Monday, January 14, 2013

Reform School



Baptism: You are a child of God!    




Baptism was practiced long before Jesus waded into the Jordan River with John the Baptist in the first century.  In the 6th century B.C.E. - the period of the Exile or Diaspora of the Jews - proselyte (non-Jewish) baptisms were offered to entire families coming to Judaism, or to children of those adults who had already converted to Judaism. Both circumcision and baptism were signs of the Covenant between God and God’s people.


            The word ‘baptism’ is from the Greek baptisein meaning to immerse or dip. Water used in baptism and other religious rituals has always been linked to purification, to new life and life itself.  Baptism in the Christian faith signifies a new beginning; a birth; death and resurrection.

            In the Bible, John the Baptist is seen in the Gospel of Mark ‘proclaiming a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins’’. (Mark 1:4) He also declared that the One who would come after him (Jesus) would ‘baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’  (Mark 1:7-8) Jesus was baptized not to repent for His sin, as He was and is sinless, but, as Emmanuel (or God-with-us), in order to enter into our world and reconcile us to God. Jesus' baptism points to His death on the cross. Likewise, the Apostle Paul, in Romans ch.6, speaks of baptism as ‘a dying and rising with Christ.’  (Romans 6:4)
From the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church, USA:
The Meaning of Membership and Baptism
 In Jesus Christ, God calls people to faith and to membership in the Church, the body
of Christ. Baptism is the visible sign of that call and claim on a human life and of entrance into the membership of the church. The baptism of children witnesses to the truth that God’s love claims people before they are able to respond in faith.
 The baptism of those who enter the covenant of membership upon their own profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior witnesses to the truth that God’s gift of grace calls forth a response of faithfulness.
 Thus, the triune God, incarnate in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, gives to the Church not only its mission but also its understanding of membership.      G-1.0302,  The Book of Order
Christian denominations have embraced baptism in different ways, and have instituted various practices reflecting their own understanding of God’s relationship to humankind as well as their interpretation of Scripture. Some churches prefer to completely immerse the person into a tank of water; some sprinkle the child or adult’s head lightly with water from a ‘baptismal font’.  Some churches authorize ‘God parents’ as sponsors for the child. The PC[USA] understanding is that in baptism, the entire congregation takes a part in the nurturing of the faith of the newly baptized, rather than only one or two people. Some churches link baptism with an individual’s ability to hear and understand the Gospel, repent of sin and verbally confess Christ. These acts typically exclude infants or very young children from the sacrament.

Presbyterians take a different point of view. Baptism is available to people of all ages, including infants of believers.   John Calvin, one of the forefathers of the Reformed faith, believed that baptism was not a cause of salvation but rather a sign of salvation. For Calvin, baptizing infants was a clear reminder that grace is a gift from God, and that the grace of God precedes faith, and is most clearly revealed in the baptism of infants who cannot profess faith, yet are still included in the covenant of grace.

            Presbyterians recognize that baptism is not salvific.  In other words, the act of pouring water or stating one’s intentions does nothing to save a person from their sin or justify their relationship with God. Only God can do that for us, and in fact, has already done so through the New Covenant made by the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The sacrament of baptism for Presbyterians, does not rest on what the person being baptized says or does; rather, it has everything to do with what God will do, and has already done for all of us in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. 

In baptism, a person is ‘engrafted into the Body of Christ (the church), (Larger Catechism, Q.165) therefore, baptism is not offered in private, but rather is witnessed by the church, as part of the worship of the church. Baptism is “the beginning of a life of faith and the whole life is lived in response to the grace manifested at baptism”, to quote Claudio Carvalhaes, for the Thoughtful Christian. Baptism, unlike communion which is celebrated regularly, is offered only once to an individual. It celebrates one's transformation and union with Christ, therefore it is not something that can or should be repeated.  To that end, Presbyterians recognize baptisms of other Christian denominations when receiving new members

                        Baptism and Communion are the only two sacraments observed by Presbyterian USA churches, including St. Mark.  Like Communion, baptism points to the Holy within the ‘ordinary’.  We use the common and most necessary substance of life - water -to confirm the mystery of grace that is in Christ. Every time we witness a new baptism, we are reminded that we are baptized into the faith of the whole church, and have the chance to refresh our own faith and rededicate our lives to service to others, as did Jesus.

January 13, 2013 was recognized as "Baptism of our Lord" Sunday in the Lectionary. St.Mark sermons may be accessed on our website: www.discoverstmark.org - under the "Listen and Read" tab.

The follow sources were used as reference:

The Go-Anywhere Thin-line Bible, NRSV, HarperCollins, 2010
Howard L. Rice and James C. Huffstutler, Reformed Worship, Geneva Press, (2001)
Claudio Carvalheas; www.The Thoughtful Christian.com, Baptism 101,(2009)
The Presbyterian Church, USA; The Book of Confessions (1999)

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