A Sermon Preached By

The Rev. Dr. Peter W. Shidemantle

A Baptism of the Lord, January 13, 2008

PEBBLE HILL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

5299 Jamesville Rd., DeWitt, NY  13214

Phone:  315-446-0960     FAX:  446-0672

phillchu@twcny.rr.com     http://pebblehill.presbychurch.org

“Getting to the Right Questions”

Those of you who are teachers, or retired from the teaching profession, would testify, I’m sure, that students who ask good questions make a stronger impression than those who just come up with the right answers.  It shows that they are really thinking about the material, and not just what they need to know for the next exam.  I can understand the frustration of teachers who have to teach for exams - as if education were solely about stuffing facts into students’ heads.  The best teachers, we’d probably all attest, if they have the freedom to teach, are the ones who cause us to question and to raise questions in the search for deeper understanding.

            I think it is the same way for faith - that is, it’s not so much about finding answers as it is getting to the right questions, the kind of questions that lead to deeper faith.  Life itself brings lots of questions, which people bring to their faith in God, questions that they often look to religion to answer.  Many times they come as “why?” or “how? questions, brought on by misfortune or by confusing, difficult situations or experiences.  How could God let this happen?  Where is God in all this mess?  How can I know what God would have me do?  There are the other, more objective, you might say more “academic” questions that are so prevalent in this election year, when presidential candidates in a public debate are asked about where they stand on evolution vs. some form of creationism.  These kinds of questions may or may not be interesting to debate - but they aren’t true questions of faith.  A lot of the questions about God and religion that are argued over in the public square and even denominational meetings have to do with declaring where you stand, trying to convince others of your position, more than seeking understanding.  Some years ago there was a popular bumper sticker that said “Jesus is the answer.”  Like me, maybe you thought when you saw one of those: What’s the question?

            The Bible isn’t an answer book, but our teacher.  The scriptures help us get to the right questions.  Our scripture lessons for today raise one such question for us.  The prophet Isaiah ministers, beginning in the 40^th chapter of the book given his name, to the people of Israel who are in exile in Babylon (present day Iraq).  The people are in political and theological crisis.  We know from the scriptural witness that they were asking a lot of questions of their God.  Could they really trust in God to keep his divine promise to them?  How were they to live in exile, how could they sing songs to their God in a foreign land?  The prophet, speaking God’s word, responds by lifting up the image of the servant whom God chooses, “in whom,” God says, “my soul delights.”  And in Matthew, at the baptism of Jesus by John, the heavens are opened and the spirit of God descends like a dove and a voice from heaven says: “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” - Peterson in “The Message” - “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

            From its beginning the church has seen Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Servant of God.  It has seen in the life of Jesus himself, that which gives delight to God.  Isaiah spells it out.  This servant “will not cry or lift up his voice;” “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.”  In other words, unlike Cyrus, the military leader of Persia who will release God’s people from their captivity in Babylon, the One who conquers even deeper captivities of body and soul will exercise a completely different style of power.  “Tenderly” will he work to establish the justice longed for throughout the earth.  The servant will bring forth justice by assuring that the fragile, delicate, tender realities will be preserved and not demolished.  The servant will not fail or be discouraged until this justice is established.  And along the way toward this justice the servant will not trample on the poor and the needy, but will lift them up and minister to them.  God’s servant is persistent and proceeds with care.  This is how God chooses to act in the world - according to Isaiah, and according to the life of Jesus.  And this is what continues to delight God in God’s servants.

            And so the deeper question for the people of God, the question that comes before any of the questions arising from the situation of our own lives, before questions about where we stand on this doctrine or that - is “What brings delight to God?”  It is the question that comes to the community of the baptized - to those who have been marked as Christ’s own, forever - to Alexander, to all of us as we celebrate on this day his baptism and the Baptism of the Lord - the incomparable gift we receive as creatures beloved of God.

