Easter 4

What lovely imagery we have in our second lesson and gospel, not to mention Psalm 23. What great words of assurance we hear, promising us that Caleb (and all of us) can always know that we belong, that we have a Good Shepherd we can trust to lead us through life and that we have the promise of eternal life.

The Christian Church has historically given the privilege and responsibility for administering baptism to ordained clergy. This is done in large part because baptism is meant to be a public act in which the whole church participates, and the pastor is officially the church’s representative. However, when for some reason no clergy person is available, the Church recognizes as valid a baptism done by a lay person.

We do not re-baptize because baptism is actually an act of God’s Spirit working through water and Word, and not dependent on anything related to the person who splashes that water or speaks that Word. We do; however, offer public recognition of a baptism already done elsewhere.

This gives us as a congregation the opportunity to be witnesses to the parents’ and sponsors’ vows, make our own promises as members of Jesus’ flock, and offer our prayers for the child. We are privileged that Michael and Rebecca have chosen St. Paul’s for this public recognition.

Anytime someone is received into the Church and added to the roster of our church we should feel awe at the mighty act of God’s grace and the weight of responsibility that comes with the promise we make as we welcome the person into membership.

We just came through Lent and Easter - a time when we focused on the extraordinary mercy that God showed to His people by taking their sins onto the cross with Him and then overcoming sin, death and the devil by rising Jesus on Easter morning. It is this act of supreme love that brings us salvation and that by the working of the Spirit we lay claim to in baptism.

We are often likened to sheep in the New Testament, and for good reason. Sheep are vulnerable. They can neither fight nor run well. Thus, they have little ability to protect themselves from harm. They are dependent on a shepherd to lead them to safe grazing places and defend them from attack by enemies.

We humans all too often like to think we are strong and invulnerable - even to the point for some that they think they can save themselves. The truth is though that we can no more save ourselves from sin, death and the devil than a lamb can outrun a lion. Without our Good Shepherd we have no hope.

Like sheep, we also need to be guided. Sheep are sooo DUMB. I read that they can get so focused on wandering from one clump of grass to another that they are often totally unaware that they have wandered away from the flock, and may even fail to notice that they are on the edge of a precipice until it is too late.

In a way, we are worse off than sheep. A sheep’s brain is too small for it to be very reflective. Humans, on the other hand, are very self reflective, but instead of using this gift of intelligence to see our limitations, discern the right path and seek help, we can allow our thinking to get us into all kinds of trouble.

Even after baptism we find ourselves struggling against the will of our Good Shepherd, insisting on going our own way. Blessedly, that baptism assures us that no matter how wayward we may become, God will always forgive us for Jesus sake and be with us no matter where we wander. Sometimes, we may even feel His shepherd’s staff yanking us back from some disastrous cliff edge.

As often as not though, it will be another sheep that nudges us back onto the path. Rather than yank us out of danger, God prefers to use our relationships within the flock to keep us from harm. This is why we baptize into a community of believers - why we formally welcome new lambs into the flock.

There is usually not enough time when I introduce to new member to more than touch on our responsibility as a congregation in regard to a person baptized among us. Let me take this opportunity to say more about it now.

Our gospel for today is part of a larger lesson which includes the story of Jesus telling Peter to feed His lambs and care for Jesus’ sheep. When we read today that Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and follow Him, we need to realize that it is through the church that the sheep will hear Jesus.

In baptism the parents and sponsors promise to faithfully bring the child to God’s house, teach him the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in his hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for his instruction in the Christian faith. This is a solemn promise and goes beyond just dropping the child off at Sunday school - something I know Michael and Rebecca won’t do. Parents and other family members are the primary teachers of their children and their most profound teaching is done by how they live their own lives.

But, this is a responsibility that we as a congregation share with them. We are not only called to provide formal religious instruction for our children, we are also given the duty of personally looking out for the spiritual needs of those we welcome into the flock and acting as models of the Christian faith.

It is our job to feed Jesus’ sheep and encourage them to stay within the protective care of the Good Shepherd . Each member of the flock here is responsible for the care of Caleb and for anyone else we welcome into our congregation. Each of us is to be aware of sheep that wander or get hurt and minister to them.

In the early church there was persecution and paganism that could endanger a Christian. Members of the church helped each other find the strength to fight off fear of death and the lures of false gods. In some ways these early Christians had it easier than we do. The enemy was usually pretty easily recognized.

Today, the devil tries to separate the sheep from the flock with fear of being politically incorrect by publicly demonstrating one’s faith. Furthermore, the false gods the devil tries to lure a Christian to worship have far subtler forms: overly busy schedules, Sunday sports and other activities, apathy and the temptation to take our membership in the flock for granted. It is the responsibility of each member of this flock to help Michael and Rebecca avoid the dangers that lurk ahead as Caleb grows and he and they are faced with more and more whispers of the devil.

This care needs to start even now though. We need to nurture relationships with each other that will stand each of us in good stead when someone starts to wander from the flock or finds him/herself facing some danger on the path. The sheep are to gather around the lambs, both children and new adult members, to help them feel they are part of the flock. And this is true whether the new lamb lives in our town or much farther away.

At the end of the ritual the congregation says, "We welcome you into the Lord’s family. We receive you as fellow members of the body of Christ, children of the same heavenly Father, and workers with us in the kingdom of God."

It is no accident that this is virtually the last thing said in the ritual. The welcome to the flock needs to ring in the ears of the baptized. But more importantly, it needs to reverberate in our hearts in the months and years to come, reminding us that we took a solemn vow to help this person feel welcomed into our family, headed by God Himself; considered to be an integral part of all that we do as Christ’s body and encouraged to use his gifts in God’s service.

This is our primary calling as a congregation and stands as the meaning of "Welcome to the Flock." Let us welcome Caleb into the flock, trusting in God’s grace to help us fulfill our holy duty to him and all we receive. Amen