If We Die With Christ, We Will Be Raised With Him

A Sermon preached at Christ Episcopal Church on the occasion of the Baptism

of Luke Arnold and Sloan Arnold

Those of us who are Christians know Jesus as our primary example of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Those of us who grew up in singing congregations have also been taught the wise words of St. Augustine, that “when we sing, we pray twice.” With that in mind I want to look at the steadfast love and faithfulness of God beginning by looking through the lens of the Psalms.

Psalm 86 is certainly one those Jewish Hymns of praise to God’s love and faithfulness.

Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; Save your servant who puts his trust in you.

Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; Gladden the soul of your servant.

For you O Lord, are good and forgiving, And great is your love toward all who call upon you.

In the time of my trouble I will call, for you will answer.

All the nations you have made will come and worship you O Lord.
You are great; you do wondrous things; you alone are God.

Apparently, even before Jesus was born, God loved and cared for all people, all nations, whom He created. And that steadfast love continued with Jesus, and it continues forever through God, the Holy Spirit. St. Paul emphasizes this love in his letter to the church at Rome (6:1-11) when he writes, “through Christ, we have died to sin. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into his death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like his.”

That is what is happening to Luke and Sloan today. They will be buried with Christ in his death and raised with him in his resurrection. And their death and resurrection, their baptism, will remind us of our death and resurrection, our baptism, and that we all die to sin and live for God, that we all might walk in newness of life. Wow!

This walking in newness of life will not always be easy as we often see when we reflect on our lives, and when we, in a few moments, join together and renew our own Baptismal Covenant.

When we look at our lives, we sometimes focus on our sins, mistakes and failings rather than focusing on God’s forgiveness, presence and love. We become discouraged because we are looking at ourselves and the world backwards. We are called, instead, to turn around, to repent. After all, to repent means to turn around 180 degrees, refocus and begin again in newness of life.

As we respond to God’s call on our lives by joining in the Baptismal Covenant, listen to your answers. “I will.” But can I, am I strong enough? Ugh, it’s impossible. But then the answer continues, “with God’s help.” Ok, that’s better, just maybe I can do this. Just maybe with the support of this Christian community and the Holy Spirit, I can move into this newness of life promised to me in my dying and rising with Christ.

So yes! We are dead to sin and alive to God. Yes, we died with Christ once and for all and we are raised with him in his resurrection. Daily! We walk everyday in newness of life.

As I pray for Luke and Sloan, I pray for all of us:

Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 308)

And the only response I can think of is: “Thanks be to God!”