Christmas day has come and gone.  Its nearly half past 10 at night and I am tired.  The day has been full of gifts and food and friends and family.  And now I sit here at the conclusion of the day struggling to find a fitting conclusion to these posts.

The gifts of Christ’s birth, life, teachings and atonement are worthy of celebration.  And all the more because these gifts can have a real tangible and eternal effect upon us.  You may ask how as the apostle Thomas did:

Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14: 5-6

Christ also said: “if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17). And “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

The way, therefore, is to do as Christ would do so that we may know him and love him.  King Benjamin (A Book of Mormon prophet) taught:

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?
Mosiah 5:13

This year may the thoughts and intents of our hearts be one with our master.

My advent posts:

1. Loving yourself
2. Happy wife, happy life
3. Don’t look back
4. Easy yokes and light burdens
5. Exercising Devils
6. A parable
7. As a little child
8. False prophets
9. Love one another
10. Let your light shine but not too brightly
11. Lillies and sparrows
12. Ask knock seek
13. The prepared heart
14. Peace on earth good will to men
15. The love of riches
16. Leaven of the pharisees
17. Love your enemies
18. On serving and being served
19. Master or slave
20. Another way
21. Repent
22. Fear
23. Baptism
24. Children of God

As promised, here is my post on baptism.  Christ makes it pretty clear that baptism is essential for salvation.  In the concluding verses of Matthew he directs his apostles to: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” (Matt 28:19).  In John chapter 3 Jesus has a thorough discussion with the pharisee Nicodemus about the necessity of baptism, the Lord says to him: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5).  The concluding words of Christ to his apostles in the the gospel of Mark include this warning: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

There are, of course, other scriptures that reinforce the necessity of this ordinance.  Unfortunately, the bible is scarce on the exact details of how a baptism is to be performed, who may perform it and when it should be done. As a result baptism is one of the most contested doctrines of Christ.  Entire denominations of Christianity developed around interpretations of how, when, to and by whom and why this ordinance should be performed.  Indeed it is probably quite safe to say that the majority of evangelical christianity would deny that baptism is an essential christian ordinance.  A simple Google search reveals the diversity of belief about baptism.

I do not wish this post to be a list of beliefs about baptism or even a list of what I believe about the mechanics of the ordinance.  Instead I’d like to focus on how I feel about the ordinance. I have had the privilege of baptising both my daughters and in a few days, when my son turns 8, it will be my privilege to baptise him.  I am deeply humbled to have the opportunity to share this experience with my children,  I suspect they will not remember the ordinance but in some ways their baptisms are as essential for me and our family as it is for them.  The baptism of an 8 year old child is different from that of an adult.  Children are alive in Christ and innocent.  For them the ordinance is a right of passage and the beginning of what they hope to become, like Christ.  It is the planting of the seed of faith in fresh unspoiled ground.  As my children grow I will water that seed and nourish it and give it as much sun as I can but in the end it is God that gives the increase.

While baptism is an essential saving ordinance it is not what does the saving.  I think the idea is illustrated well by the story of Naaman in the Old Testament. Naaman was a captain in the Syrian army who was also a leper.  His maid, an Israelite, convinced him to travel to Israel to meet with the prophet Elisha.  When he reaches the home of Elisha the prophet sends him a message through his servant that Naaman should go and bath in the Jordan river 7 times and he would be healed of his leprosy.  Naaman didn’t take it too well:

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Are not Ababa and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
1 Kings 5: 11-14.

Naaman is healed of his leprosy because of his faith, though grudging at first, in the prophet of God.  The waters of the Jordan did not have special healing powers.  There is not some special significance to the number 7 that cleansed the disease.  It simply and purely was his faith and the promise of God through his servant Elisha.  And so it is with baptism.  Jaron will be baptised in a rough made box full of water in front of a nondescript villa in an obscure city on the Arabian Peninsula (okay that part is kinda cool).  The ordinance will be done in moments.  There is nothing special about the water or the box.  Though we wear white and the ordinance is replete with symbolism none of these things are what save us.  It will be Jaron’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of God  that make the difference.  The Lord said:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
John 15:13-14

So we will carry out his commandments and hope for a friend in Jesus.

