Water-Washed
and Spirit-Born: As We Go Down to the River To Pray
Sermon preached by Rev. Brad Beeman
January 8, 2006
Scripture:
Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:4-11
“As
I go down to the river to pray, studying about that good ol’
way and who shall wear the robe and crown, good Lord, show me the
way…O brothers let’s go down,
Let’s go down, come on down. O sisters let’s go down,
down to the river to pray.”
I
know it’s not often that you hear one of us begin a sermon with
singing, but today it seems very appropriate. For today we go down
to the river to pray – to remember, to be reminded of what baptism
is about.
This
morning our lay lector read what I believe to be one of the most powerful
descriptions of God in scripture – the beginning of the first
creation story out of Genesis. It is also a story of baptism, of new
beginnings and hoped for futures. It is the attempt by this creation
author to describe a time…that moment when God chose to place
God’s ordering power into what was total chaos; to take what
was formless, deep and complete darkness, an absence of order, an
absence of anything – which covered, as this author states,
the face or surface of what this writer calls, the deep. To-hu-a-vo-hu
is the word used to describe this phenomenon, the presence of absolute
formlessness. And with a breath God swept into place order and the
beginning of a new creation. It began with God’s breath, God’s
spirit – ruach - and then God’s light. God’s intention
was to first separate this darkness from light – a light that
could further create what began with that breath of God…God
saw that the light was good… named them and is it says, there
was evening and there was morning of the first day.
One of the elements I most love about this set of verses is the description
of that pre-creation existence as “the deep.” Of God’s
spirit moving over what this author imagined was something like an
immense body of water. But why water as the descriptor of to-hu-a-vo-hu?
Maybe it’s that there are few things more intimidating than
dark waters moving below dark skies. In his search for the right element,
water was what came to mind; dark, deep, moving, formless water. Water
is mysterious. Water can be overtly powerful, taking life, destroying
life, hiding death in a variety of forms, is difficult to contain
and literally can and often does come from every direction: from above
and from below. Water may be formless but can, in fact, take on forms
– liquid, gas, even solid. Water also gives life,
(continued...)
"As
We Go Down to the River to Pray" by Rev. Brad Beeman, January 8,
2006
produces life, sustains life, cleanses, washes, and nourishes life and
when combined with light can be even more effective. Even our bodies
are made up of mostly water. Without it we perish quickly. To combine
all of these things is to begin to see why it this author chose it as
the symbol of pre-creation - so mysterious and even why we seem so drawn
to it.
We live in a place where on any give day and at any given time we can
go and experience the power of water - the rhythm of the waves, the
beauty of the ocean as it reflects the sun, the power of the late season
swell as seven to ten foot waves crash and beat against the pier. It’s
comforting, it’s nourishing, it’s powerful, it’s intimidating
and it’s timeless – very much a part of God’s creation
– and very much like what we celebrate this morning.
This
morning we celebrate the remembrance of that moment in time when something
happened to each of us, a moment of new beginnings, a moment when the
hand of a pastor went into a bowl or font of water and touched us with
a symbol of new life. Or for some, a time when the decision was made
to follow Christ, to let go of the old and take on the new and a moment
when we were immersed under water and rose again into this new life.
There is so much to this symbol of water, of light, of creation and
new life. It is for us a symbol of our own recreation – not so
different than what had taken place for thousands of years. Not so different
as what was done in the earliest churches.
In
ancient times, because of the lack of water in so many areas of the
early church, what began in the Jordan River even before Jesus and John
the Baptist became symbolized by other means. In those days of the early
church, there weren’t baptismal fonts or even clamshells. Baptism
wasn’t done like we do it today…by sprinkling. Baptism was
done in a symbol of death, a sarcophagus, a large piece of carved stone
shaped much like a coffin sometimes even ten feet in length. It was
laboriously placed in the middle of a room and filled with precious
fresh water. The water, when placed in the sarcophagus was there to
symbolize what was to be the end of one life, the death of one kind
of life – a life of chaos, darkness and disorder - and the beginning
of another – a life of God, of ongoing creation, of light, and
of order. Much like what God did in the world at that point of creation
read to us by Ben / Barbara, baptism was to represent new life, a life
of cleanliness almost like one was bathing one’s soul. Once baptism
happened, the old life was literally washed away and a new life –
literally - began.
Baptism
was the symbol of separating light from darkness. For Christians, even
today, it is the symbol of a new beginning. It is why we read of Jesus’
baptism, his day of a new beginning born witness by John in the Jordan
that day. It wasn’t that Jesus was somehow bad before that day.
Like the distance we see here on the chancel between Jesus in the manger
and this font of water – the distance wasn’t wide between
Jesus the child, adolescent and young adult to the Jesus who went down
to the river to be baptized by John. Even then it was a symbol, a sign
of a new life, a new beginning. It is that for us today and certainly
it is now that for Erin.
