes no time.  He describes Jesus’ baptism and temptation in just a few verses, and then it’s on to business: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God….”  Jesus isn’t wasting time either.  After the Baptist is thrown into prison by King Herod, Jesus launches his public ministry.

Jesus proclaims the good news of God, “…saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  (Mark 1:15)  This is, in effect, a summary of the whole of Jesus’ teaching, and we might take a moment to unpack it.

First, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled….”  As I have no doubt said before, the time to which Jesus refers is not chronological time, or chronos, as the ancient Greeks called it.  This is not time in the sense of past, present and future; it’s not the time we hang on the wall and strap to our wrists.  Rather, this time is what the Greeks called kairos, the time in which God chooses to act.  Jesus declares that God has decided to intervene in our time — in history, if you will — in a unique and powerful way.

In this “kairos time,” Jesus declares that “the kingdom of God has come near….”  This image of the kingdom will dominate Jesus’ teaching over the next three years.  This is not the kingdom in its fullness; at this point the kingdom is, yet is to be.  What God offers today is what we might call a close brush with the kingdom, specifically in the person of Jesus.  In what Jesus says and does, one may see the kingdom taking shape if you look with the eyes of faith.

Then Jesus says, “…repent, and believe in the good news.”  In this context repent means to change one’s mind, or to move in a different direction.  The movement implied here is almost physical, a kind of “spiritual 180.”  We have been moving away from God for a long time.  Now, with the kingdom beginning to emerge, Jesus calls us to turn about and return to God, believing in the good news.  That good news is, in fact, Jesus himself.  Jesus himself embodies the truth, hope and peace which God is beginning to establish.  If we believe, it is because we believe that Jesus was sent by God.

As I said, that is a summary of our Lord’s teaching, packed into one sentence of scripture.  We might say that everything else in the gospel of Mark is simply commentary on these two verses.

But Mark doesn’t stop to elaborate — at least not now.  Instead, he moves immediately to the calling of the disciples.  A new administration requires a new staff, and Jesus begins “swearing in” his assistants.  He calls four fishermen — two pairs of brothers, first Simon Peter and Andrew, and then James and John.  Note that in both cases the response is immediate: they drop everything and follow Jesus.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  No running home to tell the wife and kids.  Jesus calls; the four respond immediately.

For no particular reason, most Christians assume that Jesus was a perfect stranger to these men, so their response to his call seems a kind of miracle.  However, I’m inclined to think (and nothing in Mark’s account contradicts it) that these men already knew each other.  Remember that Galilee was a small place, and Jesus had spent years working with his father Joseph as a carpenter.  It’s quite possible that Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were already well acquainted, perhaps even friends.  Their immediate response takes place in the context of an existing relationship.

But something else is going on here.  Mark says that Jesus encounters these four men in the midst of their daily work.  Simon and Andrew are fishing, probably close to shore.  They are casting a small cone-shaped net, weighted to draw it underwater. (Mark 1:16)  When the net is pulled in, and if they are fortunate, fish may be trapped in the closing “umbrella.”  This kind of fishing requires skill, persistence, and a lot of hard work.  Nearby, James and John are in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. (Mark 1:19)  This repair work is an essential part of fishing and also requires as much skill, patience and hard work.  At the same time, Mark is clear that these are common folk who earn their living the old fashioned way.  They are not theologians, or men of wealth, or people of high social standing in the community.  They are utterly unremarkable, except that in their work they exhibit skill, patience, and persistence.

I think that is why Jesus calls these four men to form the core of his new fellowship.  They have the skill, patience, and persistence to share his ministry, which he describes as “fishing for people.”

At the same time, our Lord’s call seems… well, inconvenient.  Jesus encounters them in the midst of the workday.  Each has responsibilities.  People depend on them.  And then along comes Jesus, saying, “Follow me.”  All four immediately undertake what amounts to a career change.

That’s what captures my attention here — the inconvenience of Jesus calling them — and us! — when we’re busy with our lives… taking care of our responsibilities… living up to the reasonable expectations of those we care about and those who depend on us.  But that inconvenience is part of being called.

