Child of the light
RUMC
9/25/15
The olm is a salamander like creature
that lives its life under water and in total darkness, so it has no need for
eyes.
The cave snail lives in the total
darkness of a cave, so it has developed the ability to glow in the dark.
The bats that fly around here on
summer evenings have sonar like hearing that enables them to fly in the dark.
The owl has huge eyes
that collect more light kind of like night vision goggles, so it can see its
prey in the dark. Four different creatures, and four different adaptations to
living in darkness.
People are like that. We
are born in the darkness of sin and we get used to it.
Biblically the original sin we inherit
is not sinful behavior. It is our separation from God. All have sinned and
fallen short of God’s hopes for us. All of humanity, of which we are a part.
Not some. Not most. All: men, women, and children. We are born in the darkness
of sin, and live in that darkness until we discover the light of Christ.
In time, however, people adjust to the
darkness. Just like the olm, or the cave snail, or the bat, or the owl. People
adjust to the darkness of sin. They get so used to the dark that they don’t even
notice the evil around them: the rampant sexualization of everything, unashamed
greed and conspicuous over consumption, callousness to those judged to be inferior
or even just different, financial irresponsibility in the family as well as at
the highest levels of government, a disregard for truth as long as it furthers a
personal or political agenda, the gang shootings in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids (our
own back yard so to speak), the constant dehumanization of anyone who disagrees
with the popular opinion. And it is not
just “them.” Good church-going folks either close their eyes to it, or adapt to
the darkness around us in order to survive. We have gotten so used to the
darkness, and have adapted so well, it is easy to forget that we were not
created to live in the dark.
As Christians, however,
are not called to adapt to the dark. We are not called to adapt to the evil
around us. Jesus was not a fan of the status quo. He does not say “Behold, I
keep all things the same,” but “behold I make all things new.” Not “I am a
little candle in the darkness,” but “I am the light of the world.” Jesus did
not instruct us to hide our lights under a bushel. He did not call the
disciples to sit at home in the dark. John says, that in Jesus “the light has
come into the world and the darkness cannot overcome it.” Therefore, Jesus commands
the disciples to "Go therefore into all the world and be a light.” “Go
therefore into all the world and baptize.”
That is what today’s passage from Romans
is about. That is what baptism is about. Paul starts out asking “Should
we just continue the status quo and let God take care of it? NO. BY NO MEANS.”
Paul responds. He says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been
buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
The word “baptismos” means to dip or to go down. Now I
know we practice baptism mostly by pouring here, but you have to understand
that in many traditions, and in Paul’s day, baptism is by immersion or going
down. So the going down is compared to being buried with Christ and the coming
up is compared to being resurrected with him. The key phrase in Paul’s passage
for us today is “so we too might walk in newness of life.”
When we come up from that grave, up from
baptism, we are not the same person who went down. We go down dying to our old
selves. We come up filled with life in the Holy Spirit, alive to God in Jesus
Christ. We go down condemned sinners. We come up forgiven saints. We go down
into the darkness-- filled with darkness. We come up into the light-- filled with
the light of Christ.
During a sermon, a pastor asked
the congregation, "What is a saint?” A little boy looked up at the stained glass windows of the
apostles and blurted out, "People who let the light shine through!" [i]
That’s not bad. That’s not bad at all. Baptism makes us like stained glass through
which the light of Christ shines into the dark world. And the world will never
be the same.
If we let
our lights shine for Jesus, the world will be a different place, a brighter
place. Rev. Robert Alden was made famous because Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about
him preaching at that little Walnut Grove church in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE.
He was a real preacher and is quoted as saying "There is not enough
darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle."[ii] There
is not enough darkness in the whole world to put out the light of Christ
shining through one lone Christian. “The
light has come into the world and the darkness cannot overcome it.”
Those who
are baptized into Christ are the beacons that keep others from crashing on the
rocks of sin. Those who are baptized into Christ are the exit lights, showing
the world the way out of the darkness of godlessness. Those who are baptized
into Christ are the lasers that penetrate the darkness when the darkness seems impenetrable.
But… but…
we have to choose to let the light shine through us.
