Water and the Spirit

Water Spirit, by houvv

  

Midweek Lenten Vespers 4

A Reading from the Small Catechism of the Rev’d Dr Martin Luther:

The Sacrament of Baptism, as the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.

First, what is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. Which is that word of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Second, what benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Third, how can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St Paul says in Titus, chapter three: “He saved us through the 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. This is a trustworthy saying.”

Fourth, what does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written? St Paul writes in Romans chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Here ends the reading.

Sermon:

Lord, we pray for the preacher, for you know his sins are great.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

We come now to my favorite section of Luther’s Small Catechism: the Sacraments.

Sacrament, admittedly, is a very churchy word. One doesn’t often hear it outside of the context of religion. It’s the Latin translation of the Greek μυστήριον, or mystery, in the sense of a hidden secret. A mystery, in religion, isn’t something that we cannot figure out, or which we wave away with prestidigitation. Rather, a religious mystery is something that we can only begin to understand when we experience it for ourselves. Sacraments are initiatory.

So what constitutes a sacrament in Christianity? Well, for Luther, it had to meet three criteria. First, there had to be a physical element involved: water, oil, bread, wine. Second, it had to contain the promise of grace. Finally, for a sacrament to be considered a sacrament, we must have a command to go and do it, to share it with the world.

Just as we know our God incarnate in Jesus Christ, made flesh and blood for all the world to see, so we know His promises made tangible in the sacraments. Here we may taste and see and touch the grace and mercy of our God. For as surely as that water in the baptismal Font is wet, so are our sins forgiven.

The Roman Catholic Church likes to say that a sacrament is a sign that contains the very thing which it symbolizes. So, the bread represents the Body of Christ, and it is the Body of Christ. Water represents death and resurrection, and it is death and resurrection. Lutherans largely would agree with that.

Some point out that a difference between our confessions is that Catholics speak of seven sacraments, while Lutherans speak of only two: Baptism and the Eucharist. But again, once you scratch the surface, we’re saying the same thing. The Book of Concord allows that Lutherans may speak of seven sacraments, so long as we understand that the other five are rooted in the Font and in the Table. The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts the same. All sacraments flow from Baptism and Communion.

In Holy Baptism, we are not simply washed of our sins, but drowned in those waters of rebirth; drowned to the Old Creature, the Old Adam, living within us, that then we rise with the New Adam, Jesus Christ, in our lungs and in our veins. Baptism joins us to Christ’s own death, already died for us, that we need never fear death again; and to Christ’s own eternal life, already here begun.

In Baptism, we are given the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who is the Life and Breath of God. And we are given a new name, “Christian,” made members of the Church, who is the Bride and the Body of Christ. All of this, mind you, is grace; all of this is gift. Baptism is not our promise to God, our commitment to God, but God’s promise to us, God’s claiming of us, body, mind, and soul. We are His and He is ours forever. And because it relies on His promise, and not our own, we need never be baptized again—for God does not break promises.

Of course, there is the matter of sin. We fall short of our calling. We fail to be Jesus Christ for a world in need of Him. And so we return here, to the Font of our Baptism, confessing our sins and hearing Jesus’ promise of absolution. Such becomes the rhythm of Christian life: gathered together, fed and forgiven, sent back out in order to resurrect the world; then gathered again the next Sunday, to start the process over. It’s like breathing, in and out, or a pulse rushing to and from the heart.

Luther considered this cycle of Confession and Absolution so vital to our faith that he initially included it in his Small Catechism as a third sacrament. But then he realized that forgiveness remains so inextricably linked to our Baptism that the two truly are one. And so, in the next edition, he did not remove Confession and Absolution from the text, but simply included it in this section on Baptism—for indeed, Confession is our return to the waters where Jesus meets us.

Lutherans typically confess as a body, to receive corporate forgiveness. And this is good and true. Yet our clergy also offer personal and private Confession, for those sins that particularly trouble our consciences. As the Anglicans like to say, when it comes to private Confession, “All may. Some should. None must.” But Luther also warned us that, if the Church should ever lose the practice of private Confession, it could only be because the devil stole it from us.

Every night, before bed, the Christian prays and dies to sin. And every morning we rise anew with the life of Christ within us, the undying flame of His Holy Spirit, who makes of our bodies Her temples. Sometimes we call this “walking wet,” another way of saying that we must live out our Baptism each and every day. The Christian dies and rises every day, every week, every year, until that day when we rise at last, never to die again.

Baptism is a promise. Baptism is a command. Baptism is death and resurrection. The whole purpose of Lent is to prepare us for it, to welcome us forever into the risen life of Christ.

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pertinent Links

RDG Stout

Blog: https://rdgstout.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RDGStout/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqiJiPAwfNS-nVhYeXkfOA

X: https://twitter.com/RDGStout

St Peter’s Lutheran

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Website: https://www.stpetersnymills.org/

Donation: https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z9EG/home

Nidaros Lutheran

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nidaroschurch6026