The Muscle Memory of Baptism

A Sermon on Baptism, Cake, and Muscle Memory

GOSPEL - Luke 5:1-11          

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.         

Some weeks ago, I met with our baptismal class to chat about their upcoming baptism.  

We walked through the service, where they would stand, what they would do, what their sponsors would do, and then I asked them if they had any questions. 

They did.  

Well, really only one big one. One question from each of them about this day, this most momentous day in their faith formation, when they would stand before the church, before their family and friends, before their teachers, and be welcomed into the family of God. 

Pastor Mindy, a young girl asked, here is my question: will there be cake? 

I couldn’t help but laugh. 

Well, I don’t know, I said – that’s really up to your parents. 

She then burst forth, in her joyful and bright way, with a litany of opinions on cake, and the best kind, and the flavor, while her younger brother raised his hand. And I got ready. 

You see, I remember this younger brother from preschool and that fast-moving brain of his and that mischievous smile and his ability, with his sister, to stump me with their thoughtful faith questions. 

Yes, I said, do you have a question about your baptism. He nodded, quite seriously. 

Pastor Mindy, he wanted to know, what will the cake taste like? 

Kids! their mom said, don’t you have real questions about your baptism? 

They grinned, and we returned to the subject of today’s cake. 

But here’s the thing – I want to assert that cake and baptism actually have a lot to do with each other. That their questions actually came from a deep place of understanding baptism. 

And here’s why: In our Gospel reading for this morning, we catch up with Jesus near the beginning of his public ministry. Luke chapter 5.  

So far in Luke, we have had the miraculous birth, then the baptism of Jesus, then Jesus in the wilderness. At the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus begins teaching, and then he performs a few healings. But all of these things by himself. He hasn’t yet called any disciples. For the first four chapters of Luke, Jesus has been setting the scene, giving glimpses into who he is, preparing for the work ahead of him. In chapter five, Jesus begins assembling his group of disciples. 

And that’s where we find Jesus this morning. On the shore of the lake of Gennesaret, with an eager crowd around him. So eager that Jesus needs a little space to teach them. So he asks Simon to take him out onto the water so he could teach the crowd. 

Now the thing about Simon is that he was a seasoned fisherman. He knew these waters, he knew his boat, and he knew his nets. The text tells us that he and those with him had been fishing all night, but had caught nothing. And that is striking. How and why a professional fisherman caught nothing. 

I imagine you fisherpeople have some opinions on this. On why this might happen. 

But I think Jesus is setting us up for a profound teaching moment on the economy of God.  Why not fish over there, Jesus – the non-fisherman - suggests to these professional fishermen, pointing to a deep area of the lake. 

The text doesn’t tell us if these tired and demoralized guys gave each other sideways glances or if they rolled their eyes or if they shrugged - or if something about Jesus had captured their attention. It only tells us that they put their nets into the deep water, and they ended up with so many fish that their nets began to break and their boats began to sink, and ultimately, this caused them to leave their things on the shore and follow Jesus.   

And here’s what I think Jesus was up to with this great catch of fish: He wasn’t simply showing off, as it sort of seems, but he was showing them, giving them, an unmistakable visual about who God is.  That God is abundant.  That life in God is abundant. That there is always more than enough in the economy of God. That is the gift Jesus is giving them in this moment.  So that later in life, when things got tough for these disciples, as they would, they would remember in their straining arms the feel of full nets, and in their ears the sound of them ripping, and in their bodies, the mild panic at their sinking boats, and in their hearts, the sheer awe of being in God’s presence. When things got tough, which they would, they would have this touchpoint that lived in their body of God’s abundance. Of God’s grace. Ah! This is what God feels like. Ripped nets and sinking boats and awe in God’s presence.  

And that is why we baptize.  

So that we have a touchpoint that lives in our body of God’s grace. So that we have muscle memory of God’s abundance. So that we have a story, deeper than memory, of God’s profound goodness. 

We baptize, we plunge our hands and heads into water, to make muscle memory of love.   

God’s love has always been true for our bapismal kids, always, from their first breath, but now that love will live in their very being. It will creep into them. Love will settle into places that live beyond their consciousness. 

And that is a celebration worthy of cake.  Of good cake.  

You see, if someone showed up with boatsful of fish this morning, I’m not sure it would say to us abundance. Perhaps to you fisherman it would. 

But cake, whose purpose is only to celebrate, that speaks of God’s abundance.   

Baptism and cake are about an abundant God who abundantly loves and who abundantly calls and who abundantly lavishes upon us grace and mercy and compassion. And that’s how we begin. That’s how we begin this Christian life – God’s abundant love coming to live in us. 

But baptism is not just about this moment for these kids. It’s about what this baptismal life will create in them in the years ahead by being here, in this place, by being a steady part of this community, week after week. 

Earlier this week, I spoke with a college professor about the struggles she sees with her college students around empathy. I

t’s like they have no capacity for it, she said.             

It doesn’t occur to them to feel for other people. It’s like they don’t have the muscle for it. Their brains are so occupied with technology and anxiety that there’s little room left for compassion. 

And then she asked – do you see this in your context? 

I thought about that question for a long time. The thing is – I don’t. I don’t see it here. I don’t see it among our young adults, or among our kids, or among our elders, or among our families. I see empathy in huge droves – a desire to serve, to build relationships, to show up for our vulnerable neighbors through food and advocacy and service projects. 

How, she asked. What are your people hearing that my students are not? 

Huh. I thought. Quite simply, every week, in education, in children’s chapel, in adult forum, in our preschool, in our food pantry, in our studies, we hear that we are called by love for love. That’s what it means to follow Jesus – to be baptized - that we are called by love to be love for others. Christian discipleship is fundamentally about loving our neighbor. 

Contrary to what you might hear in the news, that’s it. 

Not about personal morality, not about getting holy, not about getting into heaven, not about getting rich, not about judging our neighbor, not about drawing lines – but about giving ourselves in service of those who are vulnerable.  

These kids have heard this over and over and over in this place – and over and over and over at home – and at summer camp and at day camp and at preschool and in Sunday school and in children’s chapel. They are washed in a faith that affirms God’s profound, abundant love for them, and then calls them out of themselves – in ways big, but mostly in ways small – to be love for others. Their friends, their neighbors, their schools.  

So of course they would ask about cake. Baptism is about cake.   

Because they get that God’s love is about good things and bringing those good things to others. 

See, we reach into a font and we pull out a feast. A feast of love for all.  

In these waters, at this table, and in today’s cake, may you know God’s abundant love for you. So that you may be God’s abundant love for the world. Thanks be to God. Amen.