blind faith, God's grace

nothing left to impart

a baptism sermon on what happens to demons in baptism:

L, T, and V—and, by extension, Mom and Dad—and so also, all the rest of us, too, your sisters and brothers in Christ—we have all just witnessed a miracle! And you, V, T, and L, you are the direct beneficiaries of this incredible work of the Lord! BUT I know. It doesn’t LOOK like anything incredible has happened. Does it?

Thus begins your formal theological training. You don’t have to go to seminary to become a theologian. As Luther said, life will make a theologian out of you. And, T, L, and V, your training begins now with the plain observation that God’s works aren’t often all that clear. 

Martin Luther called this the deus absconditus. The hidden God. The God who absconds Thyself. And for Luther, this was a central tenant of theology AND life. 

Luther, you understand, couldn’t bring himself to accept the easy answers. And this drove him deep into Scripture. And there, he found a witness STRONG enough to bear up against the harshest realities of life. Tucked away in those difficult passages, Luther heard the confessions of St. Paul and the psalmists who had discovered that the worst of life was really the open gateway to the best God has to offer!

And today, L, T, and V, you are baptized into all this! Baptism, and the Church and faith, too, you should know, are not a shield from life. On the contrary, they are the sacred pathway into the fullness thereof! And your parents, in a daring act of faith, goodwill, and love, have handed you over to all of it, too!.

…Speaking of your parents, Dad and Mom, hear this: parenting is impossible. I think you already know that. But let me say it again: parenting is impossible! Got it? 

But you know what? That’s the way God likes it! God has ordained that the crucible of parenting would be one more way you come to really rely on God the Father almighty! And what’s more, witnessing to these three little ones how to call upon God when life gets tough is one the greatest gifts you can ever give them!

Now, if you’re anything like me, it will be hard for you to remember anything I say today. On the big occasion in my life, I can remember that I was there and that the pastor said something. But for the life of me, I cannot remember what! And you’ve got a lot on your mind today, too. So, let me briefly repeat myself. *And if the kids are restless, someone take them off their hands for a second.

Mom and Dad, parenting is impossible. And that’s the way God wants it, too!. When you really have to rely on God, you truly honor God; you keep the First Commandment. Plus, you’re closer to Christ than you know when you can’t do it on your own. And anyway, when you step to God, you also witness to your children how to actually lean on the Lord in the actual push and pull of real life!

…But let’s not kid ourselves. There are voices out there that say parenting is possible. Aren’t there? In fact, these voices not only say that parenting is possible, they also say it’s perfectible! And if that weren’t bad enough, there are even voices out there that say you can perfectly raise your child, have an ideal marriage, succeed in your career, and even crush all your goals, too! And all at the same time, to boot!

And honestly, that’s appealing. Isn’t it? Who doesn’t want to do well? I bet, at its best, that’s why you go to work when you’re tired, make meals when you’re busy, and get your kids here today, too, even when they’re not always all that cooperative! I bet that’s why, Mom, when you and I spoke on the phone this week, it sounded like there were twelve, not three, kids in your house!

This is all well and good, too. Martin Luther called this vocation. And he said these are high and holy callings. But what I want you to know is that there are voices that will want to turn this gift of God into something downright diabolical. 

That’s strong language, I know. But you should remember that the voices that insist perfection is attainable on this side of Eden have something of the demonic to them. And let me tell you why: all those voices will eat you alive, bones and all. The demands that you achieve more and more and perform better and better may sound good, but they will not quit. 

Eventually, though, you will. You might fail, or you might just run out of steam. And when that happens, because it will, those voices will turn on you with a vengeance. Worse still, if those voices are the only ones you have in your ear, you will be in a serious, perhaps even life-threatening, jam. 

So, let me be clear: your children are not a project. They’re a gift. And guess what else? So are you! 

Dad and Mom, you are more than your children’s achievements. AND you are more than your achievements, too! Like these three little ones, you all exist because you’re GOD’S idea of a good time! You exist not because of what you can accomplish. No, you exist because, as far as God’s concerned, the party would be incomplete without you! And that goes for the rest of us, too. Ok?

