Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenantwith the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestorswhen I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”declares the Lord.33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.I will be their God, and they will be my people.34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”declares the Lord.“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Let us pray,
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer…
Today we gather to celebrate the sacrament of baptism. Even though this is my first-time meeting Hayvn in person. I’ve know Havyn her entire life. I worked out with her mom Kim at the gym throughout her pregnancy. Her Aunt Nen, who I know as Coach Jen. She’s been my CrossFit coach for the last three years. I was thrilled when Kim texted me and asked if I would baptize Havyn. But today is not just a big day for the Wooding family. Today is a big day in the life of our congregation. Because in baptism, we get to participate in the sacrament of God writing God’s covenant on our hearts.
Our Scripture passage for this morning comes from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah is prophesying to a people who have been put through the wringer. He is prophesying to the Israelites after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. The destruction of the temple was a huge turning point in Jewish history. Jewish people believe that God dwells in the temple. And with their temple destroyed, they felt like this was a sign that God had abandoned them.
Jeremiah is also prophesying to a people who have been banished to Babylonia. At this point, the Israelites are basically exiles, unsure of their status before God. Which is an unbearable position for a people used to enjoying a special relationship with their God.
The reason the Israelites enjoyed a special relationship with God. Is because of this thing called a covenant. A covenant is a special promise between God and God’s people.
In the Old Testament, God’s covenant with the Israelites went something like this. God promised to be their God, if the Israelites promised to be God’s people. We call this a bilateral agreement. Where the behavior of one party (God) is dependent upon the behavior of the other party (Israel). God promised to love, bless, and protect the Israelites, if the Israelites would keep God’s laws.
The problem, is that the Israelites didn’t do a good job of keeping God’s laws. But if we’re being honest, they didn’t just do a bad job of keeping God’s law, they sucked at it. Jeremiah is given the unenviable task of preaching to a people who have to live with the consequences of an angry God.
We might expect Jeremiah to preach a word of condemnation to a disobedient people. Instead, Jeremiah preaches a message of hope. Jeremiah predicts that God will initiate a new covenant. This new covenant will be a unilateral agreement. Where the behavior of one party (God) is NOT dependent upon the behavior of the other party (humanity).
In this new covenant the law will be put in the people’s minds and written in their hearts. Which we Christians believe happened when God became man and dwelled among us. We believe that in Jesus, God grants us help from within the human race to live as God’s covenantal people. Because this new covenant comes in Jesus Christ, it is not constrained by human knowledge or will.
Jeremiah’s prophecy is unnecessarily good news for the Israelites. It asserts that God will be roused. God will act. God will change God’s mind. Newness will come. We can have hope is in the new thing that God is about to do.
And this new thing, according to Jeremiah is this: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (Pause)
Friends, we embody Jeremiah’s prophecy of God’s covenantal love for us in baptism. Through the waters of baptism, we affirm that God claims us, and seals us to show that we belong to God. We also affirm that in baptism, God frees us from sin and death, uniting us with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. Baptism signifies that our old life is gone. And our new life as children of God has begun.
This means, that through the waters of baptism, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are marked as God’s own. In baptism, like Jeremiah prophesied, God promises to remember our sin no more. Nothing that we have done in the past, and nothing that we will do in the future can separate us from the love of God.
The miracle of baptism is that these promises are not just for infants, but are for ALL baptized believers.
We Presbyterians tend to baptize folks as infants. A few of you have asked me why we don’t generally baptize adults? No one believes an infant is capable of any serious sins. Nor do we believe that an infant had any choice in the matter of being baptized. If an infant doesn’t understand what’s going on in her baptism, doesn’t it make more sense to wait until she is an adult before we baptize her?
Not necessarily. In the Reformed tradition we believe that baptism is a sign and seal of God’s grace. We also believe that God’s grace isn’t dependent on human behavior. It is a free gift of God for God’s people.
We tend to baptize folks as infants because we want them to know that they are included in God’s covenant of grace from the time that they were little babies, until the moment they draw their last breath.
Since we Presbyterians believe that God’s grace isn’t dependent on our behavior, we do not believe in re-baptizing adults. Once you are claimed as Christ’s own in baptism, you will always be a baptized believer.
But folks who ask me why we baptize people as babies have a point. Babies have no idea what’s going on in their baptism. That’s why baptisms are usually done in the context of a worship service. Because babies need a community of faith to teach them what it means to live out their baptismal vows. That is why part of the baptismal liturgy requires the congregation to answer questions on the baby’s behalf. Parents agree to raise their child in the Christian faith to the best of their ability. The congregation promises to fill in the gap between where the parent’s knowledge ends, and the congregation’s experience begins.
Friends, no matter where we find ourselves in our journeys of faith this morning, all of us are invited to respond to the call of our baptisms in our daily lives. For some of us that will mean raising children in the ways of Jesus. In the hopes that one day they will be able to take ownership of their own faith. For others of us it means following God’s call into the unknown. Into new jobs, new communities, new contexts. For others of us following God’s call means remaining faithful to the places, spaces and peoples God has entrusted to our care. Knowing that wherever we go. Whatever we do. Jesus loves us. He always has. And he always will.
Thanks be to God,
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.