1st Sunday after Trinity, 2012
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
June 24, 2012
Today we witnessed one of most
remarkable and most important events in someone’s life: his or her inclusion in
the family of God. We are speaking, of
course, of the baptism of Andrea Cree Elizabeth Gressett. Today we welcome into her the family of God
and the worldwide family of the Church.
This is a family that has millions of members around the globe. It is one that has a single purpose: to worship
and glorify God, and to love Him forever.
Into that family we welcome our newest member with great thanksgiving.
It is not a coincidence that today
the Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, tells us that He will be God to all the
families of Israel. He states that those
who “ were left of
the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to
cause him to rest found
grace in the wilderness .”[i] He is referring to the Northern Kingdom,
Israel, which had been subjugated by the Assyrians some years previously. Their idolatry and sinfulness had been so
extreme that God punished them by the hand of the warlike and fierce
Assyrians. Thus they suffered.
Yet,
in this passage, God promises pardon and restoration to his people, so much so
that they will again plant vines in Samaria and the virgins shall dance with
simple joy, as in the former days before the afflictions of the Assyrians. Furthermore, Jeremiah tells us that they will
be a day when the watchmen on Mt. Ephraim in the Northern Kingdom will proclaim to their nation, “Let us go to
Zion”, that is, Jerusalem. Thus, the
Lord, according to this prophecy, will gather all of the Northern Tribes from where
they have been scattered, and re-unite them into one nation. There will be a glorious restoration.
What
is truly fascinating about this prophecy is that it did not take place in the
time of Jeremiah. It did not take place
in any of the lives of the latter prophets after Jeremiah, and it did not take
place even during Our Lord’s earthly sojourn. It took place beginning on May
14, 1948, when Israel became a nation.[ii] From that time forth, Jews from all over the
world could come home to Israel. God was indeed calling His people home. That
prophecy is still being fulfilled today, as Jews from all over the world still
return to Israel.
As
is typical of prophetic vision, its fulfillment is never easily foreseen by
man. No doubt those listening to
Jeremiah expected an immediate fulfillment of God’s words. In the same way, the early Church expected an
immediate return of Christ. Instead,
it’s been over two thousand years since Jesus ascended into Heaven. We have no idea when Christ will return to
Earth, since that knowledge resides with God the Father alone.
The
point is this: while we do not know when God will fulfill His word, we do know
that He will fulfill it. Witness the restoration of Israel. Witness the
rebuilding of Jerusalem, as foretold in prophecy. Witness our Lord’s promise
and prophecy of the coming of the Holy Ghost, which He fulfilled on that day of
Pentecost so many years ago. Every prophecy foretold in the Bible has come
true, at some point in time, with the exception of one: the rebuilding of the
Temple in Jerusalem. Some believe that when that occurs, it will be major sign
of the end times. Whatever. It may or it may not be. We do not get caught up in end time
projections, which we believe are vain and ultimately not profitable. Instead, we focus on what is important for us
today: the sure knowledge that we can trust the Word of God. It is meant to be
a means to nourish our faith and to enter into greater fellowship with the Son
through the ministry of the Holy Ghost.
Today,
we read about restoration from the Prophecy of Jeremiah. Today, we saw a
concrete example of the promise of restoration in the rite of Holy
Baptism.
While Baptism does not absolutely guarantee one salvation, it does allow one to be eligible to receive the promises of God. That is, Holy Baptism is the entrance rite that allows one the opportunity to enter in fuller fellowship with God the Holy Trinity. Without it, salvation is impossible at worst, or highly problematical at best.
While Baptism does not absolutely guarantee one salvation, it does allow one to be eligible to receive the promises of God. That is, Holy Baptism is the entrance rite that allows one the opportunity to enter in fuller fellowship with God the Holy Trinity. Without it, salvation is impossible at worst, or highly problematical at best.
We
cannot or should not limit the mercies of God.
Yet, we do Jesus commanded us, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,"[iii]
Thus, God has provided us the means by which we can restored to a better
state with Him. Rather than remain
outside of grace, or as St. Paul says in Ephesians 2:12-13, “remember
that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. 13
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by
the blood of Christ.”
Holy Baptism is the key to this inclusion in grace. It is into this blessed fellowship that we
are now very pleased to include Andrea Cree Elizabeth Gressett, our newest
little Christian. She is now a member of
the family of God and an inheritor of the promise of eternal life. Just as Christ called Matthew away from the
receipt of custom, i.e. taxes, into His glorious fellowship, so we are
delighted that He has chosen to call Andrea into the fellowship of the Church.
It is a fellowship that we pray she will cherish and that in turn, will nurture
her in her walk of faith.
All
of us should be thankful for witnessing this event today, for two reasons. First, seeing Andrea baptized should remind us
all of our own baptisms, and thus our own inclusion in God’s Family. Second, we
should give thanks for the ever-present miracle of restoration. Through the
limitless mercies of God, we are all restored daily through the Holy Ghost. That is, we know that we all sin. If we humbly repent of our sins, make a firm
resolution of amendment, and strive to do better, we are forgiven and restored
to our places as members of God’s Household.
Yet, remembering Martin Luther’s words about the old man being a good
swimmer, we know that we still commit sin, even the same sins again and
again. Dr. Luther was, of course, saying
that even though the old nature of original sin is washed away in the waters of
baptism, vestiges of our old nature remain to plague us. Yes, unfortunately, we all still sin on a
daily basis. Although we strive to be
saints, God knows that very few of us ever attain that level of holiness. In fact, we are engaged in a battle against
sin, the World, and the Devil from practically day one in our Christian
walk. But, lest we become downcast or
discouraged in our struggle against these mighty forces, let us remember that
our chief hallmark as Christians should be that of joy.
We
are joyful because we know that, despite our sinful natures, Christ has won the
battle. Ultimate victory is ours through
Him. We are not saved because of our
behavior. God forbid. Instead, we are
saved because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. He accomplished the ultimate restoration,
once, for all men, for all time. This is our trust, our sure hope and our
abounding joy.
So,
welcome, Andrea Cree Elizabeth Gressett, to the community of eternal
restoration. Also, welcome to all of us
to the refreshing restoration of God.
Jeremiah 31:1: “At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of
Israel, and they shall be my people.”
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