…He saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

As most of you know I recently returned from Bangladesh, recently as in late Thursday afternoon. While I was there I was privileged to observe a Hindu dedication ceremony, Nishkramana. At this ceremony the mother and other women, I assumed the grandmother and an aunt and maybe a friend or two brought the month old baby to a small Hindu temple. They laid the baby before the statue of one of their gods or goddesses, offered a prayer and left an offering- the offering was in a small (5x5x2) pink box.

These people loved the baby and were, as parents are, very proud of their baby. They wanted to do for him what was prescribed by their faith. This reminded me of the story of Joseph and Mary bringing baby Jesus to Temple, Luke writes, When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every first born male is to be consecrated to the Lord’. (Luke 2.22)

Even today many people bring their babies to church to dedicate them, to seek Grandparent’s blessing, to do for them what the Law requires. Some come because it is a custom, others come seeking God’s favor, and still others come because, “it is what we do.”

I looked at the Hindus, I looked at Joseph and Mary, I looked at what some do and pondered how similar all this is. In my prayerful pondering I wondered if baptism might be more than just a custom or something required of us, more than just seeking to earn or merit God’s favor. If it were more than all that and if it was, then who could make it more? What if it were something that God did, not our work but a work of God? What if rather than us who are by nature sinful, yes, even as the Psalmist writes sinful from birth, (Psalm 51.5) what if it rather than us seeking to draw near to God, it was God who was seeking to draw near to us, to draw us to Himself?

In Jesus we have all that is God in flesh appearing. (Col 2.9) By His birth, God has drawn near to us in a very real way not us to Him but Him to us. John records, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Luke tells us that by His teaching, healing, and compassion Jesus created in people the desire to draw near to Him. People were bringing babies to Him that He might touch them. When the disciples saw this, maybe, they were thinking that this was a waste of the Master’s time and touch– the things of God are for those of us who can understand it. People were bringing babies to Him that He might touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, ‘Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Luke 18.15-17) Come to Me I have great gifts for you- gifts of forgiveness, hope, comfort, and peace. These gifts are for you and your children and those who are far off. (Acts 2.38)

Jesus has placed these gifts in His means of grace. He has connected these gifts to His word, to His supper, to His church and to His baptism. Jesus has made baptism more than a ceremony, more than a dedication, and more than something we do for Him. Being fully God, He has made it something He is doing for us. He comes to us bearing gifts. We hear this declared in Paul’s letter to Timothy: He saved us through a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3.5-7) He saved us; He justified us, to be justified is to be “made right with God”. The separation sin has caused between us and God has bridged not by our doing but His, by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In Colossians we hear: He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1.13) What an incredible gift, we are rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil. All these gifts of rebirth, renewal, forgiveness, justification, and life come to us from Jesus at our baptism. God declares to us through Paul’s divinely inspired letter to the Galatians: You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Gal 3.26) Clearly Jesus, the Godman, has made baptism more than a work of man. It is by faith we take hold of these gifts.

Somewhere out there, there must be a skeptic who is saying, “Wait a minute! Pastor, are you going to say that the little baby you just baptized has faith? …. I don’t think so.” One might argue how can a little baby have faith, and if faith is a work of man then I might be tempted to agree with you, but what if faith is not something we do but what God does. Do the Scriptures not declare that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Heb 12.2) Martin Luther writes of our faith in the Small Catechism: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” The author of my faith is not me but He. If God is indeed the author of my faith is it impossible for God, the creator and sustainer of all things, the one who with just a Word called all things into being, is it impossible for Him to create real and saving faith even in an infant? The Scriptures declare that nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1.37)

Faith in babies is a stumbling block for many people, but allow me to explain it in this way: when a baby is born it quickly bonds to his parents especially his mother. He learns her touch, her voice; he comes to depend on her for care and nurturing. We heard in Titus that in baptism we experience a rebirth. Through baptism, God creates a special spiritual bond in us to trust Him, to look to Him, and to depend on Him. In baptism, God creates real faith. To all of us it may not be evident, something we can see, but that does not mean it is not there. For if God put it there then we trust it is there.

It is that faith that parents, sponsors and the rest of the baby’s family in Christ are charged with growing, keeping him in mind, bringing him to services at God’s house, and placing the Scriptures in his hands that his faith may grow and flourish.

When I was traveling there was one thing that I took great pains to protect, something that I held on to- my passport. Oh, to many it may look like just another piece of paper, but, oh, how important those pieces of paper are. That little blue book declared if anything goes wrong, if trouble overtakes me, if worse comes to worse the government of the Untied States stands behind me and beside me. It declares my citizenship.

More than once, I held on to that to blue book with a death grip. Well, we have something that declares God is for us, beside us and behind us, over us, before us, and even within us- it is our baptismal certificate. This piece of paper like a passport may just be a piece of paper but it is what that piece of paper declares that is important. “This one,” says God, “is mine”. I have adopted him, declared him to be my child- an heir of heaven - and nothing shall cause Me to abandon him. God has declared: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Heb 13.5, 6) Because of this promise and all the convincing evidences- the miracles, the cross, the empty tomb- we can go forward even into the uncertainty of this life with confidence for God goes with us and is for us. All the power of heaven is for us.

All around us are people who trying to earn the favor of God by doing this or that, by offering this sacrifice, or by doing this or that good deed all in the hope that some god or gods might be pleased with them. They need to hear it isn’t about us and our deeds, it isn’t about us trying to draw near to God but about the one true God drawing near to us. They need to hear about all that Jesus has connected to baptism, and by that hearing be drawn to the things of God. They need to hear that we are not saved by our works nor good intentions but are saved by Words and promises that Jesus has connected to baptism. But, how will they hear if no one tells them.

Amen