Baptism of the Lord

January 13, 2008

Omaha, NE

Rev. Steven W. Plank

“Shaped by Font and Table”

Text: Isaiah 42:6b – “I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people…”

Scripture Lessons: Matthew 3:13-17

Isaiah 42:1-9

Proposition: The Sacraments of the Church are not just “nice” things that we do “when appropriate.” Baptism and Communion are integral to the life of the Church and to our life of faith. How are we “Shaped by Font and Table?”

Prayer for Illumination: Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in the ways of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.

I have a favorite cartoon. It shows a stereotypical drawing of God: old man, long beard, waving hair, wearing a white robe. In front of him is a table on which are laid several long, slender pieces of clay. God has some clay in his hands, making it long and slender like the ones on the table by rubbing the clay in his hands together. As the Lord works, there is a smile on his face as he says, “Boy, these are a cinch to make!” The caption? “And God creates snakes.”

Have you ever seen an artist at work, shaping something with her hands or with the tools of his trade? A few years ago, Caroline and I drove out to Estes Park, Colorado to pick up our son, David, at the end of his music camp. We spent an afternoon walking through the town, stopping to see the amazing mix of things that are for sale there. Did you know that there is a store that sells Nebraska sports gear and memorabilia right in the middle of Estes Park? That’s Estes Park, Colorado! It’s a brave man that opens a Husker shop in Colorado!

On the west side of Estes Park, Caroline and I went into a stained glass shop. We were surprised to find the artist who owns the shop at work while we were there. He was blowing glass… taking molten glass from an incredibly hot furnace, putting it on the end of a long pole, then blowing into the other end, forcing the liquid glass to expand as he turned the pole. While we were there, he was making Christmas ornaments: beautiful, colorful, amazing globes of glass. We watched him for a long time, listening to him explain his craft. Finally, we ended up buying an ornament… which is probably why he had that shop, don’t you think? It was amazing to watch him shape the molten glass into these incredible art pieces.

Have you ever watched someone turn clay on a wheel, shaping it into a work of art or into a functional piece of pottery? It looks easy… until you try it! The clay has to have just the right mix of water in it or else you either cannot mold it well because it’s too dry, or it doesn’t hold its shape at all because it’s too wet. The wheel must be turned at the proper speed in order to shape the clay properly. And just the slightest pressure of the palm of your hand or of your fingers as you work with the clay can make all the difference. To watch a potter at work… to watch them shape the clay into whatever sort of pottery piece they desire… is astounding.

What shapes us? I don’t mean what shapes our bodies. That comes from too much food, or too little… from a lot of exercise, or none at all… from being healthy, or suffering from an illness or disease. But what shapes us inside? What molds us into the kinds of people that we become? There are lots of things that contribute to who we are. There is the age old debate of nature vs. nurture… whether we are shaped more by physiological things that make our brain and body work certain ways, or whether we are shaped more by our environment, by our parents, by our friends, by whether we are rich or poor. There’s probably no end to that debate, but that’s not what I mean, either. I mean what shapes us? What nourishes our soul? What encourages us when we are down? What strengthens us when we are going through a difficult time? What does God use to help shape and form us into the kind of people that we know God would like us to be?

There are a couple of beautiful prayers that are a part of the service called “Prayer at the Close of Day” in the Presbyterian Church’s Book of Common Worship. They come from prayers of confession that one might offer to God as you reflect back upon how the day went. One prayer asks: “In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name.” The other prayer is offered to God if you are worshiping with others during that service. After a prayer of confession is offered, another person or group says: “May Almighty God have mercy on you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins and give you time to amend your life.” These are prayers that ask God to help us shape and mold our lives into being the kind of people that God wants us to be… that God calls us to be… that we would like to be ourselves.

So what shapes our lives in this kind of way? Worship does. Prayer does. Reading the Bible does. Engaging in acts of compassion towards others does. Asking for forgiveness from those we have wronged does. Granting forgiveness to those who ask, who have wronged us, does. Serving other people does. But there are a couple of other things that play a major role, I believe, in helping us in this regard. I believe we are “Shaped by Font and Table” – by the fact and promise of our baptism which we remember when we see water in the font, and by the continuing communion we share with God and each other each time we gather around Christ’s Table.

Several years ago I found my baptismal certificate. It told me that I was baptized on December 16, 1951, when I was just a little over eight months old. Do I remember that? Of course not! But I’ve learned that it doesn’t make any difference at all if I can remember my baptism or if I can’t. Some of you probably remember when you were baptized. Many of you don’t. It doesn’t make any difference… because the bottom line about baptism is that it isn’t so much about what we remember or what we say. It’s about what God says to us… what God says about us. In baptism, God steps up to the plate. God says, “This person is my child. They belong to me. I will be their God… forever! I have marked them and claimed them as my own. There is no place they can go and no thing they might do that will force me to abandon them.” Each time we see a baptismal font, or a baptismal tank of water, or a river or pool or pond or whatever it is that reminds you of baptism, we are shaped by the reality that we belong to God… that we are a child of God… and that God is always, always with us. That helps shape who we are and how we live.

When I was growing up in the church, we celebrated Communion four times a year, and you could not receive Communion until you became a member of the church. We’ve changed that over the years. Communion in the Presbyterian Church is now open to young and old alike, and we celebrate Communion in our church a little more often than once a month… and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church says that it’s appropriate to “celebrate the Sacrament as often as each Lord’s Day.” Wow… is that ever a change! Why the changes? We have grown in our understanding of the spiritual benefit of Communion… how we are nurtured by the Spirit when we gather with others around Christ’s Table, repeat ancient words of love and blessing and mystery and wonder, and share bread and drink together in the Lord’s name. That helps shape who we are and how we live.

Several years ago, one of our church members sent me this story.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between 2 wolves. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

In these sacred rituals that the Church calls Sacraments, the Spirit of God comes to us anew, reminds us that we have been claimed in the waters of baptism, and feeds us with the presence of Christ in our hearts as we break bread and share the cup together. In our life of faith, as we strive to open ourselves so that God can guide and help and empower us to live in Christ’s ways, we are “Shaped by Font and Table.” We are simply clay in the Potter’s hands. And God does good work!

AMEN!