“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely - be content with your pay.” The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
(Luke 3:10-18)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Almost every minister you speak to will tell you that funerals come in spurts. That was certainly the case for me in the months of May and June, when I conducted nine of them. I suppose, at least in the last couple of weeks, the same could be said for baptisms. We've had a mini-spurt of those: baptisms the last two Sundays. Of course, we focus on such occasions on the baptism of a baby – and appropriately so. We don't so much focus our attention on the baby (although there's a tendency to reflect on how cute or well behaved or poorly behaved the babies are when they're baptized) but rather we focus on what we believe God is doing through the sacrament. And, of course, we focus on baptism with water – because that's how we do it in church. It's the visible baptism. It's the ritual. It's the one we think about most often because it's the one we see on at least a semi-regular basis. But with the baptisms of the last two weeks behind us – and with the cuteness of the babies behind us as well (because I know well enough not to try to compete with babies in the area of cuteness!) I found myself doing some reflecting on the subject of baptism in general, and on why our emphasis is so heavily on water baptism. It is, after all, only one of three baptisms mentioned in the New Testament, and the interesting thing is that aside from the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River, there's only one other explicit reference to baptism with water in the New Testament (which I'll mention in a few minutes.) That makes me wonder if we don't miss a lot about our faith by focusing so much on water baptism. The words of John the Baptist seem pretty clear to me: “baptize you with water. But ... [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” There's three different descriptions of baptism referred to there. What are they about, and how do they impact our lives of faith? Let's start with a few reflections on water baptism.
The passage today makes it very clear: water baptism is John's baptism – not Jesus', but John's. So, I wonder, should it be taken as normative for Christians? Is it necessary for Christians? Do we, in fact, place too much emphasis on water baptism, primarily because it's an outward baptism or a ritual – one we can see and one we can participate in, but whose actual importance is somewhat limited? William Booth, who was the founder of the Salvation Army, rejected water baptism as unnecessary and even divisive in the body of Christ. And the truth is that, as I said, after the encounter between Jesus and John the only time water baptism is specifically spoken of in the New Testament is one occasion in the Book of Acts when the Apostle Philip comes across an Ethiopian official, shares the gospel with him, brings him to faith and is then asked by the Ethiopian for a water baptism. Philip seemed to see little need for water baptism. It was the Ethiopian who wanted it. Why? Perhaps because it's concrete and visual, and ritual – while perhaps not important to God – is important to us. Philip didn't seem to think it was necessary, but he agreed because the Ethiopian wanted it to happen. And that's it for explicit references to water baptism in the New Testament – Jesus in the Jordan, and an unnamed Ethiopian by Philip. There's one other reference in 1 Corinthians that suggests that Paul may have water baptized people, although he doesn't specifically mention water. All the other references to baptism are very general. The other thing we can say for sure from the New Testament witness about water baptism is that it's not explicitly Christian. Clearly it pre-dated Christ, since John baptized before Jesus' ministry began. I see water baptism as a symbol of God's grace being extended to all – even to the youngest and smallest child. It's universal; it's available to all, just as God is available to all. I believe that church “rules” that restrict who's allowed to be water-baptized miss the point of water baptism. I also believe that Christians who think water baptism is necessary for salvation miss the point of water baptism. Water baptism “does” nothing in and of itself. It simply serves as a reminder to all who are involved that God's grace is always upon us and will never be taken from us. Some criticize that baptism has become more a rite of passage than a spiritual act, and they think we should become more strict in who we baptize but I'm quite sure that's wrong. Becoming too strict about who we'll baptize misses the point of water baptism, which is – again – that God's grace is available to all.
Let's remember that John downplayed the importance of water baptism. It was his baptism; it wasn't the baptism to be offered by the Messiah. So now we enter the baptism of Jesus. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit ...” John said. The idea of baptism in the Holy Spirit has been one of the most controversial and abused concepts in Christianity in my opinion. Many make the argument that only some Christians are baptized with the Holy Spirit. They then make the argument that certain signs (especially speaking in tongues) have to be present as the sign that one has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. This quite simply has no support in the New Testament. Paul, in his list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, downplays the gift of speaking in tongues. He would surely hold it up as important if it were the one and only sign of baptism with the Holy Spirit. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit does not have to be accompaniment by so-called signs and wonders. It does not divide the Body of Christ into those who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and those who haven't. After all, the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of unity, and Ephesians 4:3 tells us that we are to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.” The idea that only some Christians get this added privilege of being baptized in the Holy Spirit doesn't “keep the unity of the Spirit.” It actually divides. I don't believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit was meant to divide Christians into two camps – those who have it and those who don't. I believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit creates and sets apart the Body of Christ. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is another way of saying that a person has been moved to faith by the Holy Spirit; that they've made a faith commitment to being a disciple of Jesus. The Holy Spirit allows us to become aware of God's presence, and at that moment of faith, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live as a disciple of Jesus. Baptism with the Holy Spirit doesn't divide the Body of Christ; it creates and unites the Body of Christ.
And then comes the toughest one. Jesus also, according to John, “will baptize you with ... fire.” Some people believe this is the same as baptism with the Holy Spirit; that it's one thing: “baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” I don't believe that it's one thing. I think it's referring to a separate concept. You get baptized with the Holy Spirit, and then you get baptized with fire. Some see it as faith being tested by difficult times – and being baptized with fire has entered the secular lingo too, and it means “I faced a really hard test and I made it through.” Others see it as a reference to eternal judgement – so baptism with fire becomes the flames of hell. So those baptized with the Holy Spirit are the “good” ones, and those baptized with fire are the “bad” ones. I don't agree with either. I see something completely different going on here. I see this as what happens to us after the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Baptism with fire is the act of purifying (or sanctifying) us. It's the ongoing process of growth in faith. When Jesus “[s] the wheat into his barn, but ... burn[s] up the chaff with unquenchable fire” it means that all that mars or distorts God's image is taken from us – burned like chaff – so that only God's image remains with us, and only God's image shines from us. That's a lifelong process – and likely beyond this life as well! The baptism with fire isn't literal fire. Fire is a symbol, and the imagery is fire, not because fire destroys, but because fire gives life. Fire is necessary. Forest fires lead to new forests. Fire is used to purify. The baptism with fire is the process of making us what we're supposed to be. It is a lifelong process. It's not symbolic, like baptism with water; it's not a one time thing like baptism with the Holy Spirit. It's ongoing. It never ends. And it's positive.
I don't believe that John was suggesting that there are three different baptisms, and I'm not saying there are three baptisms either. I'm saying that there's just one baptism (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism”) and I believe the different imagery (water, Holy Spirit and fire) is a way of showing that, in effect, our baptism is a lifelong process, extending from beginning to end. The Greek word the New Testament uses that we translate as “baptize” actually means to “cover” or to “immerse.” And it's not water we're being covered or immersed in – it's God: who gives us grace, who gives us faith, and who makes us what we're supposed to be. Water, Holy Spirit and fire are three parts of the one baptism that unites us to Christ and to each other in faith and in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment