'When we were baptised into Christ Jesus we were baptised into His death'. - Romans 6:3
Brothers and sisters, on 11th February 1990 after 27 years in prison on Robben Island Nelson Mandela was set free. On that day he sailed from his island prison. On that day he sailed through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. On that day he sailed to the South African capital of Cape Town the city which he could see from his island prison but could not get to. As we look back tonight it might have seemed inevitable his rising to be the president, the successful ending of Apartheid and the freeing of his people, however, as he sailed from his prison and landed on the shores of the capital city, nothing would have seemed inevitable to Nelson Mandela. Freedom had been given, victory for the civil rights had been won, however, the journey had not ended, the promised land of racial equality, racial harmony had not yet been reached and Mandela knew there was still a very long way to travel.
Tonight, gathered for the Easter Vigil, we look back to the liberation of the people of God at the Exodus and back to the greater liberation for all who believe at the Resurrection; so that encouraged, we might continue forward to the Promised Land of God’s Kingdom. Our readings are rich and varied. They come from all parts of the Scriptures—indeed we could have had many more—and they are all linked, and the connection is water. In our first reading we had the Creation from out of the waters of chaos. In our second reading, we had the salvation of the Israelite people through the waters of the Red Sea. In our third reading, we had the promise of water to whomever is thirsty. They are summed up magnificently in our fourth reading from the Apostle Paul. Back in Paul’s day he struggled against people who said forgiveness can’t be for all, to receive forgiveness you have to work for it… as if getting into God’s kingdom relied on us getting enough brownie points! Today, in the Church that isn’t our problem, in fact, it is almost exactly the opposite. Today the danger is that some folk seem to think that forgiveness is the only word the Church should say to anyone. Two centuries ago one philosopher said: ‘God will forgive me; that’s His job,’ and that sentiment has trickled down into the world. Too often we give the impression that we can act however we want, that God no longer has anything to say about how to live, just do what makes you happy, God will forgive you; that’s His job. People act as though baptism is just a rite of passage, get baptised, have a lovely service, and afterwards carry on just as before. It’s almost as though forgiveness was so great, that we want to keep repeating it again and again, indeed some have advocated that people get baptised multiple times!
Many of you will know—indeed I mentioned it in Lent—that one of the most significant parts of the Scripture for me as I came to faith was the Parable of the Prodigal Son. You’ll know it’s the story of a wayward son, who runs away from home, lives as he wishes, only to come to his senses and desire to come home. On returning he receives no stern rebuke, instead he is welcomed home with a hug and a party; this a wonderful and true picture of how God welcomes any and all of us back into His family when we turn back to Him. Well imagine that this son a few months later began thinking 'I know what I’ll run off again, just so I can get that welcome, that hug, that party all over again. Daft right? But that’s so often how we think, often how we act. Say sorry, don’t worry so much about changing, after all God will forgive me; that’s His job! It's crazy when you think about. That’s like Mandela saying after a few days back in Cape Town, 'Well getting that pardon was rather nice, I rather liked the boat crossing, it was rather good being welcomed home by all those people, I think I might go back to prison, I think we should go back to Apartheid, just so we can go through liberation all over again!' It’s a bit like Moses saying: 'Ooh I rather liked crossing through the Red Sea on dry land., wasn’t it exciting watching the waters fall back on the Egyptians and wash them away, wasn’t singing that triumphant song in Exodus 15 rather stirring. I think we should go back into slavery in Egypt, just so we can go through liberation all over again!' It’s crazy talk isn’t it, but sometimes we give the impression as a Church that this is what we’re all about.
Tonight, water is in our readings, as we make our yearly renewal of our baptism promises. We look back to our baptisms whenever they were, whether we remember them or not, reminding ourselves of what God has done for each of us; where we’ve come from and where we’re going. There is a great connection between the salvation seen in the crossing of the Red Sea, and the salvation seen in the death and resurrection of Christ, and between both of these things made present for us in baptism. That’s why Paul can say: ‘When we were baptised into Christ Jesus we were baptised into his death?’ What happened as the Israelite people went through the Red Sea, happens to us, because of Christ’s death when we’re baptised in water. As baptised people we have passed through the Red Sea, WE now, as it were, stand on the far shore having been saved from the enemy of sin, which has been washed away. We stand, as it were, in Cape Town, having been released from the prison of our old life and having sailed through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. However, we’re tempted to forget! We’re tempted to slip back into our old ways of life; go back to our old habits, our old ways of living. If we think of this at all, we comfort ourselves with the thought: ‘God will forgive me; that’s His job’. Can we see, now, how crazy that way of living is? We’ve escaped from slavery, we’ve escaped from prison through the waters of baptism, we stand on the distant shore, the safe shore, the shore with Christ; why would we ever go back?
When Nelson Mandela reached Cape Town on February 11th his people and his country still had a long way to go; indeed, in many ways, 34 years later they still have not arrived in the place which Mandela’s release promised. When the Israelite’s reached the far shore of the Red Sea, as they sang the victory song recorded in Exodus 15, they still had far to go they had not yet reached the Promised Land, and indeed they would not for another 40 years. Many times in the years that followed they would complain when the journey was hard and the Promised Land seemed a long way away that they wished they were back in Egypt. We too, as Christians, saved in the waters of baptism through the death and resurrection of Jesus, have a long way to travel. We are not home yet. We look for the Promised Land realising we have not yet arrived. We are not yet the people we were called to be. We are not yet the people we were made to be. However, through God’s grace we are not the people we were. Tonight as we look back to the death and resurrection of Jesus, as we look back to our baptisms where that great Easter salvation is made present for each one of us, we still have far to go. We look back tonight to remember what we were, to remember how Christ saved us, to remember what He went through so that we didn’t have to. We look backwards tonight to the time when we were set free from the slavery of sin in order that we might never forget what an amazing rescue Jesus won for us on the Cross. We look back and remember in order to encourage ourselves to keep taking steps forward, to keep moving towards the ultimate Promised Land, the place where we will one day be made perfect. As you make your promises again tonight, as you feel the waters of baptism again on your heads, my brothers and sisters, look back and thank the Lord for His great salvation and then look forward and resolve to never give up following Christ until we finally reach the Promised Land. Amen (from Fr Mike).