In 1984, at the ripe old age of 21, I did a good deal of traveling including my first trip to the Holy Lands. We climbed Masada, toured Bethlehem and walked the grove of ancient trees on the Mount of Olives. We also stopped at the river Jordan, the sacred river where Jesus was baptized. Contemplating what happened along these banks, in these waters, had a profound effect. I was truly moved walking along the banks of this small river, I might even call it a stream. I am sure its path has meandered over time. And yet water has flowed there for centuries. It was so powerful being connected to the life giving force of water where Jesus heard God say, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased” (Lk. 3:22). In that moment, Jesus is claimed by God, surrenders to the waters of baptism, and begins his healing ministry.
When I was there, the youth pastors at my church were expecting their first and only child. So, I scooped up a small bit of water from the Jordan river to share with them. I had glass tubes with me to collect sand from around the world, but this time I used the tube for sacred water. My hope in bringing water from this sacred river was to enhance the connection this precious child would feel with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. My intentions were good, but I made a novice mistake. The water from the Jordan is no better or worse than the water we get out of the facet. The warm water I used to baptize Margot is perfect.
It is not the source of the water that matters, but knowing God is the source and agent of this sacred moment of baptism that makes all the difference.
Last week we looked at Sabbath Water as I shared some of my water experiences while on sabbatical in Australia and New Zealand. Today we look at Sacred Water. A better way of saying that is water used in a sacred act.
Baptism is a sacred act, a holy moment, a community event. We join in welcoming Margot into the family of faith and celebrate with the Franz family and Karen Schultz in the joy found in knowing that God has already claimed Margot. Even before I put water on her beautiful head, God acted. We are simply honoring what God has already done. It is our tradition to baptize infants, because our belief is that God acts first, God’s love has already been extended to Margot and we, as the body of Christ, honor that and make our own promises to support her in her faith journey.
God acts in adults lives too. The story in Acts tells of a grown man, a eunuch from Ethiopia who cared for his queen’s treasury. He oversaw the money. The fact he was in a chariot demonstrates his privilege, that he is described as Ethiopian means he was African. Seeing Rembrandt’s Baptism of the Euchuch depicting a black man kneeling made his ethnicity more real, an important expansion of the gospel. Philip showed no partiality or favoritism. He heard God’s message and he shared his faith. In that moment he was fulfilling the royal law of loving neighbor as yourself. Two things to note here, through God’s intervention the gospel in being spread to the ends of the earth and being shared with a person of color. The Eunuch is believed to be a Jewish convert since he is reading from Isaiah and travel to Jerusalem to worship. There is an intentionality to this encounter. God sends Philip, one of the 12 disciples, to share his faith with him. God is bringing the good news to another people, to a part of the world that is that had yet to know Christ!
In doing so, Philip gets out of his comfort zone, walking a desert road, to follow God’s leading. Then when the opportunity arises, he runs alongside the chariot, he works, he actively strives to engage with him. How many times have you broken a sweat to share our faith? Then he asks questions finding out where this man is in his faith. He says, “Do you understand the scripture you are reading?” That is a great question. But we do not have to wait to find someone reading scripture to engage them. Today we might engage by asking a friend about their faith questions. They might ask, where do you see God? How can I not feel so alone? Who is this Jesus? My question to you is, “Do we shy away from sharing the answer?” It can be hard to share your faith, it can be scary, and you can feel vulnerable.
As part of the Congregational Revitalization pastors are meeting together for Bible study and share ideas about how to invigorate our churches. Looking at Intentional Authentic Evangelism, we were studying the Woman at the Well receiving living water from Jesus, that is true sacred water, the life source we find in our relationship with Jesus. One pastor noted how easy it was to recommend a new restaurant, or a movie. Then I was speaking with Edd Breeden this week and he asked if I had seen Crazy Rich Asian and then went on to tell me the gist of the movie; encouraging me to see it. Yet it makes you wonder why is it so easy to say to someone you should go try this new restaurant or recommend a movie, but we have a hard time sharing the love of Jesus Christ!!! Why are we not as excited about sharing our faith? What prevents us from sharing the gift of grace, the power of salvation, the companionship of Jesus!!
Jesus is so much better than any restaurant or movie, so what keeps us from sharing with that same enthusiasm?
Let’s see what we can learn from Philip. He sees his opportunity when the man asked,
“How can I understand, unless someone guides me?” With that question, the door of faith opens. Philip starts with the Isaiah passage and quickly gets to the good news of Jesus!!
He does not get lost in a million side conversations. He does not get stuck in a debate.
He honors where the man is and gets to the best part, Jesus!
I am sure he shares what knowing Jesus means to him.
How Jesus changed his life, the reality of being forgiven and loved.
He also must have told him to know Jesus you must be baptized!
The amazing promises are yours when you give your life to Jesus and are baptized in his name.
The man got! As soon as he sees water along the side of the road, he can’t contain his excitement asking to be baptized. Philip wonderfully shared the love of Christ. That is some good faith sharing, that is true authentic evangelism. His new faith moves him to action and Philip baptized him!! They did not need water from the Jordan River, or even a Sunday worship with baptismal robe. What is important is coming to faith and taking action, being so excited you dedicate your life to Christ right then and there. That is the power of an alter call, the surrender of a life to Christ and the immediacy of responding to the Spirit at work in your life!!!
God can’t do that without us. God needs our help!
As we think about how we might share the gospel there are several things to note:
Spirit leads, we must do our part, we work for it. We might hear go out on the desert road or go talk to your co-worker. That little nudge you get to say something to your neighbor, or when a friend is felling down sharing the solace you feel in having Jesus in your life. You can be more than a good friend you can share the greatest gift someone has ever received, the love of Jesus Christ.
We also get to Wait for an opening- if you are praying for your neighbor God will open a door for you to have that conversation. A moment when your neighbor is seeking, like when the Eunuch said, I need someone to guide me. Then will you be ready to speak about your faith with the same gusto you have for your favorite restaurant? Maybe we need to practice telling our faith stories
Start where they are and make sure you get to the best part, the love of Jesus! You can’t just start talking on the street corner about Jesus, we get to hear where a person is, listen to their questions, hear the hurt the church might have caused. Be truly present with them. Just make sure like Paul Harvey says, share the rest of the story- the love of Jesus Christ.
Don’t just think your kind words are enough. You have the most valuable gift, help them to unwrap their own gift —the new life they have in Jesus.
When they do, when they see Jesus through your eyes, they will be looking for water. They will want to have Jesus as their partner and friend, and baptism is the path forward. Faith leads to baptism. The water is not sacred; it is God’s Spirit that makes baptism sacred.
It is Jesus dying on the cross for your sins and mine that makes it sacred.
It is our faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit that makes it sacred.
So, when someone asks you what you did this weekend, say I participated in a baptism,
my faith was strengthening by this sacred and communal act
and I would love to share this precious gift of Jesus with you.
Then you will be written into the book of Acts, following in its closing words, “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (28:31). Amen!