For example, over the years of my ministry I’ve noted how often someone dies just before Christmas or just before Holy Week.  I’m not sure why this should be, but I’ve noted the pattern, and other clergy have too.  More especially I’ve noted my response.  I feel put upon!  Here I’ve got all this work to do getting ready for holiday services, and then someone passes on, and on top of everything else I have to do a funeral.  It’s a wholly irrational response, and more than a little uncharitable.  People certainly don’t time their deaths just to irritate the priest!  But more than once I’ve found myself chiding God because his timing sometimes isn’t the best.  

Again, we know that the current economic downturn has cost many people their jobs and incomes, and made it difficult for them to feed their families.  Our Food Pantry helps meet this increasing need, mainly through the support you offer in money or food supplies.  We are called to feed the hungry, just as Jesus did.  Yet at the same time we ourselves may be having trouble feeding our families, or the diminished value of our retirement investments leave us with less free cash than we are accustomed to.  In short, while the Lord calls us to help feed the hungry, his call can be very inconvenient. 

Come to think of it, I’m not sure there’s ever a really good time for a call — at least the way we think about time.  By definition, kairos intrudes upon and disrupts chronos.  God’s time and purpose always catches us at a bad moment, when we have other things to do, other priorities, other responsibilities.  That’s part of being called, and perhaps even confirmation that the call is genuine.  God doesn’t call us when we find it convenient, but when he finds it convenient.  Yet he calls us in the context of an existing relationship.  He knows we have the skills and grit to do his work.  What he asks, then, is that we lay aside what we are doing at that moment, so that we may share with our Lord the task of building up the kingdom which, in Jesus, is drawing near.  Therefore, may we answer readily the call of our Savior, and proclaim to all people the good news of his salvation.  Amen.

— The Rev. John E. Laycock, Interim Pastor

Readings for Epiphany 3:  Old Testament — Jonah 3:1-5, 10  |  Gradual — Psalm 62:6-14  |  1 Corinthians 7:29-31  |  Gospel — Mark 1:14-20

Collect for Epiphany 3:

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Sermon for Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 (Epiphany 2, Annual Meeting)

Jesus [said to Nathanael,] “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than these.”  (John 1:50)

The beginning of Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the Gospel of John is  not long on detail.  After his Prologue, the Evangelist records the testimony of John the Baptist regarding his own ministry, when he declares that he is “one crying out in the wilderness” (John 1:23).  Then he describes John’s identification of Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)  That said, Jesus begins to gather disciples, among whom are Philip and Nathanael.  No baptism.  No temptation in the wilderness.  In John’s gospel the Baptist says, “Here he is,” and then Jesus begins his ministry.

In many ways this is a bit like my experience coming here to Grand Haven last May — a couple quick interviews, and suddenly I’m the pastor-in-charge of this parish.  Something similar will happen again in a few months, when I move on so that you can welcome a new Rector.  Fast starts and fast stops are part of the interim priest’s job.  I’ve learned to expect it, but somehow it always feels a bit like whiplash.

In 1996, after ten years as Rector of a small inner city parish in Detroit, I shifted gears and began working as an interim priest.  It’s a decision I have never regretted.  The period between settled, as opposed to temporary, pastors is a wonderful time to encounter a group of Christians.  It’s a time to take stock, change old patterns, dream dreams, and make important choices.  Most especially it’s a time when the congregation may discern God’s will for the future of its ministry and search for a priest who will lead the parish on the next leg of its journey.

There are certain tasks that should be part of the interim period.  The first of these is to make peace with the congregation’s past, and especially with its former clergy.  Shortly after taking up my duties here in Grand Haven, we held a series of small group conversations about the parish.  Memories go back a long way here, as they do in the other churches I’ve served.  Some clergy wonder if their work has any lasting impact.  I can assure my colleagues that, for better or worse, what you say and do makes a permanent impression on the congregation’s corporate memory.  Thirty or forty years later, people will still remember and discuss your skills as a liturgist, preacher, pastoral counselor, and administrator — as well as your relationship with your spouse, the behavior of your children, and those quirks of personality you fervently hope no one will recall.

