I have a piece of Oamaru limestone (Whitestone) at home in my shed, waiting for me to carve into some sort of shape. I have a shape in mind. I know however, that nothing will come of it unless I have the right tools. If I try to fashion something from that rock with my bare hands, I am doomed to nothing but frustration, split nails, and bloody fingertips. I need a hammer and set of proper stone chisels. I need sandpaper to finish it off. I need the right tools. If it was my car broken down, I couldn’t fix it with kitchen utensils. When my cardiologist went into my heart to ablate the errant electronic impulses, he didn’t go in there with a screw driver, wire strippers and a multimeter. He used the right tools. It’s true, isn’t it: To do a job well, we don’t just need tools, we need the right tools.
Jesus has asked his disciples to make disciples. Think of what that means. He is asking us to call people out of unbelief into the light of Christ. How do we raise the spiritually dead? To start with, we need the right tools. And that is what Christ has given us in Baptism. It is the right tool for this job that Jesus has given to his Church.
It’s a powerful tool. It’s a tool fit for any person. It’s given to us all.
There is a second part to this tool kit. While the first part is to baptize; the second is to teach. Just like my car or my heart needs follow-up, maintenance and care. Baptism is followed up with teaching: the right tool for growing and sustaining faith.