May 11, 2025
“”Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised, so we also might walk in newness of life.”
These words are inscribed on the floor along the perimeter of the square beneath the baptismal font. The baptistery is what we first encounter when we enter this sacred space.
The baptistery is at the entrance because you entered the Christian community through baptism. You became one with Christ.
When you encounter the baptistery pause for a moment. See the font, read the words on the floor and, as I’ve mentioned many times, feel free to swirl your hand around in the water and make the sign of the cross on your body.
Just as God saved Noah and those on the ark during the flood, so God has carried you to a place of salvation. Just as God parted the waters and led the Israelites out of captivity and into freedom, so at these waters you were delivered from sin and death.
There are so many other water stories in the Bible – Naaman is cleansed of leprosy in the river, water came gushing out of a rock when Moses struck the rock in the wilderness, God’s people crossed over the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. The Samaritan woman encountered Jesus at the well, the blind man washed in the Pool of Siloam, and Jesus’ was baptized by John.
They are about water. Water. Water that cleanses, destroys, saves, heals, brings new life, and quenches thirst.
As you enter this place first encountering the font know that your baptism is a gift from God. Through these waters you were brought to safety, washed, claimed by God, anointed by the Spirit.
Baptisteries and baptismal fonts come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some are small and some are large. Some come in the shape of a pool. Some are shaped like a womb or a cross. Some have flowing water and many of these baptisteries display a variety of art, images, and symbols.
One of the oldest baptisteries discovered by archeologists is at a house church in what is now the country of Syria. The remains of this house church are is in the city of Dura-Europos, dating around 235 A.D. Many of the frescoes in this baptistery are remarkably well preserved including the fresco above the baptistery. Though faded, you can still see the outline and some of the image itself of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. He is carrying a sheep on his shoulders. No doubt, it was based on Jesus’ parable of the shepherd finding the lost sheep.
Located above the baptistery, it is as if the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd I saying, “Enter here. Enter my fold and my flock. Come into this place, this community, where I will guide you and keep you.” Here in this place the Good Shepherd restores our souls, comforts us, casts our fear, prepares a table for us even as we walk through the valley of
This is what shepherds do – they guide, lead and keep the sheep. And they herd the sheep so as none of them get lost.
At the font, imagine the Good Shepherd wooing us, inviting us, and with goodness and mercy pursuing us to rest in his loving embrace again and again.
He gives the sheep what they need. He gives us what we need and it is enough, but we do not always trust that what the Good Shepherd provides is really enough.
This is the scenario played out this morning in Solomon’s portico during the Dedication Festival, a time to celebrate the building of the second temple after it was brought down by the Maccabees. We know this festival as Hanukah. The people who approached Jesus had not been given enough evidence to truly believe that he, Jesus, is the Messiah of God. “Tell us plainly!” What they wanted from Jesus is to tell them in plain words that he is the Messiah.
I imagine Jesus being somewhat exasperated by this request because all along he’s been telling them and showing them that he is the Messiah. Haven’t they seen or heard? What he says and does testifies to his identity. Don’t they know that?
So, Jesus responds to their quandary by saying they cannot see his works or listen to him because they do not know his voice. Jesus gives them something of a stern and indicting response. It is the sheep who hear his voice. Those who belong to the flock know the voice of the good shepherd.
Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus is inviting people into relationship and he does it here but in a more heavy-handed manner. He tells the inquirers that they cannot see him or hear him because only the sheep hear his voice.
But even the sheep struggle to hear his voice. Instead of guidance and protection from the patient shepherd, the kind of relationship enjoyed between shepherd and sheep, we prefer explanations or clarity about God to ease our minds, but Jesus invites us into something greater. Life with him and others in the flock. It’s quite an adventure. Life in the fold is filled with wonders, surprises, challenges, and all the complexities of being in relationship. Sometimes that means church life can be difficult. Sometimes it’s a great joy. And sometimes when we really feel it isn’t enough, we prefer to jettison the fold to find greener pastures.
We have many expectations of God and the community before we are baptized.
My friend in Northern Idaho said he would consider being baptized only if his confusion over the Holy Trinity was cleared up. Well, that didn’t happen. He wanted me to tell him plainly but what he most desired was an explanation. I could not provide one. My suggestion that he be baptized and live in the mystey of the Trinity met with rejection.
What we hear from the Good Shepherd are promises, promise of protection in life and death, the promise of everlasting grace, the gift of forgiveness and mercy and we hear this within the fold that is safe. We rely on Jesus, the Shepherd to guide and lead and protect us. The invitation Jesus offers is one of relationship with him and one another.
By its very nature, relationships and life in community do not guarantee a life without conflict or disappointment or befuddlement. Truthfully, in following Jesus we do not always know where we are going but trust he is with us. We do not get theological questions and the mysteries of God solved. Instead we enter into a life where we learn along the way, grow along the way, trust him along the way. And along the way we begin to believe him. First of all we belong to him
Belief does not precede belonging. Belonging comes first and believing occurs over a lifetime and that makes all the difference. The Shepard calls us, even pursues us with goodness and mercy, and gathers us into this place. One of the great gifts of belonging to the flock is that we learn that our status is no longer based on what we achieve or what we know or even how we feel. We come as we are. Here we belong and belief comes later. Believing in Christ comes from belonging to Christ and, as it turns out, believing is less about receiving answers to our reasonable questions. What we come to know is that belief is about trust. To believe in Jesus is to trust him. The sheep hear his voice and learn to trust him.
You know his voice. You know that voice.
Remember Mary weeping outside the empty tomb? Once Jesus said her name, “Mary,” she recognized that voice. At the fire on the beach the Risen Jesus called out, “Come and have breakfast.” The disciples knew that voice. It is the same voice that cried, “Lazarus come out” and, sure enough, his friend emerged from the tomb. It is the voice of the shepherd who gave his life for the sheep.
The voice of the Good Shepherd summons us to his word and holy meal every week, announces the forgiveness of our sins, the healing words of grace.
The Good Shepherd always says, “I love you. You are safe with me. I will never abandon you. I will be faithful to you. I will never let you go. No one can snatch you from the hand of God.”
This is the voice we learn to trust because first we belong to him and his fold and it is the voice that says to us in various and sundry ways, “Follow me.”
Following worship, when we hear the words, “Go in peace, serve the Lord” we remember that our baptism is also a commissioning, a sending, and a charge to carry the love we shared here into the world.
So, when you leave this space you may dip your hands in the water and make the sign of the cross and know that you can go into the world to love your neighbors with your unique gifts, to testify to what we’ve seen and heard and what we know without fear. The shepherd has your back.
The world is riddled with evil, violence, and fear and great complexities. Still we live in the world as Jesus’ sheep and under his protection. Here Jesus calls us here, calls us to serve him in the world, and calls us back to this place where, by God’s grace, you find everlasting mercy. Even Though we walk through the valley of sin and death, we need not fear because the Shepherd is with – feeds us, anoints our heads with oil, and our cup is overflowing.
Amen.