            This is big, much bigger than we might ordinarily think.  Once, years ago, I received a call from a friend of my sister, who knew that I had baptized my sister’s first child in our home church (that child is now a resident in pediatric medicine).  Her friend called to ask if I did “backyard baptisms.”  The way she put it made me wonder if there was a category of baptism I hadn’t heard of before.  As I asked a few questions I learned that only the child, Mom and Dad and their families would be present.  I explained that the location wasn’t really the issue, because God is present everywhere, but that as a sacrament of the church, baptism, in the tradition of which I was a part, had to be celebrated in the presence and with the participation of the church community to make any sense at all.  This made it easier for me to tell her I couldn’t do it, but I encouraged her to find a church that would help raise their child in the faith.

            Early on in the church’s life, when the church was a persecuted minority, or at best barely tolerated, baptism was truly a subversive act that signified one’s primary loyalty to God, and not to any human power.  The way it was “done” brought to mind the entire history of Israel and the church - as does the baptism of Jesus in this morning’s gospel.  The Jordan River, where John baptized Jesus, was where Moses interprets the Torah, the law/teaching of God before crossing over into the Promised Land, the land of freedom from the power and might of Egypt.  The occasion of Jesus’ baptism there takes us all the way back to the first chapter of Genesis, where in God’s act of creation that separates earth and sky, and God breaks through to speak life into existence – as in the account of Jesus’ baptism the heavens opened and the spirit of God descends as a dove upon him.

            Like the Israelites crossing over from slavery to freedom, baptism marked the crossing over from the old life in the world to the new life of the Spirit.  Early church structures had large pools in which the candidate for baptism was immersed, unclothed, signifying burial, and then raised up, clothed in a white robe, signifying the cleansing and newness of life in the community of the new era, citizens of the kingdom of God.  Over time the practice of baptism became more individualized and privatized, to the extent that in many places it became an action or a rite of social conformity.  It was simply something one did, on a par, we might say, with a coming out party, or getting your driver’s license at age 16.

            But it’s all still there.  Just as the baptism of Jesus initiated his public ministry, which led him to the cross, baptism is our call to the community of the church, which we know often enough provides us with crosses of our own to bear.  Yet it is together, as church, that we, as servants of the Lord, are meant to witness to peace in a cruel and violent world, and bring a message of hope in the face of despair.  Whatever the worldly powers might be - the baptized are called to witness to another, greater power.  We are marked for this purpose.  We are marked not to assure our “standing” before God - not some protection against the evils of this world or a guaranteed place in the next - but we are marked for a “life” before God.

            Is what brings delight to God enough for us?  Can we truly live for this, with this question always before us?  Well, stack it up against other things.  What about happiness?  It is fleeting, as they say.  We are thankful for the liberty to pursue it, but it is not guaranteed.  What about power?  It’s fine, until someone comes along who is more powerful, and they will.  What about wealth?  It can get you more things, provide more opportunities, including opportunities to serve others, but it’s hard to maintain - and you certainly can’t take it with you.  What about security?  It can become an obsession, and it cannot ultimately be assured.

            Wouldn’t you rather cast your lot with God’s delight?  The way is difficult, yes, but nothing makes more sense or brings more peace, once you’re on the way.  His “yoke is easy and (his) burden is light,” Jesus said – which is one of those amazing paradoxes of following the suffering servant – and one you can’t know about until you get yoked and start carrying his love around.  And then, the questions start changing.  They start changing from why God isn’t doing this or allowing that, or where is God, to more “I” questions.  How can I minister in God’s name in this situation?  How can I show the love of Christ in the midst of fear or lust for revenge?  How can I choose the right way, when it’s so much easier just to let it slide?

            It is difficult to be a follower of the suffering servant, who calls for his people to suffer for others – to walk tenderly, to persist in love, to witness to a kingdom that reverses many of the most cherished values and practices of this world.  It raises more questions sometimes than it answers, because you have to live into the answers to the most important questions.  And I believe that God is delighted with good questions.

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