For example, one of the rectors at Grosse Ile was a confirmed alcoholic who would tie one one and then go driving around the island.  More often than not he ran his car into a ditch.  The police would find him, call a tow truck, and then drive Father home.  (Obviously, this was in days before Mothers Against Drunk Driving.)  This pattern repeated so often that the police gave Father a code name so that they would not have to use his real name on the radio, in case local residents were monitoring the police channel.  This man has now passed on to what we might call “eternal sobriety.”  I’m sure he did some good things for his parish, but more than half a century later, what this man is mainly remembered for is driving under the influence.  

I mention this because, on the whole, you have been rather well served by your clergy.  From what you have told me I’m not aware that any of your Rectors have had to be pulled out of the ditch a couple times a week or have run off with the parish bank account.  Some of my congregations have not been so fortunate.  I believe that Fr. Henry left St. John’s in pretty good shape.  I’m not referring to paying off the mortgage, although that is a considerable blessing in these unhappy economic times.  Rather, he left behind him a group which is, in my view, spiritually alert and emotionally healthy.  That bodes well for your search for a new Rector.  That priest, whoever he or she may be, will not be walking into an unhappy and conflicted situation.

That’s not to say that everyone has settled feelings about your former clergy.  In our series of conversations shortly after I arrived, some members of the congregation expressed disappointment and even anger about your last two Rectors.  The problem here is that resentments about one clergy person can easily be transferred to a new priest, complicating that new priest’s ministry in surprising ways.  So let me be clear that the interim period is when old feelings about Fr. Henry or Fr. John can and should be put aside.  Lent is coming and that’s always a good opportunity to allow the past be the past.  By doing so you help prepare the way for a new priest.

The interim period is a time when new leadership naturally emerges in the life of the congregation.  I have been pleased to see how effective our lay leadership is here at St. John’s.  This year’s Vestry has discharged its duties with competence and good humor, and I know that our new Vestry will do likewise.  Although the Search Committee will carry most of the burden for identifying your new Rector, the Vestry plays a significant role in the process and, in our system of government, makes the final decision.  This will be an interesting year to serve on the governing body.  

This year I have been personally blessed to have Randy Wegener as my Senior Warden.  Randy has been an able counselor, astute guide, and good friend as I settled into my work here in Grand Haven, and his leadership in organizing our new Personnel Commission has made a significant contribution to the life of the congregation.  As Randy rotates off the Vestry, I know that he will remain a positive force in our ministry.  I have been blessed, too, in having Paul Withun as Junior Warden.  We have a fine physical plant, and this is the only church I’ve ever served that actually has adequate storage space!  But certain maintenance chores and capital improvements were deferred as you paid off the mortgage, and those bills are now coming due.  A good example is the effort, still ongoing, to get heat to this parish hall.  Paul has done a masterful job keeping on top of our physical plant.  

Let me also express my gratitude to Ken Hoexum, our Treasurer, and Dave Walborn, whose title ought to be Master of the Bids.  Dave has gotten us competitive estimates on several projects, like the new flooring on the lower level of this building, while Ken has worked tirelessly to make sure all the pennies have been accounted for.  Together, these two men spent untold hours successfully negotiating the purchase agreement for 534 Washington Ave., also known as the house on the corner.  In doing so they have fulfilled a dream that some members have nursed for 30 years or more, and have made it possible for the parish, at some future date, to consider developing new on-site parking.  Not long ago I asked Cindi if it snows in Grand Haven all the time, or just most of the time.  Given the amount of snow and ice we deal with, providing parking close to the church is certainly worth careful thought.

I have been impressed by the ability of our several commissions and groups, including the Thrift Shop, to carry forward St. John’s ministry.  In many churches, nothing happens unless the priest or Vestry says it should happen.  That cripples a congregation’s ministry.  For that reason the willingness of our lay ministers to define their various missions and get the job done is a credit to all of you — and, I must add, it is something that an insightful candidate for the position of Rector will value.

