The Most Important Thing

What did we do today? Here at the font. There are several possibilities, I think. Which one or ones most apply? 

Perhaps we think we participated in a rite of passage. We have marked the entry of N and N into the world; this was in some way, their public unveiling. As a rite of passage, we also brought them officially, publicly into the web of extended family connections, friendships, and local histories that define us, give us our sense of place and meaning. N and N are, for better or worse, Pontiacers. Gidday. How’s she goin?  

Or maybe it was some kind of “family-history” ritual. N and N were baptized because that’s just what this family does. Were their last name Rubin instead of N, the ritual would be different, but maybe the idea would be the same. This is an event about family, about creating and strengthening and shaping family ties across the generations. 

Or maybe for you we’re not yet to the high part of the day. This was the little bit of religious observance that we had to do to get to the party. To the food and drink and good conversation that awaits. An hour of discomfort—badly fitting shoes, having to wear a tie, getting wet, whatever—for an afternoon of kicking back and enjoying the day. Now the weather hasn’t really cooperated has it? But still, a good time will soon be had by lots of us here. 

Which one most suits you? Is there another that I didn’t think of? Could be. I think all three of these are true.  

Of course this is a rite of passage. In modern times, when cultural practices are increasingly thin and more and more people think we get to make it up as we go along, we are among the fortunate who still think that threshold experiences matter—entry into the world, entry into adulthood, entry into parenthood, withdrawing from the world, and finally exiting from it. These are universal experiences that cultures throughout time and across the world have marked with specific practices. And in regions that are culturally Christian, the practice of infant baptism serves as one such marker. Today, N and N have publicly entered the world. And this is significant. And this is good. And this is not the most important thing. 

Of course this is a family ritual. One of the things that N, N and I talked about a couple of weeks back is the difference between the “normal” mode of baptism in the Bible and what we have done today. There are no infant baptisms in the Bible. Every baptism in the book of Acts is of an adult following a confession of Jesus as Kurios. As Lord. There is no exception. Now it’s true that sometimes the confession of a father led to the baptism of his household (which would include, we presume, children), but there simply is no biblical practice of Christian parents bringing their children to the font. 

The practice began as Christian faith moved into the second generation. Those second generation Christians asked questions like this: “What do we do with our children? Clearly, they are not simply pagans as we were before our conversion. Clearly they are in some way related to the Church through the bonds of family. Should they not be baptized so that they might be raised in Christian faith?” And as the years passed, the answer to the question became, “Yes, they ought to be baptized.” And baptism became in many ways a family tradition. Today N and N have shared in that deep family connection of identity, faith and belonging. And that is significant. And that is good. And that is not the most important thing.  

Of course there’s a party to come. This is an event to be celebrated among extended family and friends. It is, or ought to be, a time to feast. N and N are here. They are in the world; they are part of the family; it’s time to eat and drink and enjoy the goodness of life. And this also is significant. Some of us might be a little embarrassed to admit it right now, but it is also good. And even this is not the most important thing. 

So what is? What is the most important thing? What did we do here today? 

Listen again to the Gospel. Jesus is speaking “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” 

“I am the gate.” Let’s start there. This is one of seven “predicate I am sayings” in the Gospel of John. A saying in which Jesus takes the name of God given to Moses in Exodus (I am), associates it with an object, and then ties them both to himself. Can you list them? I am the Bread. I am the Light. I am the Gate (that’s today’s). I am the Good Shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. I am the true vine.  

In each case, John’s Greek construction is deliberately odd. Not incorrect, but definitely odd. To the point that, instead of saying “I am the gate,” we could just as easily say, “I am is the gate.” Do you hear the difference? Do you see the shift in meaning? Jesus is not merely saying something about himself as the one who comes from God, he is saying that he himself is God come from God to give life, to lighten the way, to protect the sheep, to raise the dead, to unite us to each other and to God. 

Today, N and N have brought N and N to the waters of baptism. They have brought them—listen now—to the gate of the sheepfold that Jesus speaks of in our Gospel lesson. They have made promises as parents. You have promised to support them in those promises. They have on behalf of their children renounced evil and accepted Christ. What were they doing? They were bringing their children to the gate. And Jesus says this very morning to them, and to all of us who have promised to help them in the keeping of their vows, “I am is the gate.” 

Jesus continues: “Whoever enters by me will be saved.” He alone is the threshold we cross from death to life. He places himself between us and the enemies that would undo us, that would separate us from each other and cut us off even from the  love of God. This gate is open to all who would enter, but closed to every enemy.  

Do you remember the powerful scene in the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, deep in the Mines of Moria, when Gandalf the Wizard stands between the Fellowship—Aragorn and Boromir, Legolas and Gimli, Merry and Pippin, and Frodo and Sam—between them and the old demon known as a Balrog? He stands between them on the Bridge of Khazaddum. If the Balrog reaches Frodo, then the Quest will fail. He and the rest of the Fellowship will die. Gandalf alone stands between. And he says to the demon, “You shall not pass!” Even as it costs him his life to say so, to protect the fellowship and ensure the quest can continue. 

Just so, on the cross, Jesus stood between us and all that would undo us. He stood between us on the one side and sin, death, and the devil, on the other. He stood between N and N, N and N, and all that opposes their flourishing and said, “You shall not pass!” And he laid down his life to destroy those enemies. “I am is the gate” and today, we have fled to that gate for safety. Whomever enters the sheepfold by him will be rescued from the enemies he has defeated 

But not merely for safety. Listen further: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will come in and go out and find pasture. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus is not merely a gate of protection, he is also a gateway to something more. Just as a gate marks the threshold between a wasteland and an abundant pasture, so Jesus is the threshold in which we cross from death to life. Abundant life.  

All the I am sayings communicate very clearly that Jesus is the source of the life and light that comes from God. That if we would have the life of God in us, if we would share in the resurrection life that we celebrate every Easter, every service of Holy Communion, indeed every Sunday, we would find that life only by being united to him.  

Here, at this font, is where that union takes place. Here where we have heard the promises of God in Word, here where we have seen the promises of God in sacrament. Here where we have participated in a rite of passage, a family connection, a pre-party ritual. Here is where we have come into contact again with the very life of God.  

Here, we have brought N and N to the gate. We have promised whether as parents, or as their helpers, to raise these precious children in such a way that they will enter the gate, they will be saved from their enemies, they will enter into God’s abundant life. That is significant. That is Good. That is what is most important.