By virtue of your baptism into Christ, there’s a new family to which you belong. A new family that transcends the bounds of time and space. A new family that will not last just for a time, but for eternity.

So even though the world will tell you that blood is thicker than water – that our earthly family relationships create a kind of bond that should not be broken by the things of this world that, by comparison, are like water . . . but Jesus is teaching us that the truth is exactly the opposite. For in our new family, our new life, water is thicker than blood.

The water and Word of Holy Baptism creates a bond that is greater than any other on earth – not just a bond that we have with each other, but the bond that we have with each other by virtue of our being united in Christ. It is Christ that holds us together, Christ who gives us hope, Christ who by His blood gave power to this water, Christ who makes us all brothers and sisters and children of our heavenly Father, in Him.

And so in Christ we have a family and life that we cannot lose. Not because we’re so great, or because there won’t be any strife and disagreements in the church – there will be! We’re still sinners. But because we are united in the One who is greater than our sin, who gave His life to give us life. And so it is exactly in losing your life in baptism, losing your life in repentance, losing your life in service, losing your life in Christ – you find a life that is even greater. A life that will have no end.

All of which is not to say our earthly families are not important – they are! Perhaps something that is said at many marriages can help us understand. It is said that when two people get married, “we’re not losing a son, we’re gaining a daughter.”

Well by faith, that is what happens. In Christ, we’re not losing our earthly families, but gaining a new family. And so we have not just an earthly Father, but now a heavenly Father and also many earthly fathers and mothers, and grandparents, and brothers and sisters, and children and grandchildren!

Time may take away our earthly families, space may separate us, and the Word of God may divide – but look at how richly God has rewarded those who abide in the truth of His Word! With a family that does not compete against Him for love and loyalty, but which is created by those very things. With a family that does not depend on us to keep it together, but one which He keeps together.

That which God brings together, He will keep together. Together in Him.

United through Baptism, bound together by the Word, strengthened in forgiveness, and fed by the body and blood of the very Son of God! The Son of God in whom we are all sons of God. . . .

That’s why we put the baptismal font front and center in the church. For it is the font and front and center of our lives. We put it here so that you can’t look at the altar or the cross without looking also at it. We put it here so that if you walk up to the altar, you must go by it. We put it here so that it reminds you that this is why you’re here; that water is thicker than blood.

No matter what happens in this world, no matter the divisions and struggles, no matter the sin and death – nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. He has claimed you as His own, and you are His. Born again into His family. Or as St. John would later proclaim: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are” (1 John 3:1).

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, O heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Through the Red Sea, God led the way,

As fire by night and cloud by day.

When Pharaoh’s army came in sight

God closed the waters, won the fight.

A fiery chariot came around.

It took Elijah from the ground.

Elisha saw his teacher leave.

His godly power and cloak received.

The scared disciples were amazed

When in their boat one stormy day

Spoke Jesus to the wind and waves.

His words had power. They both obeyed.

The earth quaked and our Savior sighed.

His work was finished and He died.

The earth quaked; now our Savior lives.

Eternal life to all He gives.

Klaus Detlev Schulz, Mission from the Cross: The Lutheran Theology of Mission (CPH 2009)

Christ wants to say: “I will give you a gift over and above the comfort I afford you in the revelation of My own fate, over and above this disclosure of the behavior of the world, namely, that it will rave and rage against the truth in spite of its better knowledge and against its own conscience. This additional gift will be My Spirit, who will renew in your hearts these words I am now speaking to you and will fully clarify them for you, so that you will understand them ever better and know what both I and the world mean in your lives. He will give you strength and courage to enable you to continue to adhere to Me and to pursue your course. For if He were not with you and you were to engage in daily combat with both the devil and the world, you would not be able to bear this. Therefore it is surely necessary for Him to be with you, not only to have His words resound in your ears but also to strengthen your hearts with His light and His fire. Then you will be able to persist; you will have power exceeding that of both the devil and the world with all their malice and might…

The devil has two weapons with which he assails the Christians respecting either their office or their own persons, in the hour of death or at other times. These weapons are sin and the penalty for sin. The stronger of these is the terror of sin; by means of this he renders the heart fearful and despondent by saying to it: “You have done this and that.” He is a past master at this. He not only cites the sins which you yourself must confess, such as murder and adultery, and blows them up with his fiery breath to such proportions that your heart melts like salt in water; but he can also transform your good conduct and your best works into many kinds of sin and shame, so that you do not keep even a speck of them. Anyone who has engaged in real combat with him a few times is well aware of this.