Again, the interim period is a time to see the church’s relationship with the Diocese and Bishop in a new light.  In every one of my interim churches, that relationship has been a sometime thing — sometimes warm, sometimes lukewarm, and sometimes downright frigid.  The problem may be the bishop, or the diocesan staff, or the apportionment, or the positions taken by our national leaders, or all of the above.  However, ours is not a congregational church.  To be an Episcopalian is to be part of something larger than just the local congregation — in our case, the Diocese of Western Michigan, the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the Anglican Communion.

For what it’s worth, let me suggest a couple reasons why we should value being part of the Diocese and National Church.  The first is that, when you begin your search, you will not be limited to clergy you personally know, or to clergy in this Diocese, or even to clergy in the State of Michigan.  Instead, your search can draw on candidates from throughout the United States, and the national and diocesan deployment officers will facilitate your search efficiently and cheaply.  Thus the likelihood of finding a gifted priest is greatly enhanced.

Another reason with considerable importance to me and to most clergy is the Pension Fund.  In a day when funding retirement has gotten very complicated, and when defined benefit pension programs have been largely abandoned by private industry, the Episcopal Church’s defined benefit system is rock solid.  Although the Pension Fund has taken its lumps in the current economic environment, nevertheless it has been carefully managed throughout the past century and has the resources to weather this crisis without cutting its support for retired clergy.  Moreover, your participation in the Pension Fund, which comes with membership in the diocesan household, saves you money.  For example, when I retire in a couple years, I’ll receive a benefit of about $30,000 per year, plus cost of living increases, for as long as I live.  If this parish undertook to provide its priest a similar lifetime benefit through an IRA — one that would provide an unfailing $30,000 benefit payable over at least 30 years of retirement — I estimate that you would have to fund that IRA to the tune of not less than$550,000, and perhaps as much as $750,000.  Over a 20 year period, the annual cost would be 2-3 times as much as you currently spend on clergy retirement.  The Pension Fund is a good deal for me and for you.

In addition to helping with your search, the Diocese can be a wonderful resource for doing your ministry.  Many of my churches have complained that they pay so much and get so little in return.  But these same churches have rarely taken advantage of the resources their diocese offers.  Since we’ve paid our “dues,” it seems only reasonable that we should  not be shy about making use of the people and resources available to us.

Yet another task for the interim period is to discern God’s will for the congregation’s ministry in the years ahead.  This means capturing a vision for future ministry apart from the interests and priorities of the former Rector.  Your Transition Committee is now assembling the data collected through our Parish Life Survey, and in a few days we will begin prayerfully to sift that data for indications of where the Holy Spirit thinks St. John’s should be headed over the next 5-7 years.  This work will fall mainly on the Transition Committee and Vestry, but if you would like to participate, feel free to speak with your Senior Warden.  The process is intended to be open and accessible.  When the vision has been pulled together, we will ask small groups of parishioners to review, and if necessary fine tune, our work.

Crafting a vision for the future is an important part of the transition process.  Several years ago author Sam Keen quoted a friend as telling him, “There are two questions you have to ask yourself: ‘Where am I going?’ and ‘Who will go with me?’  If you get those questions in the wrong order, you’re buying trouble.”  Keen was reflecting on marriage, but I think his friend’s advice works well for churches in transition, too.  St. John’s ought to have a pretty clear idea where you want to go before you decide who will lead you there.  By taking the time for this vision work, I hope that the chance for a successful outcome for your search will be enhanced, and that the search itself will move more quickly.

The final task for the interim period is to prepare to welcome a new Rector.  God willing, that day will come sooner than you might think.  In just a few weeks we will form a Search Committee, which I expect will include members from the current Transition Committee and perhaps others from the wider parish.  I urge you to prayerfully consider whether you might offer to serve on this group.  Please note that the Vestry will decide the search committee’s membership, which must fairly represent every constituency within the parish.  Therefore, not everyone who might wish to serve may be able to do so.  Still I commend this to you as an opportunity for significant service on behalf of your brother and sister parishioners.  Years ago I served on the search group at All Saints, East Lansing.  It was a time-consuming responsibility — search committees meet often and at length.  But for me it was also a journey in faith.  I came away knowing far better than before who I am as a child of God and as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  You could have a similar experience.