I find myself drawing rapidly toward Christmas and the end of this task that I have set myself, to contemplate the teachings of Christ daily until we celebrate His birth.  Some of these posts have been difficult to write and others seem to pour out of me.  I thought I would write tonight about Christ’s teaching of baptism.  This is one of those posts that is difficult to write.  Yesterday’s post on repentance was also difficult.  The question for me is why do I find these topics difficult to write about.  After some reflection I believe I have the answer to that question.  These are not the inspirational topics about love, sacrifice, courage or service that are easily accepted by the casual reader.  Topics like repentance, baptism, prophets and priesthood can be divisive and possibly offensive to some.  And honestly I fear to offend my loved ones.

But wait does not John teach:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18.

And did not Paul advise Timothy:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…
2 Timothy 1:7-8

And of course Christ told his disciples:

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him… Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14: 21, 27.

So why should I fear to broach these more challenging subjects?  When I was 10 or 11 maybe I was walking across town with a friend of mine.  As we passed through a subdivision a dog came crashing through a wooded area to my left barking his ill intent toward us.  I was frightened and moved quickly to place my friend between me and the dog.  Of course, it turned out to be a little dog whose bark was louder than his bite but my fear had gotten the better of me.  I was deeply ashamed.  So much so that the experience has stayed with me all these years.

Not much later I was crossing town again with another group of friends.  In my home town there is a foot bridge that spans a rather large and dangerous river.  For kids 10-12 years old it is a formidable crossing.  Especially in those days when the railings were not as safe looking as they are today.  As we crossed the bridge a man approached from the other direction and he was clearly a little inebriated.  We edged as far away from him as we could while we made to cross paths.  He must have seen our fear and thought to play a little trick.  When he was about 10 feet away he turned and bellowed at us: “Arrrrrr!”  We all jumped I’m sure.  I imagine that the earlier experience with the dog seized me.  What ever the reason I stepped to the front of our little group and with all the power of my little frame and the most menacing look my coke bottle thick glasses, soft blond hair and freckles could produce I bellowed back at the man: “Arrrrrr!”  The man laughed and laughed as he walked on.

I’m sure today that we were never in any real danger from the man but at the time I saw the lives of my friends pass before my eyes.  I was terrified but I could not once again cower in fear.  I have had many moments in the years since then where the memory of the shame brought on by using my friend as a shield has helped me to step forward or stand my ground or speak up.  As I’ve learned to love, however, I find it is less and less the old shame that helps me but love. The saviour told his disciples:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
John 15: 12-14

So I hope that those who read these posts know that they are written and given in love.  Though it take all my courage to write (Really, maybe ten people will read this). I am grateful for Christ’s sacrifice. That it might not be in vain for my part I will endeavour to do whatsoever he commands.  Even if it is to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”Matt 28: 19.

Some of you may have noticed that I finally got around to the topic of baptism.  I think I’ll leave it for tomorrow’s post though.  Funny how this post turned into one of those easy posts about love and courage and all that.  I can only hope that should I ever encounter anything truly menacing I’ll have learned to love with enough depth and maturity to face it without fear.

I am reminded of Peter on the night of the Lord’s trial before his crucifixion.  He courageously declared that even if all were offended and abandoned the Lord he would not and that should it come to it he was prepared to die rather than deny the Christ. (Mark 14:29-31).  This is the same Peter which with the Lord walked on water, the same which declared to Jesus “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The same Peter to whom the Lord promised the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.”  But still a man.  The Lord tells Peter “before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.”

When the mob came to take the Lord Peter would do what he must to prove his zeal.  In the defence of his master he drew his sword.  Peter must have known that it would be unlikely he could walk away from the encounter that would surely follow.  But the Lord intervenes he rebukes Peter and heals the man whom Peter injured.  In the next moment the mob was leading Jesus away and Peter with bloodied sword is left helpless and confused.

Peter follows the mob with another disciple to the palace of the High Priest.  Here he watches as the saviour is tried in a mockery of justice.  Over the course of the night Peter is accused several times of being a disciple of Christ and his response to each accusation has become for me some of the most difficult verses of scripture to read:

And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.

And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilæan, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.