…But this brings us back to the matter at hand. Doesn’t it? That’s not always apparent. Is it? In this hardscrabble ol’ world, it often does feel like your existence hinges on what you can produce. Doesn’t it? And for that matter, it doesn’t feel like a party all the time, either.

Now, on the one hand, God doesn’t want you sitting on your hands. God has arranged existence in such a way that our callings are holy. But they are most holy when they’re most ordinary! You serve God more when you change a diaper in the middle of the night more than any accomplishment you might receive recognition for. 

Good news, right? You didn’t know you’ve been so faithful lately. Did you? Well, that’s the way God likes it! In this hidden faithfulness, you have obeyed Jesus’ dictum not to make a show out of your fidelity. Plus, like the sheep in Jesus’ final parable, you’ve done it none the wiser, too! And that’ll just make the joy that much more complete when you inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!

If we’re honest, all this rings true. Doesn’t it? It can be hard to tell what’s what in life. And this is especially true when life is helter-skelter. But it’s also true when life is humdrum. We can fall into routines so anesthetizing we lose connection with ourselves, our loved ones, the rest of the world, and even God Thyself, the source and ground of our very being!

But you know what else? This is even true when God stirs up the waters! In L, T, and V’s baptism, God spoke unequivocally, the heavens were ripped asunder irrevocably, and the Holy Spirit showed up definitively, too! Only it was hard to tell. Wasn’t it?

God's holiness is humble this way. Yes, it looked like we were just awkwardly standing up there, saying a few words and splashing a little water. But in reality, God was changing absolutely everything! In baptism, like today’s Scripture, Christ was quietly in control! In baptism, Christ crossed the sea of eternity to save these three; come what may! And, since Christ always goes to “immoderate length,” he also indelibly sent the Holy Spirit of his resurrection into these three! For good measure, he even drowned more than a few demons, too! *Crying children.

…And that brings us to today’s passage. And that’s a good thing, too. It’s a good thing because today’s passage is a good one for today. 

I know. It doesn’t seem like it. Does it? There’s nothing cute or innocent about this passage. In fact, it’s strange and even a little savage, too. 

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized how fitting this passage is! First of all, life can be strange and savage. Can’t it? And, as we said, baptism is not a shield from life. No, baptism is an immersion into the fullest depths of life!

Plus, this is a passage of an exorcism. And guess what? We had an exorcism today, too! You know that part when you were asked to renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God, the powers of this world that rebel against God, and the ways of sin that draw you from God? Yeah, that was an exorcism!

And that’s not the only connection, either! There’s also water. Isn’t there? And it’s a water that cleanses. But, like the waters of baptism, it’s water that cleanses by killing.

Now, I know talk like that makes us more than a little nervous. Doesn’t it? But remember, baptism isn’t a shield from life. No, baptism is the birth canal into it. And the truth is, in real life, Sin doesn’t just go away by wishing it away. No, it has to be killed off.

Luther, discussing the significance of baptism in the Small Catechism, said, “It signifies that the old person in us with all its sins and evil desires is to be drowned and die through daily sorrow for sin and repentance…”*And by the way, *here you go. We want you to have a Small Catechism today, too. Get started early. Just read one entry before each meal. Trust me, they’ll know this graceful theology by heart before they even get to confirmation!

You picked up what Luther was putting down, though. Didn’t you? Luther is telling you what I’ve been trying to say all along! Baptism isn’t just a little ritual! No, baptism is life-altering! 

Wait! That’s not exactly right. Baptism isn’t just life-altering. That’s too weak. No, baptism is life-ending! 

In baptism, L, T, and V’s old lives were washed away! In baptism, their death died! In baptism, God took their former life and placed it upon Christ. And in that exchange, the Holy Spirit gave them Christ’s indomitable resurrection instead!