Then the devil deals in the same way with the penalty for sin. He says: “With this or with that sin you have deserved to be broken on the wheel, to be put to the rack, to be killed a hundred times, and to be damned to eternal hell in addition.” He makes things so hot and horrible that man considers heaven and earth too cramped and wants to hurl himself into fire from fright. Man lies there and tortures himself with thoughts such as these: “O Lord God, what have I done? If it is bad, it is not good; if it is good, it is far worse.” If the devil takes hold of you there, and you do not know how to defend yourself, he has soon gained the victory.

Therefore God has been gracious to us and has given us a Comforter to counteract this spirit of terror—a Comforter, who, as God Himself, is much stronger with His comfort than the devil is with his terror. And now when the devil also comes along with God’s Law, advances against your works and your life, and shatters these so thoroughly that even your good works appear to be evil and condemned—an art in which he is a master and an excellent theologian—the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, will come and whisper consolingly to your heart: “Be of good cheer and unafraid. Go, preach, do what you have been commanded to do; and do not fear the terrors of sin, death, or the devil, even if these terrors present themselves in the name of God. God does not want to be angry with you, nor does He want to reject you; for Christ, God’s Son, died for you. He paid for your sins; and if you believe in Him, these will not be imputed to you, no matter how great they are. Because of your faith your works are pleasing to God; they are adjudged good and well done even though weakness does creep in. Why do you let your sins be falsely magnified? Christ, your Righteousness, is greater than your sins and those of the whole world; His life and His consolation are stronger and mightier than your death and hell.”

Thus He again makes the heart happy and bold, and inspires it with the courage and confidence to say: “now I will believe in this Christ; I will preach Him and praise Him even if this should vex the world and all the devils. And although I am a sinner and have lived ever so wickedly, yet I will not on this account deny and reject this Man; nor will I have such small regard for His suffering and death as you have, devil, when you try to make me believe that these are inadequate to cancel and extinguish all sin and your whole hell.”

Behold, this leads to a confident and staunch heart that can scorn the devil with all his terror and torment, defy all his might, and say: “Sin, if you want to condemn me, you will first have to condemn Christ, my dear Savior, Priest, and Intercessor with the Father. Death, if you want to devour me, you must begin on top, with Christ, my Head. Devil and world, if you want to torment and frighten me, you must first pull Him down from His throne. In brief, I will fear nothing, even if lightning were to strike this moment and throw everything into confusion. For Christ is mine with His suffering, death, and life; the Holy Spirit, with His comfort; and the Father Himself, with all His grace. He sends the Holy Spirit to preach Christ into my heart and to fill it with His consolation. This is the main glory and prerogative of the Holy Spirit.”

Luther, M. (1999, c1961). Vol. 24: Luther’s works, vol. 24 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 14-16 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther’s Works (24:292). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Another car pulled up near the driver, got out and said, “I always park there! You took my place!”

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, “That’s my seat! You took my place!” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, “That’s where I always sit! You took my place!” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still he said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, “What happened to you?”

The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye,

“I took your place…”

St. Paul says that this righteousness was obtained fully by Christ’s cross—”we have now been justified by his blood.” What has been achieved, obtained, and perfected by Christ outside of us, before us, and without us (two thousand years ago on a cross and via a resurrection), is delivered to us and reckoned to us in the word of the Gospel. Because it’s already accomplished, it can’t be achieved by doing anything. The deed is done. That’s why Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are received, laid hold of, by faith. Faith simply lays hold of the gift, and even the faith, which receives the gift, is itself all gift. So St. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Reconciliation occurred in Christ’s death—”God was in Christ reconciling the world until himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19)—and this same reconciliation is “received” here and now. And it’s powerful. In fact, it is the most powerful force for joy in the world.

