Most of you have probably been confronted, at some point, by those who question the practice of infant Baptism. Young children, they argue, don’t know what’s going on; they have no way of understanding the Christian faith, and no means of making a personal commitment. They reason that no one should be baptized until they’ve grown up enough to decide for themselves.
On the surface of it, by human standards and experience, that all sounds good and right. It seems like basic common sense. The trouble is that it does not fit or agree with the Word of the Lord, who actually reveals and teaches more-or-less the opposite of this worldly reasoning.
After all, what does Jesus say? Does He say, “let the grown-ups come to Me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as them”? No, He does not. Does He say, “unless you grow up and become like an adult, you will never enter the Kingdom of God”? No, He does not. Instead, the Lord Jesus indicates on various occasions that little children are the very model and example for everyone else, and that anyone who does not receive His Kingdom like a little child will not enter it at all.
Along the very same lines, in this morning’s Holy Gospel, what does Jesus say? He gives thanks that His Father has revealed Christ and His Gospel to infants, and not to the wise and intelligent.
Which means that you must become like an infant — like a helpless little child — if you are to enter the Kingdom of God. But what does it mean to become like an “infant” before the Lord your God? It clearly does not mean that only actual babies will know God, though it surely ought to silence anyone who would hinder and prevent the infants and young children from coming to the Lord Jesus. But no, for you or anyone to be and to live as an “infant” in relation to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to live by faith in His gracious charity and providential care.
No matter how many infants you may have seen — and we’ve seen a lot here at Emmaus over this past year — it’s still a bit of a shock to witness the utter helplessness and tiny frailty of a newborn. Even the largest of babies are completely unable to do anything for themselves. Someone has to do absolutely everything for an infant — feeding, clothing, cleaning, holding, rocking, soothing — every day, 24/7. Otherwise, the fact of the matter is brutally simple, the child will die.
And infants do have a sense of that. Call it “instinct,” or better yet, the gracious design of God, the Creator. But a newborn infant will automatically search for his or her mother’s milk. And a newborn infant will quickly respond with recognition to the voices and presence of Mom and Dad. A newborn infant rightly clings for dear life to the parents whom God the Lord has provided.
That is where you also stand in relation to the Lord your God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth. That is the case for every man, woman, and child, whether they acknowledge Him or not.
It is the Lord who causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on both the evil and the good; just as He is the One who give daily bread to every person on earth. So has He taught you to pray and give thanks for His gracious hand of preservation in all things — in every breath that you take.
He must do absolutely everything for you — feeding, clothing, holding, soothing — every day, 24/7. Else you die. Thus, by faith, you wait upon Him for all that you need to support this body and life, and with the Psalmist you confess: “The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their meat in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
It is likewise by faith that you look to the Lord your God — to the Father in His Son and by His Spirit — for the forgiveness of all your sins, for the salvation of both your body and your soul, and for eternal Life with God in Christ Jesus. That is what it means to be an “infant” before Him.
Now, to be sure, being a “little child” can be a frightening (helpless) experience, especially as you are confronted by the big bad world with all its challenges. It is only by faith in Christ Jesus that you are able to make it from one day to the next with confidence, knowing that your Father in heaven has you and all things in His hands. That is the confident peace of an infant cradled in the powerful arms of a tender and loving Father. For He is your Father, and you are His own child.
Unfortunately, your sinful human pride often rejects the peace of God, as you persist in trying to make it through life on your own, to “grow up” and assert your independence — independence from God and from everyone else, even though such self-centered isolation is not freedom at all but captivity to the idolatry of yourself and the selfishness of your sin. You take a certain pride in going it alone, in doing it yourself, in standing your ground against all odds, in being your own man or woman. Sink or swim, with Ol’ Blue Eyes you want to be able to sing: “I did it my way!”
Eventually, though, you do reach a point where you realize that you aren’t going to make it on your own, no matter how hard you might try; a point at which you are reduced to “infancy” in the face of something that you simply can’t handle or control. Facing death, for example, may cause even proud adults to weep and cry like babies. No amount of stubborn human pride can ward off death for long (or at all), and so you are driven (hopefully) to seek out the strong, comforting hand of your Father in heaven. Without such trials in your life, you might never look to the Lord for the help you need. You might never become the “infant” you must be, clinging to Him for dear life.
But when the Lord has reduced you to infancy in this way, using the trials and heartaches of this life to drive you back to Himself, He then reveals Himself to you in Christ Jesus, and He brings you into His Kingdom like a newborn baby. That is the very essence of faith, a simple and childish trust in the Lord, like that of an infant in his or her parents. Thus do you rely upon your God and Father in Christ Jesus, and you rely on Him for all that you need, for both this life and the next.