(continued...)
"As
We Go Down to the River to Pray" by Rev. Brad Beeman, January
8, 2006
Beyond
new life, baptism is also the symbol of being adopted into the family
of faith by those who have gone before. It is the symbol of embracing
a family, today the Kennedy’s as one of our own. It is the spiritual
act of assuring them that they will never ever have to be alone –
no matter what happens they will have our love and our support. We
will be there for them – as brothers, sisters, friends and families.
It is also a day when Don and Amy alongside these godparents and you,
the church, commit that you will each live lives that will influence
Erin, nurturing her into a life of faithful discipleship. It is that
day when we symbolize our understanding of God’s ongoing creation
and our role in it…and as of today Erin – the newest member
of the Kennedy family is a part of our role in it.
This
day represents our ongoing choice to allow God to separate the light
from the darkness in our lives, a day to remind us to live for Christ
and die to simple selfish ambition. It is the day when, as you feel
the leading of the Holy Spirit in your heart, that you will be invited
to come forward, offer that card with your name on it to Larry or
me - the name offered at your baptism - and allow us to anoint you
with water as we very simply say, “remember your baptism and
be thankful.” You are then invited to take a small clamshell
from the basket as a reminder of God’s creation and the covenant
you have with this ever-creating God to live lives worthy of the calling
and baptism you have received.
I
opened with but a small piece of the song from “O Brother, Where
Art Thou” when the three fugitives find themselves in a forest
trying to share a gopher for dinner. Suddenly from out of nowhere
they begin to hear singing. It begins low and in the distance and
grows as the music seems to move toward them. Suddenly the music is
literally all around them as men and women dressed in white are heard
singing, “As I go down to the river to pray studying about that
good ol’ way and who shall wear the robe and crown, good Lord,
show me the way. Oh brothers let’s go down, let’s go down,
come on down. Oh brothers, let’s go down, down to the river
to pray.” Sisters, mothers, fathers, and children are added
as the song continues. It is a scene of baptism: of sisters, brothers,
mothers, fathers, sons and daughters going down to the river to pray…”
The fugitives follow them down to the river and witness each in turn
going under the water of the river for baptism. One, Delmar, chooses
to follow and have himself baptized that day. He certainly saw it
as starting over. What strikes me every time I watch that scene is
how happy and peaceful each person awaiting baptism is. New life can
do that. It can bring a peace and joy unlike anything that can be
offered anywhere else.
Friends,
as we approach this time of renewal, I ask that you take a moment
to sit and pray - remember the words spoken on your behalf by those
that loved you like Amy and Don love Erin. Or remember those words
that you spoke at that re-creation moment…that moment of baptism.
Remember the words we spoke to the Kennedy’s this morning, the
commitment we made to them to surround them with love - and ask yourself
if your are doing that to every person in this church, every person
in the Body of Christ, and every person in and around your life. If
not, then maybe it’s time to make it right. Take a moment to
thank God for God’s continual work in your life, God’s
accepting, forgiving, loving, wooing moment; every recreation moment
after recreation moment.
(continued...)
"As
We Go Down to the River to Pray" by Rev. Brad Beeman, January
8, 2006
Here’s
how it works this morning. First, please write your name on the card
that you found in your Order of Worship – your full name is
the preference but I am aware that
for some it’s just not comfortable – write what is comfortable
but please write it legibly. As you write your name, think about your
name being chosen and then spoken out loud as you were presented you
to the congregation. Think about the water that was gently placed
on your head at that moment of baptism. Remember the commitment made
by those presenting you and by the congregation that committed to
support you.
As
you come forward think and pray about the commitment you’ve
made so many times to those being baptized, to this congregation and
to God. Remember God’s love for you, God’s acceptance
of you, God’s ongoing forgiveness in those times when we fall
short – and we all fall short. Remember those who nurtured your
faith throughout your life. Remember those who challenged your faith,
even pushed your faith to the edges of where you thought you could
not go. Remember…remember our baptism – because of all
of those things – remember your baptism and be thankful. Know
that God is walking with you as you come forward. God is refilling
you as the water touches your forehead. God is nurturing you, recreating
you, and even filling you as receive this gift of remembrance.
Also,
there won’t be any ushers directing how you will be coming forward
today. No coming as someone else leads you…just as the Spirit
movies in you. Come, as you feel ready. Come and remember. Come and
be filled – water washed and spirit born. Come – down
to the river to pray... I invite those who are assisting to come forward.
As
we come down to the water to pray studying about that good ol’
way and who shall wear the starry crown, good Lord show us the way
– oh children let’s go down, let’s go down, come
on down. Oh children let’s go down. Down to the water to pray.
Amen.
©Brad
Beeman , 2006. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution.
All other rights reserved.
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