May 23 – “The Baptism”

This morning for the teaching I did an introduction to the Apostle's Creed.  I know some of the people there have never heard it before, but others were really excited to hear something they remembered from either their childhood or from somewhere in their past.  The crowd wasn't very large but they really got into worship.  The songs were particularly upbeat, and even though it was long, everyone seemed to get a kick out of the visual verse for the day.   And then we went to the beach.  One of the kids who grew up at Seaside recently moved back to Galveston with his Mom.  They came to home group Thursday and he asked if I would baptize him Sunday.  I talked to him briefly then, and again this morning before the service.  He knew what he was doing.  In fact, when we got to the beach I asked him to say "Jesus is Lord" to show why he was being baptized.  He ducked his head at first, then he very quietly said, "Jesus is Lord and …"  I was just about to move on when I heard the "and," so I hesitated and looked at him.  He was obviously carefully formulating what he was going to say next.  Everybody noticed it, too, so we all waited.  And finally he finished his thought, "and I believe he died on the cross for my sins."  Wow.  What a confession of faith for a kid to make on his own in front of not just a bunch of church people, but also the people who were just hanging out at the beach.   He and I and his Mom headed out into the water.  Now his Mom had informed me earlier that he was very afraid of being laid backwards into the water.  I told him that after I said, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," all he had to do was kneel down.  That way the waves would break over his head, and God would complete the baptism.  All went well until he started down.  Instead of kneeling in the water, he squatted down - a lot lower that I could have, mind you – and stuck his own face under the water.  That would have been fine, except he wasn't quite low enough for the water to completely cover him.  His back got wet, and his arms and legs, obviously.  But the back of his head stayed just out of the water.  I glanced back to see when another wave would arrive.  Gamely, he was keeping his head under the water.  Finally, I just splashed some water over his head and helped him stand back up.  As far as he was concerned he had stayed under for a long time.  I'm sure it was long enough to "take."   Matthew 3:11 says, "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."   Father, thank you for the fire your Spirit brings.  I felt it this morning.  Amen.