One night a
motorist was hit and killed by a train at a grade crossing. The old signalman
in charge of the crossing had to appear in court. After a severe
cross-examination, he was still unshaken. He said he had waved his lantern
frantically, but all to no avail.
The
following day the superintendent of the railroad called him into his office.
"You did wonderfully well yesterday, Tom," he said. "I was
afraid at first that you might waver." "No, sir," replied Tom,
"but I was afraid that old lawyer was going to ask me whether or not my
lantern was lit!"[iii]
The church
can swing the lantern of the gospel all we want, but if the folks sitting in
the pews, and going into the community, and having coffee at the corner café, and
going to work do not have the light of Christ in them, it won’t save even one
life. But if you carry with you even a small spark of the light of Christ---
nothing, nothing, nothing, can put it out.
So what
does all this have to do with Livy Rae’s baptism today?
Today we
have the honor and joy of receiving one of God’s precious children into the
family by baptism. I am sure that she has already brought light, and love, and
joy to your family. How could such a precious child do anything else?
But baptism
is not just a quaint little family ritual provided by the church to put our
stamp of approval on a child. Not at all.
It is hard
to imagine looking at her now, but Livy was born into the darkness of sin. So
were you and so was I. Being human she is subject to the same congenital sin
with which the whole creation struggles.
Today, in
baptism, Christ places the light of salvation in Livy. (To be clear, remember
that God is a graceful God and children who are not baptized are given grace
upon grace no matter what. Please do not hear me say something that I am not
saying)
Today, in
baptism, Christ places the light of salvation in Livy. And after today, she
becomes a light to the world. She becomes one who shines in the darkness. She
becomes one whom the darkness cannot overcome. That will be her life mission, just
as it is your life mission and mine. That is what the baptismal candle
represents. The light of Christ filling every dark corner of her being.
However,
notice, when I light the baptismal candle off the altar--- which is a symbol of
the light that Christ places in her--- I will not hand it to Livy. Who gets the
candle? Either Matt or Robin. Why? Not
just because it would be really dumb of me to hand a baby an open flame. No. It
is symbolic that you are the keepers of her light of Christ. You are the ones
who will tend her light, fan her flame, and teach Livy what it means to be a
light to the world for Jesus Christ. By everything you do: the way you talk to
her, the way you love her, the way you protect her, the way you show her what
it means to forgive; but especially by the way you teach her to pray, and teach
her the stories of Jesus, and bring her to church, and when she gets old enough
to put her in a Christian Education class, and eventually confirmation so she
can claim for herself the light of Christ that you nurtured and encouraged from
this day forward. You will teach her that the light changes everything for her,
for those around her, and even for the world.
Today you
will promise to raise Livy in the light of Christ and as a family in Christ’s
church by teaching and example as you yourself live out the light of Christ in
your lives. Are you ready to make that promise?
Today,
however, I am doing something different too. After giving you Livy’s light to
tend, I am going to take a minute to take candles to some people in the
congregation. Just random people. No one in particular. Because it is not just
up to Robin ad Matt and the family to care for the light in Livy, it is up to
all of us. Nurturing and encouraging Livy’s faith in Christ and growth in the
light of Christ is the responsibility of every single one of us here. You will
be her teachers, mentors, examples, and heroes in the faith. You will be the
community in which she learns that she is loved and accepted. You will be the
community in which she will learn to Know God for herself. You are the
community that will help her to grow in her faith. You are the community that
will encourage the development of God’s gifts in Livy so that she serves others
as a shining example of Christ’s light set on a hill and not hidden in a basket.
Each and every one of us; all of you and me. That is the vow that we will take
today. That is the promise we will make. Are you willing to accept her as God’s
child entrusted to our care and be all that she needs you to be in order to
become a faithful and light filled child of God changing the world one ray of
love at a time?
"There
are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or to be the mirror that
reflects it."[iv] Christ is the candle…
Christ is the light. Along with Livy, we are the mirrors that reflect Christ’s
light. We are the stained glass that brings that light to life in this world.
Let us shine
brightly-- for Livy and for all the world.
AMEN
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