Janet had been visiting the church for a few weeks when she called for an appointment. When she came in to the office, she said that something was troubling her and she wanted to talk about it. Something about her faith was bothering her; it was her baptism. It troubled her that she could not remember anything about her baptism. How could she? She was baptized at the ripe old age of ten weeks. She said that bothers her, because she had no say-so in the matter. It was a decision made solely by her parents.
She explained that both of her parents were very active in their congregation. Her mom taught the third grade church school class, her dad did minor repairs around the building, and each of them served on the Board of Deacons. They attended worship nearly every Sunday, and so it was no great surprise that they had each of their three children baptized before they were able to walk. But Janet doesn't feel right about that. She's been away from the church for a number of years, and now that she has come back, she asks if she shouldn't undergo several weeks of instruction and get her life more in line with the teachings of Scripture, and then be baptized. She says, "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to get baptized after I have made the decision to live my life as God wants me to live it?"
But Janet's understanding of baptism is confused. She thinks of it as the end of a process rather than the beginning of a process. Baptism is not a destination that one finally reaches, it's the beginning point of a journey. It's not a blessing pronounced on what we have accomplished thus far, it's the start of an adventure which is intended to last a lifetime.
If we were baptized as an infant, our parents played prominent roles in guiding our journey through the early years. Then, as we grew older, we had to assume more and more responsibility for the direction of our journey with God. For some people that journey keeps them close to the church throughout their lives. For most people, there are detours in the journey; times when we get off track and wander down the wrong path. All of us have experienced times when we have lived in ways that contradict our baptism. But regardless of how far we have gone astray, nothing can nullify this sacrament which claims us as members of the household of faith. Once we have been baptized, it can't be undone, we have been marked as one of God's children.
But that raises another question. If baptism signifies our inclusion in God's grace and it marks our entrance into the church, then what about those who have not been baptized?
Seminary professor Tom Troeger tells about a childhood game he played when he was in grade school.(1) During recess, one of everybody's favorite games was "You're out! You're out! You can't come in!" The way the game was played was that half of the children would form a circle with everyone facing outward and holding hands. The other half of the children would be outside the circle. The ones in the circle would chant, "You're out! You're out! You can't come in. You're out! You're out! You can't come in." And once they had chanted this twice, the children who were on the outside would rush as hard as they could and try to break into the circle. The ones in the circle could only hold hands, they couldn't lock arms. And the ones who were trying to break in had to get in on the first try, they couldn't keep pushing.
This is not simply a childhood game. This is a game which human beings play throughout their lives. When we become adolescents we form cliques - certain circles of friends. Sometimes we're in the circle and it feels wonderful, but sometimes we're on the outside of the circle and it feels dreadful. "You're out! You're out! You can't come in."
Of course this game does not end in adolescence. It continues right into adulthood. You can find it in the offices where we work and the organizations that we join. You can find it in our neighborhoods and our communities and our politics and even in our churches.
"You're out! You're out! You can't come in." It's the kind of attitude that has led to numerous conflicts and wars. It's at the basis of racism and sexism, and all forms of discrimination.
Unfortunately, you can find it in the Bible, too. On the one hand the Scriptures teach us that God is the God of all creation, and that all human beings are created in God's image. But on some occasions, especially when the people of Israel were being threatened by other nations, they would say, "God is only interested in us, and God is not going to be gracious and merciful to anybody else." "You're out! You're out! You can't come in."
The Book of Jonah was written to oppose such narrow thinking. You remember the story how God sends Jonah to the despised enemy of the Hebrew people, the Ninevites, and tells him to preach to them and to call on them to repent. The people do as Jonah says, and God forgives them, and Jonah becomes furious because he doesn't want God to be merciful to those people. He doesn't want God to embrace those people. Just our people. And the point of the story, is that everyone is a child of God, and God loves even those people that we think don't deserve it.
It would be nice if that had settled the matter once and for all, but it didn't. This exclusionary attitude resurfaced in the New Testament. You remember that Jesus and all of his followers were Jews. All the first Christians were Jewish Christians, and some of them said, "We are the true believers. You have to have Jewish ancestry and you have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, or you're out." The Apostle Paul struggled with that notion. He believed that the teachings of Christ made it apparent that all people were children of God, and thus anyone should be able to become a part of the Christian Church. At first he met resistance from Peter and some of the other leaders, but eventually they realized that the church was being called to open its doors to all people. In his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul wrote those very powerful words which established the inclusive nature of the Christian church. He wrote, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28).
But, as we know, the church has not always lived up to Paul's vision of an inclusive membership. There have been times when the church only wanted to welcome people who were more or less like the people already in the church. "You're out! You're out! You can't come in."
This attitude of exclusion has not only been directed at people who were different and who wanted to join the church, but it is directed most often at those who are outside the church. Many Christians regard baptism as a justification for excluding others. They believe that only those who have been baptized will be welcomed into God's kingdom. But that idea troubles me. I simply cannot imagine God posting a sign on the gates of heaven which reads: "Only those who have had water tossed on them in the name of the Trinity will be admitted." I just can't believe that the God of the universe whose grace is from everlasting to everlasting is going to exclude people who have not been baptized. Baptism involves no magic. There is no special incantation that a minister says which determines whether someone is in or out of God's kingdom.
Baptism is a sign that we are a member of the household of faith, but that doesn't mean that God only embraces those who are baptized. It's a sign of entrance into the church where we can be nurtured and supported and challenged in our faith. But it is not a sign that only we are in the circle of God's grace and everyone else is on the outside.
In fact, could it be our presumptuous attitude which claims we know who's in and who's out that keeps others at a distance? Could it be the reason that many people are not a part of the church today is that they have looked at us and said, "I'm not sure I want to be a part of that." Haven't we failed in some ways to let other people know what a positive difference the church has made in our lives so that they would be persuaded by what they see and say to themselves, "I want that in my life, too."
Baptism is not a sign of superiority over others, it is the beginning step in the journey of faith. A journey which challenges us to see others through the eyes of Christ and to treat people as Christ would treat them. Baptism is not a religious rite which encourages us to lock hands with each other in the church and shout at others, "You're out! You're out! You can't come in." Instead, our baptism calls us to raise our arms to others so that we might embrace them with the love and mercy of God.
NOTES
1. Thomas Troeger tells this story in a sermon he preached at the Montreat Worship and Music Conference in Montreat, North Carolina, on June 25, 1998.
© 1999 Gregory Knox Jones, all rights reserved