These first few months of my time here in Grand Haven have been productive and rewarding.  That would not have been possible without the able and faithful support of the staff — Cindi our Secretary, Caron our Church Musician, Leslie our Church School Director, Brenda our Youth Leader, Jan our Bookkeeper and Financial Secretary, and Clare our Sexton.  My gratitude is also due to Mary Jane Brunner, who served as Financial Secretary earlier this year, and to Kathy Neville, who for many years was our Pastoral Associate and continues to have an important pastoral role among us.  All have been most gracious in welcoming me to St. John’s and in supporting my ministry.  You and I are truly blessed in our talented, hardworking, and faithful staff, who are my colleagues in ministry and, as someone once put it, “the servants of the servants of God.”

Finally, in today’s gospel Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus, and Jesus greets Nathanael by saying, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you” — meaning that our Lord already knows Nathanael to be an honest man.  Nathanael is amazed and confesses that Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus responds by saying, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than these.”

What “greater things” did Nathanael see?  I suspect Jesus meant that he would see Jesus doing many wonderful things in the course of his ministry, especially as our Lord reached out to the poor and downtrodden — the excluded of his day and culture — and told these people that they were indeed beloved of God and welcome at the Lord’s table.  

In speaking to Nathanael, Jesus is also speaking to us — telling us that his wonders are not to be confined just to the three years of his public ministry, but will continue to unfold over time.  Indeed, seeing “greater things” is part and parcel of the life of Christians in our own day, if we are careful to discern them.

For me, one of these “greater things” will happen Tuesday when Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States.  Regardless of who we voted for in the recent election, I think it is fair to say that this is one of those moments in the history of the Republic when we live up to the high ideals enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.  When our Founders wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” they most certainly did not have Black people in mind!  But by putting their signatures to these words, our Founders gave birth to the notion that this country is about inclusion, not exclusion.  Each generation has wrestled with the implications of that doctrine of inclusion.  In every era of American history we have resented and resisted welcoming this person or that group into full social and political fellowship.  But in the end, we have always concluded that our nation is stronger, and we its citizens are better off, for saying, “You are part of us; you are part of America.”

Today we face unique challenges at home and abroad.  I hope that all will join in praying that our new President will provide the leadership needed to meet these challenges, and that his work on our behalf will be successful.  

Therefore, on the eve of this historic moment in our country’s history, may God bless us in our ministry here at St. John’s, and may God bless, preserve, and protect these United States.  Amen.

— The Rev. John E. Laycock, Interim Pastor

Readings for Epiphany 2:  Old Testament — 1 Samuel 3:1-20  |  Gradual — Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17  |  Epistle — 1 Corinthians 6:12-20  |  Gospel — John 1:43-51

Collect for Epiphany 2:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sermon for Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 (Year B, Epiphany 1)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  (Mark 1:9)

If you recall your confirmation training, you will no doubt remember the classic definition of the sacraments: “The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.”  You will find that definition in our Book of Common Prayer, in the Catechism, or Outline of the Faith, toward the back of the book.

By the way, there’s lots of good information in the Catechism.  I commend it to you — especially on those Sundays when the preacher is boring you to tears.

Traditionally, Christians on the Catholic end of the spectrum — among which we Episcopalians are numbered — have long held that there are seven sacraments.  They are Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, Reconciliation (sometimes called “private confession”), and Unction (better known as “spiritual healing”).  

Moreover, we Anglicans like to say that there are two major, or gospel, sacraments and five lesser sacraments.  Baptism and Eucharist are the gospel sacraments, so called because the gospels assure us that Jesus Christ himself participated in the first and instituted the second, thus giving them special status.  We also say that, at least in our denominational neighborhood, all Christians are expected to participate in both — that is, to be baptized and to receive Holy Communion.  These should be part of every Christian life.  

This is not to say that the other five are unworthy.  It’s just that Jesus himself did not personally partake of these five rituals.  And, indeed, not every Christian needs to be confirmed, ordained, married, privately confessed, or spiritually healed.  Yet for those who do experience these five, God is uniquely present in these rituals, as he is in Baptism and Eucharist.

