Geographically speaking, the area where
I was born, baptized and raised was known as the Wirral peninsular. On one side
of the peninsular lay the River Mersey, where you could, as 60’s group Gerry and the Pacemakers once sang, catch a ‘Ferry
across the Mersey’ to Liverpool. On the other side of the peninsular lay
the River Dee, and over the other side of the river, the nation of Wales.
The River Dee side of the peninsular held the best beaches. One of the fun things to
do there was walk across the sands at low tide to visit a bird sanctuary called Hilbre Island, where you could watch seals playing out in the estuary.
In fact when the tide went out it looked
as though you could walk across the sands all the way to Wales. You couldn’t though because there was a deep fierce channel of water that separated the English
from Wales (something historically the Welsh were rather glad about).
But when you were walking out on the sand, it looked as though there was just
miles of sand stretching in every direction. A beautiful place!
Beautiful, but so dangerous. Almost every year people lost their lives through not paying attention to the tide. If you did not know at what hour the tide turned, then it was not safe being out on the sands. Whereas when
the tide was out the sands stretched for miles, when the tide turned the whole area became sea.
The frightening thing was how quickly
the change from sand to sea took place. Little streams in the sand would become
rivers. The rivers overflowed. You
could be trapped on sandbanks, unable to reach the coast, unaware that the waters were closing in. The force and flow of those waters was tremendously powerful. Much
too powerful to swim against. If you were out on the sand when the tide turned,
you were lost.
As I mentioned a few weeks back, the
Hebrew people had a deep respect for the power of the sea. They were not an island
people. Rather like explorer’s maps from the Middle ages, whose uncharted
territory’s are often pictured as being populated by giant sea squids and scary serpents, they imagined the sea as being
a place where monsters with names like Behemoth, (Job 40:15) and Leviathan (Job 41:1) roamed free.
One can only imagine the dread that they
felt as they escaped Egypt
knowing that behind them came a pursuing Egyptian army, and ahead of them lay a seemingly impassable body of water. Their only hope was that God would intervene on their behalf. And that’s exactly what happened. They pass through the
water, their enemies are destroyed, and they are safe on the other side of the waters making their way to the Promised Land.
As a Presbyterian Church we celebrate
two sacraments. The first, communion, has its roots in the Israelites celebration
of the Passover. The second, baptism, is related to the Israelites journey through
the waters towards freedom.
Baptism is a symbol of the salvation
God offers to us in Jesus Christ, something that touches our lives and changes the way we live through the action of God’s
Holy Spirit upon us. As Presbyterians we believe that we are saved by the Grace
of God. That even when we do come to profess our faith, it is something we can
take no credit for since it’s due to the action of God’s Spirit upon us.
I’m sometimes asked why as a denomination
we baptize children. This passage furnishes some of the reasons. When Moses called the people to pass through the waters of the Red Sea, he didn’t say to the children, or to Mums who had babes in arms, “Now you better stay in Egypt till you’re old enough to understand what this salvation is all about and decide
for yourself if you want to be delivered from slavery.”
The children were as much a part of the
community of faith as everybody else. They passed through the waters and were
granted God’s protection. We believe that children of Christian parents
are raised in a different environment than those born to homes where God is an unwelcome stranger. However, we don’t believe that salvation is something we can inherit from our parents. We are saved only by Grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ.
We do take seriously God’s covenant
promises and passages that speak about God’s blessings extending to ourselves, our children, to all who are far off,
and to everybody whom the Lord calls to Him. We know from the scriptures that Jesus called the children to Himself and even
got mad at his disciples when they tried to forbid Him from blessing them! (Luke 18:15-17)
So we baptize our children and pray that
they will “grow into” their baptisms. We set them out on the journey
of life, and as they walk through the wilderness we promise to accompany them every step of the way. We pray that, through Christian nurture and the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, there will come a
time when they make a deliberate choice to stay on the Lord’s side, and we rejoice in such commitments during services
of Confirmation.
This business of going through the waters
is such an important part of our faith. Like the Israelites, going through the
waters doesn’t mean that we have arrived. It means we are on a journey
towards something better. Baptism is not a destination but a point of departure.
Baptism calls us to put our trust in
God to vanquish and destroy and take care of all the wrong things that pursue us in our lives, to purge and wash away all
that would seek to annihilate us and harm us.
Baptism calls us to recognize that we
are not our own but belong to God. Whilst it is for a parent to nurture the life
of a child, there comes a time when they let that child go. Baptism acknowledges that both we and our children are ultimately
God’s property.
Baptism reminds us that our salvation
comes at a price. In Egypt that price was paid in the death of those who would be Israel’s masters. There was great loss
of life. Initially the Hebrews rejoiced in the defeat of their enemies, but once
the festivities were over there came the realization that it took death to release them to life. We speak of salvation coming to us through Jesus, who died that we may live, when we were His enemies.
Baptism calls us to reflect on the power
of God. Mention is made of the chariots of Pharaoh. Back then chariots were the most advanced fighting machines that could be taken into combat. The Egyptian army trusted in their human ingenuity and worldly power to bring them victory.
Then came the turn of the tide. Out on the sand the chariot wheels were stuck. As
I explained earlier, it’s a frightening thing to be stuck out on the sand when the tide turns. The tide was certainly
turning for Israel. Now through
the waters, they could indeed make their way to the Promised Land. The Passover
promises had been fulfilled!
In the first ever Christian sermon, preached
on the day of Pentecost, Peter declares, “Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
The root meaning of Repent is that it means Turn. Turn away from sin and head off in a new direction. In
baptism we turn our faces away from all that Egypt represents.
Egypt?
The place of slavery and
drudgery, the place where God was not acknowledged and people were at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
A place of death and destruction.
We turn from
Egypt and look towards the Promised Land.
The place of God’s
provision and blessing.
The place where God’s
Kingdom takes charge.
A place of peace and restoration
and healing and life.
On this Rally Day let us
remember who we are called to be:
A pilgrim people. A Kingdom people. A Covenant people.
Offered to us and to our children
are the promises of God’s love symbolized by baptism. From Slavery to Victory. From
death to life. Walk in the promises and claim your baptism. Thank God for turning your heart to the things of Christ’s Kingdom.
“Baptized in water, sealed by the spirit,
Cleansed by the blood of Christ, our King,
Heirs of Salvation, Trusting the promise,
Faithfully God’s praise we Sing.”
Rev Adrian Pratt