Now T, V, and L live with their death behind them! Now, nothing in their life will ever be a matter of life and death anymore! No, now it will all be death and life for them, in that order! Death and life. V, T, and L, your old life, consigned to Death, has been washed away forever! And now, you stand in Christ’s ever-new and always eternal life! With St. Paul, you, too, can say it is no longer I who live, it is Christ who lives in me!

…That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too! My inclination is to give you another long sermon. I want to talk about how this passage is sort of a delightfully bizarro take on baptism. Instead of telling you what happens to us in baptism, it says what happens to our demons!

More seriously, I want to talk about how, like the demoniac, there’s nowhere you can go that’s out of reach for Christ. Christ will follow you into the tombs. What’s more, Christ will not let the demons harass you, either! In fact, in Christ’s name, you can do like St. Paul and Luther. You can taunt your demons! St. Paul, picking up on Isaiah’s barb before him, stared down Death to jeer, “Where is your sting?!?” And Luther, as he was apt to be, was a little more, well, colorful. Ask me in private, and I’ll tell you about his jabs. 

Suffice it to say, like the demoniac and the townspeople, Christ refuses to leave your world as it was. A savior like him cannot be controlled. He can only be followed. He storms in and unsettles everything. 

But, in a world gone topsy-turvy, Christ’s disruptions have a way of setting things aright! This is what St. Paul meant when he said God’s peace PASSES all understanding! Christ’s peace comes when things aren’t peaceful. That’s what makes it his! But today, it’s now all yours!

As today’s Scripture depicts, you will be possessed in this life. It’s just a matter of what. Now, though, Christ steps in and settles the matter once and for all for you! L, T, and V, in your baptism, you live, and move, and have your being in Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, the one who is truly human and the one who truly makes you holy, too! Christ is your life that really is life! And he is your righteousness, too!

…But that’s not even the half of it! Christ has so much in store for you! You now belong to the Church! The Church, the ancient assembly. The Church, that community that Christ has engrafted into the holy people of Israel! Your ancestry now goes more than back three thousand and five hundred years!

That’s not all, either! You are all also now fully fledged members of this people, too! And this people, it spans the globe! Ask your daddy; there’s nowhere in the world you can go where you can’t find a church! And that means now there’s nowhere you can ever go where you’ll be alone! Now, every corner of the globe is brimming with your sisters and brothers in Christ!

What’s more, you have a place in these churches, too! And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! If someone should say you don’t belong, tell them you are baptized in the name of Christ! And on account of him, you proudly take your place in the fold!

And if anyone should ever seek to discount your voice, don’t let them! Tell them you belong to the people of Mary and Miriam! Tell them Gabriel told Zechariah to be quiet but listened while Mary sang her lovely Magnificat! Tell them you come from the people of Miriam. Miriam, who led the people of Israel in a song of victory on the safe side of the Red Sea!

And T, whose name means gift of God, if all those voices out there try to tell you you have to be one way or another, tell them you belong to the people of Joseph. Joseph, who listened, and so had the high honor of helping raise Jesus Christ himself! Or tell them you belong to the people of King David! King David, that fierce warrior. King David, that sensitive poet. 

In Christ, you are free to be the gift of God your folks have known you to be all along! And because you really are free, that means there’s not one right way to do it! For if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

…Still, though, there is more! Honestly, no sermon can ever fully capture everything baptism means. And your wicked pastor has used that fact as an excuse to try and pack in five more sermonettes. So let me conclude by just saying that, in Christ, it’s all one great adventure. 

Yes, there are dark and frightening times. But the promise you have is that, although weeping may last for the night, Christ’s joy comes in HIS unstoppable Easter morn! And in your baptism today, you, V, T, and L, you have been born anew into this great and eternal day! And best of all, it all starts now. 

We wish you way more than luck. The old Christian word Godspeed gets closer to our fervent prayers for you three. But best of all is to just stand alongside you and sing with you of God’s love for you!

Today’s hymn was specially chosen for you three today. Hymn number 595, Jesus Loves Me! Let’s sing together! Hymn number 595. Jesus Loves Me! Let’s sing!