I wonder how many of us celebrate our baptism as we
might our birthday or anniversary. I’m
not sure I can even locate my baptismal certificate much less know the month or
day it took place. This Sunday we will celebrate the baptism
of Jesus according to Matthew 3:13-17 and
despite the fact that this event in our church calendar was once considered an
even more important feast than Christmas, the baptism of Jesus is acknowledged with
just a Gospel reading and a sermon. Yet, along with the Epiphany, it
is a celebration of the true nature of the incarnation of God. Perhaps we
should wait before we put away our manger scenes.
I
suspect that for many Christians there is a puzzle about baptism. If you
ask people why they want their children baptized many would be hard pressed to explain.
Do we do it for the grandparents? Is it a cultural act? Is it a “ticket
to admission” for a particular church or pre-qualification for communion? How
many of us were raised believing that it was intended to “wash away” our sins?
No, the sacrament instills a sense of God with us and in us that is essential
to our very nature and being. While baptism reminds us of our being united as
part of the Christian community, we were invested in God’s Kingdom long before
any sprinkling of water or liturgical incantation took place.
When
in this Gospel John protests at the notion of having to baptize Jesus, Jesus
responds with “for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all
righteousness." In so doing Jesus makes it clear that he aligns himself
with all people and not just the followers of Moses, “the chosen.” It is our
birth rite.
So,
while we are marked as a member of God’s Kingdom, Baptism enrolls us in this
most “inclusive” of all clubs. “In a very profound way we are in fact brothers
and sisters to one another. Each of us has already received the first great
gift of our spiritual inheritance: the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of
God resides in each of us as the source of the divine life and the source of
all life…The life of God in us means that we are closely bonded to one another.
We are more closely united by the living presence of the Spirit in us than we would
be by family blood lines. The shared life of God of which we are all temples,
make us family in a profoundly personal way. This is the faith vision of the
reality which we call Church.” (John
Powell, S.J. The Christian Vision, p131)
Baptism
is not about the forgiveness of sins although it is about repentance which in
the true sense of the word, inspires us to redirect our lives by “putting on
the mind of Christ” in all that we do. As such, our identity by the power of
the Holy Spirit, is created through worship and practice, so that we might know
and feel the sense of God in one another. This deep experience forms our
identity as those who will be known by
our love for one another and not defined by any denomination. This is being
in “the mind of Christ.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment