Once for All and Day by Day

It’s amazing to think that we’re just over two weeks removed from Maundy Thursday; breakfast on the beach with the risen Jesus takes place just over two weeks after the last supper. And yet, think of all that the disciples have been through. They’ve seen Jesus dragged away and detained; some have denied and deserted him, while others have borne witness to the horror of the cross; they’ve hidden together in fear, then received recurring visions of their resurrected Lord and friend; and by now they’re primed to see him anywhere, even a place as familiar as the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. So much has changed in such a short time[1]; everything is different, yet some things remain the same.

For one, the disciples still like to fish, and from time to time they still struggle to catch anything. And for his part, Jesus still insists on gathering them around a shared meal and sending them out again to live with purpose: “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught…. Come and have breakfast”; then “Do you love me….? Feed my lambs.”

Famously, Jesus asks Peter to reaffirm his commitment three times– “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?”– giving Peter the chance to reverse his threefold denial prior to the crucifixion. But consider what Jesus’ repeated questioning means in a figurative sense for all of us. Easter is transformative, a singular event that continually ushers us into a new way of being. To quote one interpreter:

When we encounter Jesus, we are [converted]…. This conversion is both a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing event and a daily process—a change that comes again and again, like Jesus’ question to Peter: “Do you love me?” Again and again, Jesus calls us to follow him…. For Peter, the journey doesn’t end with breakfast on the beach. Conversion sets [him], and each of us, on a path that continues for the rest of our life on earth—and leads into life eternal.[2]

That is to say, Easter is once for all, and Easter takes place day by day.

Friends, the same can be said for Holy Baptism. Lutherans most often recognize two sacraments, or “ritual action[s] using something very ordinary (such as water…) which, when connected to the promise-filled word of Christ, becomes extraordinary – an event of God’s grace-filled presence,” as Lutheran pastor and illustrator Daniel Erlander puts it. In the case of baptism, the event itself need never be repeated: “Christian baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime immersion… the great bath of the Christian church”[3] wherein the promise is permanent: Today in these waters, you, child of God, you have been born anew and clothed with Love incarnate; you have been welcomed into the family of God and enlightened by Holy Wisdom, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ… forever.[4]

Baptism is once for all, and yet baptism takes place day by day. As Erlander explains, “In this beautiful sacrament we are given a way of life, a daily pattern of returning to the waters of baptism [where] we die again to the old ‘turned-in-on-[the]-self’ being [and] rise again… to new life in Christ.”[5] This means that any encounter with water, prevalent and precious, is an occasion to remember the promise of baptism. Whenever you pass the baptismal font, or take a walk beside a waterway, or wash dishes, or take a shower, let me encourage you to make the sign of the cross on your forehead and recall that you are a baptized, beloved child of God, and nothing can change that; you are a baptized, beloved child of God, and Christ sends you out again and again to live with purpose: “Feed my lambs…. Tend my sheep…. Feed my sheep.”

Baptism is once for all, and baptism takes place day by day. That’s a word especially for you today, Felicity, and for your family. And it’s a word for all of us who bear witness to your baptism and offer you our ongoing prayers and support. Just before you make your way to the font, we’ll sing an especially fitting lyric, praising God for God’s enduring promise in Christ: he is “the everlasting instant,” to quote Sylvia Dunstan’s poetry, crucified and risen once for all, that he might accompany us day by day, and into life eternal.

[1] Day Resources for Sunday, May 4^th, 2025: members.sundaysandseasons.com/Home/TextsAndResources#resources.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Let the Children Come: A Baptism Manual for Parents and Sponsors, 3.

[4] Ibid. 8-9.

[5] Ibid. 14.