This central teaching of the Bible is a profound mystery and a profound key to a joyous life. “He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Think of it. The Bible calls Christ “sin.” God in the flesh is called “sin.” And just as amazing, by virtue of Christ, we are called “the righteousness of God.” When God looks at us, he sees only the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Every Christian may rejoice and glory in Christ’s birth as much as if he had himself been born of Mary as was Christ. How is it possible for man to hear of greater joy than that Christ has been given to him as his own? (Martin Luther, Church Postils, Lenker ed., 1:144, 149).—A Little Book on Joy, Matthew Harrison

St. Paul says that this righteousness was obtained fully by Christ’s cross—”we have now been justified by his blood.” What has been achieved, obtained, and perfected by Christ outside of us, before us, and without us (two thousand years ago on a cross and via a resurrection), is delivered to us and reckoned to us in the word of the Gospel. Because it’s already accomplished, it can’t be achieved by doing anything. The deed is done. That’s why Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are received, laid hold of, by faith. Faith simply lays hold of the gift, and even the faith, which receives the gift, is itself all gift. So St. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Reconciliation occurred in Christ’s death—”God was in Christ reconciling the world until himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19)—and this same reconciliation is “received” here and now. And it’s powerful. In fact, it is the most powerful force for joy in the world.

This central teaching of the Bible is a profound mystery and a profound key to a joyous life. “He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Think of it. The Bible calls Christ “sin.” God in the flesh is called “sin.” And just as amazing, by virtue of Christ, we are called “the righteousness of God.” When God looks at us, he sees only the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Every Christian may rejoice and glory in Christ’s birth as much as if he had himself been born of Mary as was Christ. How is it possible for man to hear of greater joy than that Christ has been given to him as his own? (Martin Luther, Church Postils, Lenker ed., 1:144, 149).—A Little Book on Joy, Matthew Harrison

This is true. I know it is true. But I must admit that I don’t find this a natural practice for me. It’s hard. So often I have so many things running through my head, that slowing down long enough to hear what God has to say and speaking to him, well, it just gets pushed down on the priority list.

It would be easy to go into a discussion about how we are too busy today, we have too many things coming at us, and that we don’t have time to sit down and smell the flowers. This is all true, but I think really misses the point. The point isn’t that we are so busy. The point, rather, is that we don’t want to hear God or speak to Him. Like Adam and Eve hiding from God in the Garden, we run from our conversations with Him because we fear His anger, we don’t want to disappoint, or even because we don’t want Him to know how much we hurt or how angry we are at Him.

So how do we break the cycle of isolation from God in prayer? Here are a few suggestions that have worked for me over the years, and I would love to hear yours as well:

• Keep it simple. Using devotional guides can be of great benefit, but don’t allow the process of meditation and prayer become more important than actually meditating on His Word and praying. If that means something very simple, like Portals of Prayer, great! If that means using something a little more extended like To Live with Christ or The Treasury of Daily Prayer, then that’s fine too. It is more important to develop the regular habit of praying than to have just the right system.
  
• Connect prayer to God’s Word. For Lutherans, when we pray it is in connection with hearing God in His Word. While I may pray alone, I am never really alone. Christ prays with me. It is always a holy conversation.
  
• Make a list. Maybe this is obvious, but don’t allow prayer to become so spiritual that you actually forget your own personality! I am a list guy. I am always writing lists. So if I’m going to remember to pray, and to pray for specific people or things, I am going to write it down. It’s that simple. If I don’t write it down, my own natural inclination toward busyness and distractions will drive the whole thing right out of my head.
  
• Remember that Christ prays for you even when you don’t pray. If you forget to pray for a day, be at peace! Christ prays for you even when you forget. Jesus is loving and forgiving, and longs to be in your presence. He will pray for you even if you don’t.
  

There are many things that could be said about the privilege of praying alone. God loves it when you pray to Him! He leaves to speak to you and to hear you. Trust that praying in Him and to Him is good, and will be to your great eternal benefit.

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