Remember the story of Jesus and Nicodemous in St. John’s Holy Gospel? We heard it again this past week at Betty’s funeral. Nicodemous was befuddled and confused by the Word of Jesus, but he was actually much closer to the truth than he realized, when he asked, no doubt rhetorically and sarcastically, “Can an old man enter again into his mother’s womb, in order to be born again?” The answer, in one sense, is yes. He must be born again. He must become like a newborn child.
But the womb that he enters is not that of his earthly mother. It is rather the womb of the Church, that is, the Font of Holy Baptism. For just as the Church is described in the Holy Scriptures as the Bride of Christ Jesus, so is she also the Mother of all His Christians. From the waters of the Font she gives birth to the children of God by His Word and Holy Spirit. Thus, you do receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, because that is what you are — born from those holy waters.
Regrettably, there is a negative side to your “childishness,” a mischievous disobedience which is always seeking to crawl out from under the care and supervision of your dear Father in heaven. Like a strong-willed toddler you push the boundaries to test and see what you can get away with; and like a restless teen you rebel from time to time, in search of “freedom” and “independence” from the Lord (which is not life but death). You keep striving to feel as though you were really on your own, doing your own thing, making your own decisions, and standing your own ground.
When that is where you’re at — when you refuse to recognize or seek the gracious providence of God; when you do not look to Him and wait upon Him for all that is necessary to the life of your body and soul — then you are not an infant of the Lord, but one of those “wise and intelligent” adults who struggle and strive to make it on their own. And the Gospel of God is hidden from you.
But then you are also among the “weak and heavy-laden,” the “weary and burdened,” whom Jesus invites to Himself in this Holy Gospel. He refers to those who are worn out from their labors and burdened with a load of responsibilities. I reckon you know that feeling. Making a living in this world is often hard work, both mentally and physically exhausting. Such work is commendable, unless it belongs to your efforts to get by on your own apart from God. You’ll burn yourself out with those efforts eventually. But already they are running you in the wrong direction spiritually.
Christ be praised that, when you wind up running away like that, futilely trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, He does not leave you go and write you off. He is always going after you, setting out to save you from fatal disaster, and bringing you back to God the Father in repentance. And for Jesus’ sake, your God and Father welcomes you home with forgiveness, inviting you to be and to live as His child, to receive and to rely upon His Fatherly care for you.
When you thus wait upon the hand of God in this way, then you can live your life and go about your work with joyful confidence, knowing that He is with you and that He is taking care of you.
So, too, your life is not burdensome when you understand that Christ Jesus has already given you Himself and all good things — forgiveness, life, and salvation — freely, with no strings attached. His yoke is not another heavy load for you to bear, but a joyful privilege and a sharing in His life. Though you bear the Cross as His disciple, it does not weigh you down but raises you up in Him.
Your Lord is not a harsh taskmaster but a gentle Savior. He has not made you a child of His Father in order to enslave you and put you to work, as though He needed anything from you. No, He has made you a child of God that you might live freely as a member of His own household and family.
The yoke of the Lord Jesus might feel heavy and burdensome at times — until you find yourself out from under it, facing life without your Father and without your blessed Savior — until you once more hit the “wall” and are driven to fall back into His arms. Maybe it is sickness or death, maybe depression or grief, maybe a sense of failure or the accusations of your guilty conscience. There are plenty of things that you can’t handle in this body and life on earth. No one lives or survives a single day apart from the providence of God. And, honestly, I don’t know how anyone copes with all of the challenges apart from the hope that is ours in the Gospel of Christ Jesus. There are those who drag themselves through life without acknowledging the Lord, but the truth is, there is no purpose or meaning to life — there is no real life — except by faith in His Gospel.
Hence His Word to you this morning, emphasizing not only your helplessness and weakness, but especially His strength on your behalf, His gracious salvation, and His aid and comfort for you and all the children of God. The Lord is both almighty and all-merciful, and He has openly declared His good and gracious will toward you by the Cross and Resurrection of the incarnate Son. So it is that He governs the whole of His creation — He rules all things in heaven and on earth — for the blessing and benefit of His household and family, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
His almighty power would be quite threatening and scary, were it not for the gentleness and tender mercies of the Lord for His beloved children. You see that especially in Christ Jesus, the obedient Son of the Father, who humbled Himself unto death as the Lamb led to the slaughter. In fact, the Holy Triune God is not revealed or known rightly at all, except in Christ the Crucified. But so does He continue to humble Himself among us, feeding the children of His Father with Himself — His precious Body and His Blood of the New Covenant — under the earthly means of simple bread and wine. Here is where you know God as He is, a gentle Savior caring for His children.
Thus, as in the familiar and well-loved Parable of the Prodigal Son, you have here the evidence and every indication that your Father’s house remains wide open to you, and that His arms are always stretching out to gather you back to Himself. Time and again, your Savior tenderly invites: “Come unto Me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest!” And by His grace, He makes you a little child once more — an infant, cradled gently in His embrace, safe and sound forever.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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