And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
Mark 14: 66-72.

I think many of us can place ourselves in Peter’s shoes.  Determined to do the right thing until we haven’t.  How bitter that must have been.  If heaven rejoices over even one repentant sinner this story illustrates why; truly heaven must have wept with Peter and must weep with us in our several defeats.

The Lord taught Peter a powerful lesson in humility but also in what is required of a follower of Christ, repentance and conversion.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke:22: 31-32

Repentance and conversion is a change of heart of thought of feeling.  As we see from the experience of Peter it requires pain and sacrifice and humility.  There is beauty in the analogy to be “sifted as wheat.”  I understand that to sift wheat they would pour the wheat out and it would be tossed in the air.  The wind would carry away the lighter chaff and the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth.  In the end the wheat would be purified.  Satan would sift us as wheat but it is up to us to choose to let go of the chaff.

…The scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
John 8:2-11

Christ is essentially given two options by the Pharisees when they bring this woman before him: demonstrate mercy to the accused which would require breaking the law of Moses or execute judgement which would have him usurp the authority of the Romans, placing him in defiance of the ruling law.   Christ makes a third choice.

I’ve often wondered what was going through the mind of the Lord as he wrote upon the ground ignoring the mob all around him.  Formulating this third response, possibly?  I think it is more likely he was grappling with the sorrow that this scene must have caused him.  Here were His children using one person’s sin as a trap to bring him harm.  The Pharisees, the woman, the crowd and Christ were all set to lose something in this encounter.  Then Christ does something miraculous.  He takes a hopeless, miserable  situation and everyone walks away a winner.

This narrative teaches many things but in my mind none more powerful than the truth that there is always another way.  No matter how bleak the situation, how angry the jostling mob, how heavy the weight of your own guilt God can calm the storm or the mob or your troubled heart.  He can turn what seems to be the end of all things into a glorious new beginning.

Place yourself in the shoes of the woman in this story.  Either her or her consort or both have made sacred covenants of fidelity that they have chosen to break.  We don’t know the backstory of course but we can imagine all the little decisions all the big and small justifications all the unfortunate and selfish and sad circumstances that have led to this fateful day.  It may be that the very moment before the mob took her she felt safe for the first time or maybe she was relishing in some vengeance against her partner’s wife.  It could be that in the moments before she was taken she was simply enjoying the excitement of this stolen encounter.  There are a hundred possibilities but in the moment she was taken none of them mattered.

Then, abused at the hands of an angry mob she is placed before the feet of a strange man who is charged to decide her fate.  And it seems he must choose between her life and his or at least his reputation.  Words are exchanged and the crowd suddenly dissipates.  There in what is surely her bleakest hour she hears the Lord speak: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Where moments before there was the final words of the executioner there is suddenly the breath of life.

I want to believe that when she left the Lord she did as He commanded.  Would I?

Life offers us many masters: our appetites, fame, money, work and many more.  We are all bound to serve even if its our own egos.  We are also generally free, at the outset, to choose whom we will serve.  It is imperative that we choose wisely.  A good master will train his followers to become masters themselves while an evil master will soon make a slave of their disciples.

The Lord warns that:

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matt 6:24.

This is good news.  It turns out we all struggle daily to decide who and what it is we’ll serve.  I tend to think of this verse in the negative.  If we consistently give in to those temptations that easily beset us then we’ll just get worse and worse.  Yet the opposite is true too.  Should we strive to serve the good master then eventually we will come to despise those temptations that currently rule over us.

In this light I think we can better understand these words of Christ:

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8: 31-32.

So, here we are given a guide to know good from evil.  I imagine with just a little reflection you can pinpoint the things in your life that would seek to enslave rather than enlighten you?  I know I can.  If we wish to become masters and not slaves we must continue in the word of Christ until we have no more desire to do “evil” and then keep on.

In Luke chapter 7 we read of an interesting encounter between the Lord, a Pharisee named Simon and a nameless woman.  Simon invites Jesus to dinner in his home and when they sit down to eat a woman enters weeping.  She washes the Lords feet with her tears and anoints them with oils.  Simon wonders at this man who would allow a sinner to wash his feet.  The Lord, perceiving Simon’s thoughts, offers a parable:

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Luke 7: 41-47

I think there are several lessons to take from this encounter.  There is the example of this woman who served the Lord in humility.  We may not have the opportunity to serve him directly like this woman but He has said: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25: 40.  So each act of service we render is a tear and ointment for the feet of the Lord.

