Baptism
Just walked in from the rain... I hate getting wet, especially my glasses.
This week is lectionary celebration of Baptism of the Lord Sunday. There's lots of neat possibilities for worship in that, but the service I plan every week has the youth praise band playing and I already have a bunch of stuff ready for that service...
But I was thinking about baptism. There's no official record of my baptism at my home church - but my mom and grandmother remember me being baptized, so I'm not too worried about it. It always strikes me as odd, though, the people who get all uptight about not being able to remember their baptism and saying that they didn't have any say in it, or couldn't make the decision themselves. I think that's all well and good, and I guess I understand the complaint, but I just don't agree with it.
The only one who really matters in baptism is God. God does the conferring of blessing and the changing of nature. God does the transforming. I just show up. Just because I don't remember it happening, doesn't mean that it wasn't effective (heck, I don't remember being born, but that seems pretty evident by my very existence: and baptism has a parallel here - if we are living out our baptism, then we don't really need to remember it, do we? It should be pretty evident by our very existence...).
But, I guess I understand those people who want to remember it. I just can't find a Biblical basis for insisting that someone has to remember it: that somehow you're not a real Christian if you haven't stood up in front of a congregation somewhere and been baptized as an adult. I CAN defend the need to make a public CONFESSION OF FAITH and I understand that it can sealed with baptism (I suppose, if we want to get really technical about it, we would also have the option [not command, but the option] of sealing such a confession with circumcision...now THERE'S a service I don't want to attend) - but MUST it? Especially if I've already been baptized? I don't think so.
But what if I want to be rebaptized? Well, that's a stickier question, and maybe best left for pastors and individuals to explore in a, well, less public forum. Let me say, again, that I think the whole thing is really dependent on GOD'S actions, not ours...
And then there is baptism in the Holy Spirit (or BY the Holy Spirit)...oh, my, look at the time...
This week is lectionary celebration of Baptism of the Lord Sunday. There's lots of neat possibilities for worship in that, but the service I plan every week has the youth praise band playing and I already have a bunch of stuff ready for that service...
But I was thinking about baptism. There's no official record of my baptism at my home church - but my mom and grandmother remember me being baptized, so I'm not too worried about it. It always strikes me as odd, though, the people who get all uptight about not being able to remember their baptism and saying that they didn't have any say in it, or couldn't make the decision themselves. I think that's all well and good, and I guess I understand the complaint, but I just don't agree with it.
The only one who really matters in baptism is God. God does the conferring of blessing and the changing of nature. God does the transforming. I just show up. Just because I don't remember it happening, doesn't mean that it wasn't effective (heck, I don't remember being born, but that seems pretty evident by my very existence: and baptism has a parallel here - if we are living out our baptism, then we don't really need to remember it, do we? It should be pretty evident by our very existence...).
But, I guess I understand those people who want to remember it. I just can't find a Biblical basis for insisting that someone has to remember it: that somehow you're not a real Christian if you haven't stood up in front of a congregation somewhere and been baptized as an adult. I CAN defend the need to make a public CONFESSION OF FAITH and I understand that it can sealed with baptism (I suppose, if we want to get really technical about it, we would also have the option [not command, but the option] of sealing such a confession with circumcision...now THERE'S a service I don't want to attend) - but MUST it? Especially if I've already been baptized? I don't think so.
But what if I want to be rebaptized? Well, that's a stickier question, and maybe best left for pastors and individuals to explore in a, well, less public forum. Let me say, again, that I think the whole thing is really dependent on GOD'S actions, not ours...
And then there is baptism in the Holy Spirit (or BY the Holy Spirit)...oh, my, look at the time...
Comments