There's nothing like a boat-load of baptisms to get you thinking about what it means to be a Christian-person. Never in 20 years of ministry have I seen or heard of an Episcopal church that had two Sundays back to back with baptisms. It was a joyful experience seeing the children and the parents as the Church welcomes them in the arms of Christ. God has shown St. Peter's a vision of what he wants for us. He has called us to make disciples and baptize them.
I hear the baptismal covenant questions, "Do you believe in God the Father...In Jesus Christ his only Son...in the Holy Spirit? More and more my answer is yes, I believe. And as I listen to your experiences out in the world (in our community) the more I see the need for God's love, forgiveness, and God's order. So many people are hurting, especially children who lack parental affections and boundaries. St. Peter's does an amazing job to feed hungry families. Even more so, they need love. We've struggled to find ways to reach people with God's love beyond temporal needs. So, we are asking God to show us how and provide the way.
Making disciples of Jesus Christ is not an easy task. Many people think that they know Jesus. He's often treated simply as a nice person who cares about people. If he were that simple to follow we might truly be a Christian nation that upholds the teachings of Christ. In reality, we all need to know him more. Perhaps we know "The church." We know religion. We know moral values and codes of behavior, many of which are actually set by the culture or our own inclinations. We may be prone to follow our own moral compass. That mentality is often supported by the church. But God knows that our own compasses are flawed and we need God's revelation and one another to support and correct our flaws.
In the baptismal covenant we're asked, "Do you accept Jesus... as Savior... and again...as Lord. This series of questions is placed in the proper order. It is the gentleness of Christ's gift that invites us to be saved by him. It takes humility to acknowledge that we have sinned and need saving. St. Paul's concern (and that of the baptismal covenant) is that we cannot separate Jesus' Salvific work from his Lordship. He has purchased us with a great price. His life! We cannot call him Savior without also calling him Lord. And to call him Lord, demands obedience. That's something we don't like. Think back to the Garden of Eden. The first sin is disobedience to a God who tried to keep us safe. We can only learn obedience through study, prayer, and practice.
What are we to do to call him Savior and Lord? The baptismal question that helps is: Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? The response is, "I will, with God's help." What is interesting about the response is that the response is two-fold. "I will"-is an act of surrender of your will to that of God's. Obedience. "With God's help, is not at all the idea that he is coming along side to push us forward. In actuality, it's acknowledging the very fact that we lack the capacity to perform good works without him. I can do nothing apart from his help. When we say, "with God's help." we are saying it is God's action in me that makes it possible to fulfill this promise. It is God who wakes you up in the morning, has you open your bible to read, and to guide your prayers. It is God who brings you to the Eucharist to break bread, it is God who directs your heart and mind to fellowship with other believers. The act of your will is simply to step out of the way and obey God's direction.