But this is not the lesson that strikes me most when I ponder this encounter.  There is a difference in attitude expressed by the Lord and Simon that is worth note.  Had this woman sought to perform a kindness for Simon he would have turned her away.  The saviour in contrast, the greatest man to ever live, submitted to her touch and her love.

I wonder, have there been moments in my life where someone has sought to do me a kindness and I acted more the part of Simon than Christ?  Have I said within myself “I can do this myself I don’t need help from him or her or you?”  Have I thought “oh no thats okay your help in this would be awkward, you’d just be in the way.” Has my pride turned away the “sinner” that sought to do me a kindness?

A few years ago after a particularly heavy snowfall a man came to my door.  He asked if he could shovel my driveway for a modest fee, of course.  I thought “umm no I don’t need help I can shovel my driveway perfectly fine myself; I’m not so sure about this fellow he probably won’t shovel it the way I like it.”  I sent him away.  I know that he was looking for a job and its not quite the same as these verses illustrate.  Yet, as soon as the man left I felt terrible.  I could have easily paid him for the service. It wasn’t the money it was my pride that turned that man away from my door.  I can still see him trudging off through the snow to the next home.  Its a simple thing, a chance encounter maybe, but I failed that day.

There is probably no other teaching of Christ’s that I have heard quoted more than the teaching to “turn the other cheek.” Often it is quoted derisively as if the teaching were weak or faulty in some way.  We are told to go two miles with the man that compels us to go one or if we are sued at the law for our coat to give it and our cloak also. Matthew 5: 39-41.   We are commanded to “bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Luke 6: 28.

Indeed the Lord commanded his followers to:

love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Luke 6:35

Why?  He tells us, or at least gives us an incentive, why we should act this way: “your reward in heaven shall be great, and yea shall be the children of the Highest.”  It is not why I should do it that I am truly curious about though but why He does it?  Why is God kind to the unthankful and to the evil?

I believe there are reasons for this long-suffering, this kindness, spread throughout the scriptures.   The one that I find myself pondering tonight comes from the first chapter of Jeremiah.  The Lord tells this old testament prophet:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5

It can be hard to remember that we are known, all of us.  That we have capacity and potential that we cannot yet imagine.  When we begin to view those around us in this light these teachings of Christ no longer seem weak but strong.  We cannot see all ends but He can.  He asks that we trust that.

In the Gospel of Mark the Lord warns: “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8:14.  You may be wondering as His disciples did why are we talking about bread?  Were the Pharisees peddling some sort of evil pastry?  Maybe a bran muffin which sells itself as healthy until you realise it has enough calories to feed a small village for a week.

Leaven, such as yeast, is small in ratio to the rest of the ingredients in a loaf of bread but its effects are pronounced.  In the scriptures we sometimes find leaven being used as analogy to corruption.  In the Gospel of Luke we get a bit more clarity on what the Lord meant.  He said: “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1.  The Pharisees were astute scholars, learned men who invested their lives in the law of Moses and the scriptures.  Yet for all their learning they had no understanding.  Christ stood among them, healed the sick, raised the dead and expounded the scriptures and for all their study they could not see who stood before them.

Paul warned that there would be similar people in our day.  There would be those that would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Timothy 3:4-5.  As I write this I think of several female music artists with songs that include lyrics to promote gender equality, admirable yes.  Then these same artists dress and act in ways that turns them into nothing more than sexual objects.  They weave a twisted and confused message for their followers.

I was once discussing with a friend whether drinking near beer would really be all that “bad.” Near beer, as you may know, has a very small amount of alcohol in it; so small, its not really worth mentioning.  He said, “well what if it had a little bit of pooh in it?  I mean a really small amount like .o5%.  Would you still like to drink it?”

So when it comes to indulging in the music, entertainment and philosophies of the world keep an eye out for that little bit of pooh.  From such turn away.