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Rambling's From The Rev. |
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Pastor Jim
Johnson |
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I recently did a funeral for an elderly woman who had suffered from dementia the last several years of her life. I noted in my sermon that in this church that is founded on the doctrine of Justification by Faith families are sometimes filled with worry and fear when their loved one may not have had the mental capacity at the end to believe or remember Jesus, or their baptism, or commitment they may have made at some point in their lives. I emphasized that such concerns are misguided, for the comfort and hope any of us have at the end is not whether we remember Jesus, or our commitment to him, but that Jesus remembers us – a sheep of his own fold, a lamb of his own flock, and a sinner of his own redeeming. She was a child of God, marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit – forever! God made a covenant with her (you) in baptism that no one can take away.
I also told the story of Axel
Jensen from the first parish I served. Axel also had severe dementia.
Every month when I brought Axel communion he would tell me the same ole
stories, and usually several times while I was there. One thing Axel
always did was take me into his bedroom and show me his baptismal
certificate, written in Norwegian, from the early nineteen hundreds,
framed and hanging on his wall. I was impressed. Here was a guy at the
end of his life who can’t remember where he’s been that day, but he
knows where he’s heading. After this sermon that focused not on the virtues or vices of the person, nor the faith and faithfulness of the deceased, but on the faithfulness of God to make true his promises made in the covenant of baptism, a granddaughter sang a solo. She was from an “Evangelical” church from a neighboring town. After she finished her song she said, “I just want to say that my grandmother is in heaven today because of her faith. The criminal on the cross wasn’t baptized! (I mentioned something in my sermon about the criminal on the cross, but I had no idea what her point was, only that she was upset about something I had said.)
After leading the family out during the final hymn, and before the congregation was dismissed, I went up to this twenty-something young granddaughter to asked her if I had said something that she was offended by or took exception with. She said she wanted to make sure people understood that “baptism doesn’t save!” I thanked her for her song and walked away – I didn’t think that was the time or place to get into a theological debate.
Two days later I was sent an invitation (solicitation) to order a preaching journal. I read an article that was an interview with Rick Warren, the author of the multi-million selling book, “The Purpose Driven Church,” and “The Purpose Driven Life.” In this article he talked about one of the principals or purposes in his book and ministry: fellowship. What I found fascinating was his scriptural rationale for this principal: the Great Commission – “Go make disciples…by baptizing them…and teaching them…” Mt. 28:19-20. Here’s what Warren had to say: “Now why did God put baptism between these two great purposes of worship and evangelism? I think because of what it represents. Baptism does not just represent new life in Christ; it represents incorporation into the body. The Bible says we are baptized into the body of Christ. And so I think that baptism is a symbol for fellowship or incorporation.”
It’s clear that for Warren, and millions of Christians influenced and shaped by his theology, that baptism is a symbol representing some act on our part of coming into fellowship and active participation in the church. Baptism is really our act, not God’s. However, as Lutheran Christians we do believe baptism saves – or more accurately, that God saves us through our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. We believe there is something sacramental that takes place – or something sacred, divine, or an act of God. We believe, in baptism, that God is the primary actor and we are primarily the recipient.
It should not be a surprise to me or you that this understanding of baptism is met with offense, ridicule, and disdain in a world that is fixated on our actions, and theologies that insist on exercising our wills in ways that lead to our own salvation. A sacramental theology of baptism that emphasizes the grace, promise, and will of God takes salvation out of our control and is left in the hands and will of God. To trust in God may be too scary for people.
How do I know I’m saved? I have a promise from God. I have to trust that God will be faithful. Period.
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