Trinity 6

Romans 6:1-11 

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Over the past week, we celebrated the 4th of July, the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since this date, millions of people have immigrated to this country, and many, if not all, of us are descendants of these brave individuals.

But why did our ancestors make the long and challenging journey through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to come to the United States?

The reasons probably vary, but just as the founders wrote, adopted, and signed the Declaration of Independence, I’m sure many of our ancestors were also seeking some form of independence and liberty.

They wanted to escape their past, seek religious and political freedom, and obtain land, jobs, and financial stability. Our ancestors wanted an inheritance of milk and honey, not just for themselves but also for the generations that would follow them.

So they left everything they knew and set sail across the ocean to come to the United States of America.

But first, before making landfall and pursuing the freedoms they so dearly desired, many of our ancestors went through a port of entry; they had to pass through an immigration station, much like Ellis Island in the harbor of New York City.

This small island became the main port of entry to the United States of America for some sixty years, bringing millions of individuals and families into this country in pursuit of liberty and freedom.

In a similar way, the Church on earth also has a small port of entry, a means by which the saints of God, His dear children, are brought into His Church, a heavenly land of milk and honey, and that is through the font of Holy Baptism.  

In fact, this morning's Epistle speaks of Baptism’s changing effect on you, the newness of life you receive in its waters, and the freedom from sin you receive.

However, one of the challenges is that we do not think of our baptism as often as we ought, nor do we live in it as we ought.

Part of this is that the font is not a constant fixture of our daily lives as Martin Luther instructs in the Small Catechism, let alone each time we come to this sanctuary.

Reflect on the immigrants entering the port of New York City at Ellis Island; once they traveled and settled in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, or wherever they were going to begin farming, did the joy and image of Ellis Island remain with them forever?

Maybe, but for many, the tasks of the day, the needs of the family, and the hard labor of working the soil filled their minds. In the process, Ellis Island became a fading and distant memory.

Do the tasks of your daily life fill your mind in a way that you forget the freedom and new life you not only received but continue to receive in the waters of Holy Baptism?

The threat remains that if Baptism is not an ongoing part of your life, you will forget the joys of redemption and forgiveness present for you in the font.

But what is the font anyway?

The font is the port of entry into the Church, and for this reason, not only historic churches but many still today have their baptismal fonts at the sanctuary’s entrance.

The font is where the Apostle Paul says we go to die with Christ and be raised to new life. Paul wrote, 
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

In other words, when we approach the font and are baptized with water and the Word of God, we are joined to the cross and grave of Jesus Christ. Yet, just as He arose from the dead, so are we raised with Him to new life.

This new life occurs each time we gather to confess our sins. In this way, we once again die with Jesus and enter His grave only to be raised by the absolution, the forgiveness of sin.

This is what Martin Luther means as he wrote in the Small Catechism,

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.

So we come to the font to drown the Old Adam within us, the sin we have inherited and have committed since, to put to death the evil desires of the heart that lead us to break the Commandments. The ways we do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things, but instead put our trust in princes and presidents. How we fail to honor mothers and fathers, no matter how eccentric they may be. Or the anger that burns within our hearts, leading us to murder our neighbors in thought, word, and deed.

Baptism drowns these sins and buries them with Christ forever so that a new man may arise within you, producing and extending love and charity to your neighbor.

In fact, the new man that should arise within you is none other than Jesus Himself.

Yet, part of your challenge is that you often forget and leave your Baptism behind as soon as you depart the doors of this sanctuary. The image of the font fades from your memory as the toil and daily needs of the world press upon you.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, this occurs for several reasons.

First, because we do not see the font as the port of entry that it is. However, when a church has the font at the sanctuary's entrance, it forces Christians to see it not only as they enter but also when they depart. In this way, the font would be the last thing a Christian sees and encounters as they leave the church and enter the world of daily life.

Secondly, in this way, the font also serves as a reminder of the new life you have received in Jesus Christ – the redemption and forgiveness won for you on the cross.

This is the true liberty and new life that should drive all of us to leave our old lives behind, to travel over land and sea to receive - the gift of being made free from sin, death, and the devil.

And yet, if you should find yourselves like so many, out in the midst of daily life, being oppressed by sin and your conscience, then I give you these words of Luther as he wrote,
So when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say, “Nevertheless, I am baptized. And if I am baptized, it is promised to me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.”

What a wonderful gift you have in Holy Baptism—a gift that has been granted to you and your children and remains for future generations.

The gift of forgiveness and everlasting life.

The gift of entering the sanctuary, seeing the font, and saying with Luther, “I am baptized.”

Let these words be your comfort and assurance no matter what life throws at you in the days that are to come.

Are you lonely or depressed? Does grief and sadness fill your heart? Then, speak into this present darkness, “I am baptized.”

Have you become ill? Is life full of uncertainty? Then confess at this time of anxiety and despair, “I am baptized.”

Is death drawing near and the grave’s pit approaching? Then, approach it confidently, confessing the resurrected life you already have by saying, “I am baptized.”

What sweet and comforting words! Say them as you awake and as you lie down to sleep. Write them on your doorposts and always remember them. Because with them and the gift of God’s Word and Baptismal waters, you have already died to sin and have been raised to new life; you are already a child and citizen of paradise. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI