Baptized and Being Made Holy January 13, 2008 The Baptism Of Our Lord

There is always water in the baptismal font. That’s to help you remember that you are baptized.

It’s not “holy water,” in the sense that a bishop has blessed it so that it is changed into some sort of a different reality. We Lutherans don’t go for that. Instead, we see something dynamic going on during a baptism – that the Holy Spirit is working in the Word of gospel promise and the water and the faith of those who have come to the font for baptism. In the Small Catechism, Luther tries to explain what can’t be explained in this way: “Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead it is water enclosed in God’s command and connected with God’s Word.”

In Luther’s words, baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.” But it is not water, alone, which accomplishes these great things. Luther writes, “Clearly the water does not do it, but the Word of God, which is with and alongside the water, and faith, which trusts this Word of God in the water. For without the Word of God the water is plain water and not a baptism, but with the Word of God it is a baptism, that is, a grace-filled water of life and a ‘bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit,’ as St. Paul says to Titus.”

I keep water in the baptismal font at all times to help you remember that all of that happened to you in that “bath,” when you were baptized! Feel free to dip your hand into the water as you pass the font, if that will help you remember your baptism as a daily reality. Some folks like to mark themselves on their foreheads with a wet thumb. This is especially appropriate to do as you approach the communion table, because there is such a close link between the one-time gift of salvation in baptism and the weekly nourishment in that salvation, as we eat and drink the Holy Communion!

Luther encouraged us to make the sign of the cross frequently. This teaching was lost for centuries in the Lutheran church. It was recovered 30 years ago, when the Lutheran Book of Worship was published. But the practice still sounds suspect to Lutherans who were raised up through the middle of the last century. Many were taught that making the sign of the cross was something that those Catholics did, and so, “good Lutherans” needed to avoid it!

But, for instance, in the Catechism, Luther’s teaching of a short morning blessing begins: “In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: ‘God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.’ Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you wish, you may in addition recite this little prayer as well”; and an eloquent three-sentence prayer follows. The Catechism also includes Luther’s evening blessing: “In the evening, when you go to bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: ‘God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.’” Then comes the same teaching about saying the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, and another three sentence prayer is offered, for the evening.

Why make the sign of the cross, first thing upon waking and last thing before sleeping? It is to remember that we are baptized! If you’re ever asked by a Bible thumper, “Are you saved?” a good answer to give is, “Yes, ever since about the year 33 AD.” It is through our baptisms that you and I are incorporated into the community of salvation that has existed since Jesus the Christ saved us on the cross. Baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.” And so, we are saved, once and for all.

Is that all there is to it? Of course not! There is the life of faith. During our baptismal lives, through the practices of the faith, God the Holy Spirit makes us holy.

I remembered this language last Sunday night, during Affirmation of Baptism class. We were looking at Luther’s explanation of the Creed in the Small Catechism. The third article of the Creed is where we speak the words about the Holy Spirit and the holy catholic church. Luther entitles this section in the Catechism: “The Third Article: On Being Made Holy.” And Luther begins his explanation with, perhaps, the most radical faith statement he ever wrote: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, …”

Do you see how radical this is? On my own, I cannot even believe in Jesus Christ my Lord! On your own, you cannot come to Jesus Christ our Lord. You and I cannot decide to follow Jesus. It is God the Holy Spirit, within us as individuals and among us as a community of faith, enabling us to do this; leading and guiding us; opening us and motivating us along the baptismal path of being made holy.

What does it look like, to be made holy? There’s a good description in Paul’s short letter to the church at Galatia, that I keep coming back to in my own prayer life. We should all have these words from chapter five of Galatians underlined in our Bibles: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So, actually, it’s easy to tell if you’re open to God the Holy Spirit who is making you to be holy! It is as you are growing more deeply in love with God, and as you are becoming more joyful! When you feel angry and judgmental, unforgiving, then your emotions are telling you that you are closed off from God the Holy Spirit who wants to draw you closer, and to make you holy.

Using Paul’s list, you are being made holy as you live more grounded in the peace of Christ, and as you become more patient in suffering. Anxiety and worry are signs that you are closed off from our God who is full of grace.

As you are made holy by God the Holy Spirit, you are kind. You are generous. Faithfulness and gentleness and self-control: these are also fruit of the Spirit, according to Paul, as God is making you holy in the life of faith, through the practices of the faith.

“I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, …”

We remember this when we remember our baptisms.

In the name of God, who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia