What Then of Baptism?

-


 It is not good for the body of Christ to be divided. When the church embraces the divisions of the wider world, especially when we bring them into worship, we are infecting Christ with bigotry and prejudice. At the same time, we are not looking to limit how much of a person can show up on a Sunday, how much of who they are is washed and claimed by Christ. As such, the unity in Christ found in Baptism isn’t a shorthand for erasing people’s uniqueness or being “color blind” in a way that blinds us to the totality of who a person is.

It is not good that there are many things that crowd out a baptismal life. It is especially worrying that modern life short circuits community in a way that individualizes our baptismal journey—a whole community walks this path together in song, leaving it up to individuals makes a joyful thing into a burden; at best the baptismal life bereft of community is a singular grand heroic act, but for most it becomes an absurdity to be abandoned.

 

              It is good that we find our unity in Christ Jesus, and nothing else, as the equation goes: Jesus+<Jesus. That said, part of being members of Christ’s body involves being curious about the other pieces of the body, honoring our siblings in Christ as whole people, not merely acknowledging the parts of them that are like me. Baptism calls us into relationship; honest and open relationships often open us to the experience of being “love struck.”

              It is good that baptism assures people that their loved ones, be they alive or dead, are in the eternal presence of Christ, that God has got ‘em. Our whole lives are lived in response to that good act—that God has got us—we the baptized live our lives in light of grace! And, when it isn’t clear that that’s how we’re living, when fear and anxiety grip us, it is good to crawl back to the font.

              It is good that the church has abandoned gate keeping and shibboleths surrounding baptism, but in doing so we must not abandon our care of the baptized. The newly baptized need to be nurtured in the faith, upheld by the whole community. Therefore, we are challenged to be creative and flexible, and trust in God’s ongoing guidance. God has got us, just as God has got the more recently baptized.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Table of Contents: Seven Central Things

-
Image
Introduction Intro (Ash Wednesday) The Road to Emmaus Saul on the Road to Damascus A Unified Theory of Lutheranism Today Gathering Gathering at Pentecost (Sun 18 th ) Not Gathering The Art of Gathering Gather in a 3D World How Then Shall We Gather? Gather Prayer Baptism (Jesus + < Jesus Alone)—Galatians 3:23-29 An Emergency Baptism (Sun 25 th ) BEM and Indiscriminate Baptism Baptism in a 3D World What then of Baptism? Baptism Prayer Confession & Forgiveness The 51st Psalm A Shattered Unicorn The Book of Forgiving (Sun 3 rd ) Yup, it really means you are forgiven. How Shall We Confess and Forgive? A Prayer The Word Word, words, joy, judgement Chuckwagon Grace The Bible a Cradle The Word for Now (Sun 10 th ) What is the Good Word? A Prayer Giving Thanks Sanctifying Gratitude I would have been Blind, instead I See Grateful Thankfulness, Now It is Good to Give God Thanks and Praise (Sun 17 th ) A Prayer The Meal R
Read more

Sent Out in Song

-
Image
                The Hymn “The Canticle of the Turning” is a favorite among a whole generation of Lutherans, probably all for vaguely the same reason, it was sung at an especially powerful moment in their life. For me it was sung before my cohort of Young Adults in Global Mission left the Lutheran Center in Chicago to our particular destinations around the world. A one-man band sent us off; if I remember correctly, he was simultaneously playing bagpipes, a harmonica, and drums. He played as all of us excited and anxious young people sang Mary’s song about the transformation of the whole world on account of her son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was the song that sent us out into the world to join in that mission. In my case that song sent me to an 850-year-old English abbey converted into a retreat centre where I cleaned rooms, taught kids archery, and served booze to Anglican Bishops.               I think that song was sung in LTSP’s chapel the night I and 11 other seminarians found ou
Read more

I would have been blind, instead I see

-
Image
                At my last annual eye exam, my optometrist suggested that I see a specialist; she thought something looked a little off, but 90% of the time what she saw wasn’t a problem. So, I went to an ophthalmologist, completely chill—there is a 90% chance it is nothing. I ran through the eye chart, got a puff test, all the semi-regular stuff that gets done to one’s eye. Then they brought me to a back room and started manipulating my eye with what looked and felt like a spoon and a dental tool.               Next thing I knew there were needles in my eye injecting numbing solution and a big old laser burning the back of my eyes. By the time I went back to the waiting room, I felt like a throw away towel someone used to clean up a flooded muddy basement. 1 in 10. How lucky, I thought.               After three more sessions spaced out over 8 weeks, they’d stabilized my eyes with those lasers, and in so doing they’d saved my eyesight! In fact, if I’d gone to the Ophthalmologist 3
Read more