This being the First Sunday after the Epiphany, which we observe as the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, it may be helpful for me to make a few comments about this rite of passage we call Holy Baptism.  Over the years I’ve found that even seasoned Episcopalians have questions, and sometimes surprising misconceptions, about Baptism.  Perhaps I can lay a few of these to rest.

To begin with, I should point out that all sacraments, by their nature, involve some material, or earthly, element.  For example, in Baptism this component taken from the natural order is water; in Eucharist, it’s bread and wine; in marriage it’s the joining of hands and giving of metal rings; and in healing it is the laying on of hands and anointing with oil.  This material element is entirely appropriate, because each sacrament is intended to be a sign of the Incarnation — the joining together of things earthly and heavenly.  We celebrated the mystery of the Incarnation with great joy at Christmas, but we celebrate it equally at every Eucharist and on those occasions when we baptize someone.  In each sacrament, God’s grace and the human body and soul are brought together in a unique and powerful way.

In addition, what takes place in the sacramental action can be understood as the objective operation of God’s grace on the human soul.  That is to say, the effectiveness of a sacrament is not dependent upon our subjective emotions, which are constantly in flux, but rather upon God’s objective and unchanging willingness to make his grace available to us, and to save us.  For example, I sometimes anoint a person near death who is not responsive or even conscious, but I am certain that this person receives the benefits of the sacrament.

Again, the sacraments are necessarily social.  By his grace, God gathers his people into the Body of Christ.  These sacramental rituals facilitate that in-gathering of God’s people and bind us more closely to our brothers and sisters.  Each builds and expresses the community of God’s love.

Holy Baptism is understood in our Church as the means by which God adopts us as his children, and makes us members of Christ’s Body and inheritors of the kingdom.  How remarkable that this happens in such a simple way, as the priest splashes the candidate with water and proclaims that he or she is baptized “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Why water?  Water symbolism is found from one end of Holy Scripture to the other, and our baptismal liturgy calls to mind many of these biblical associations.  It was over the watery chaos that the Holy Spirit moved at the moment of creation.  Water reminds us that we are creatures of our Creator.  It was through the Red Sea waters that God led his people up from slavery in Egypt into the promised land.  We are thus people whom God has redeemed.  It was in the waters of the Jordan River that Jesus received his commission and began his public ministry.  We are, like Jesus, sanctified and commissioned.  Thus it is that in the water of baptism — whether one is sprinkled, splashed, or fully submerged — that God establishes a new order in our lives, delivers us from slavery to sin and death, and makes us ministers of the gospel.

We also believe that it is in Holy Baptism that we are given the spiritual gifts we need to fulfill our high calling.  Christians have long seen Baptism as the primary moment when the Holy Spirit descends upon us and invests us with gifts for the work of the kingdom.  Since most of us are baptized as infants, it may take many years before those gifts are manifested in their fullness, but they are there from the get-go — a kind of “spiritual DNA.”

Now, as you well know, not every Christian sees Baptism the same way.  Many Protestants disparage the very idea of sacraments, because they feel it smacks of magic, is “too Catholic,” and confers too much power on the clergy.  Obviously, I don’t agree.  But these objections deserve a response.  Let me dispose of a few.

For example, many Protestant groups object to infant baptism.  Instead, they “dedicate” infants and insist on “believer baptism” at whatever time the individual is able to say that he or she has accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior.  However, there are several instances in the New Testament when a person and his or her “household” are baptized as a group (Acts 16:15, 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:16, 16:15).  It seems only reasonable to assume that children, including infants, were considered members of the “household” and baptized by the Apostles.  We do as the Apostles did.  Hence our tradition of infant baptism.

Again, some Christians insist on full immersion.  They feel that a mere sprinkling of water isn’t adequate.  Let me assure you that immersion is perfectly acceptable among Anglicans, but it does have a few drawbacks.  For example, here in Grand Haven we have Lake Michigan close at hand — a wonderful place for baptism by immersion.  But doing immersion baptisms in January?  Well, it gives me chills just thinking about it!  True, you could immerse someone in a school swimming pool, but that setting lacks a certain dignity.  In the end, it’s the use of water, not the quantity, that matters.

And again, those who advocate “believer baptism” often require that someone baptized as an infant be re-baptized as an adult.  That presents us with a significant theological conundrum.  From the beginning, Holy Baptism has been considered a “once for all” event — something you do once during your entire life.  Re-baptism casts doubt on all baptism.  If a re-baptized person is subsequently led to doubt the efficacy of the second baptism, must he or she be baptized a third time?  Or maybe a fourth time?  Where does it end?  For that reason the Church has always taught that Baptism is a “once for all” ritual.

And then there is the problem that biblical scholars call post-baptismal sin.  Many years ago I talked with a young man of strong evangelical leaning, a student at Michigan State, who had recently been baptized.  Reflecting on that event, he said, “You know, what amazes me most is that, now that I’ve been baptized, I can’t sin anymore.”  If only that were so!  I’m not sure where he got that idea, but he was dead wrong.  And by the way, it really makes hash out of the Lord’s Prayer, where we ask God to “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

At the time of Baptism, whether as an infant or an adult, God does wash away our sins — but not in the sense this young man thought.  We human beings are remarkably persistent, even compulsive, about doing what God wants us to avoid doing.  We habitually fall short of the high standards the Lord sets for us.  But we also know that we have Jesus on our side.  Therefore, one of our baptismal promises is that, when we fall into sin, we will repent and return to the Lord.  Baptism is not inoculation against sin.  Rather, it’s a reminder that God’s love is more powerful than sin, and if with a contrite heart we ask for forgiveness, we will be forgiven.

That brings me to a final point about Holy Baptism — and a problem that I, as a priest, have encountered all too often in my ministry.  Time and again I’ve heard people express doubt that they are saved.  They fear that, when they die, they will not end up in heaven.  Or they fear that a loved one is in danger of being cast into the outer darkness by a vengeful God, because that person’s faith weak.  Against this fear I assert what I’ve come to call “a high theology of Baptism.”  Quite simply, I believe — and the Church has always taught — that Baptism establishes a indissoluble relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  In our baptismal liturgy this is most clearly expressed when, using the oil of baptism, I make the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead and declare, “Joseph (or Jane), you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism, and marked as Christ’s own for ever.”  That imagery comes from Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation, where St. John the Divine records the words of the angel who bears the seal of the living God.  John writes: He “called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal upon their foreheads.’”  The seal to which St. John refers is baptism.

My point is simply this: the relationship with Jesus Christ which is forged in Baptism is unbreakable and eternal.  It is the result of the objective operation of God’s grace upon the human soul.  You cannot be bad enough to destroy that relationship.  You cannot sin enough to change God’s mind about your salvation.  It is what we rightly call “a done deal.”  If you are baptized, you are saved.  As I like to say, you may go to heaven kicking and screaming, but you are going there nonetheless.

I call this to your attention because so many of us waste so much time and energy worrying about what happens after we die that we fail to attend to our responsibilities in this life.  Jesus didn’t spend the three years of his public ministry teaching us to worry!  Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we could doubt God’s love!  What Christ lived and died for was to save us from the burden of useless worry, to focus our attention on the needs of our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and marginalized, and to make us the agents of justice and peace and loving-kindness in a world where these things are in short supply.  

Worrying does not build up the kingdom of God.  What builds up the kingdom is the patient, determined work of those who, in Holy Baptism, have been made one with their Lord forever, and given the spiritual gifts they need in order to share our Lord’s ministry.  What God asks of us is to use the gifts we have been given, to his glory and to the welfare of his people.  God does not expect miracles.  On the contrary, he provides them!  All we need to do is show up and do the work.

Therefore, as Jesus was obedient to the Father’s will by accepting the baptism of John and the work that followed, may you and I be obedient to the Father’s will by living out the demands and blessings of our baptism “in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.”  

—Fr. John Laycock, Interim Pastor

Readings for Epiphany 1: Old Testament — Genesis 1:1-5  |  Gradual — Psalm 29  |  Epistle — Acts 19:1-17  |  Gospel — Mark 1:4-11

Collect for Epiphany 1:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.