Mark 16:15-20
One of the many joys of my ministry years ago was Baptising babies. Here is the living proof of our ability to start fresh. Each child is a a new day and a new hope. If we ever caught ourselves in the negativism of saying all that is wrong with the world, a babe is our opportunity to mold this life for the better. To teach all the incredibly wonderful lessons we wish we had learned. We can show this child what love is really about and how to avoid some of the pitfalls we may have experienced. A child is a gift from God and a grand opportunity, a fresh slate, a joy to behold. In Baptism it is that and more. In Baptism we are putting the love and light of Christ on this child and we are invited into the unfolding scene ourselves as well. God always calls us.
As my mind reminisces over that joyful 'task', I also began to hone in on Baptism. What is Baptism. How would I define it? Would I use terms and ideas that have been popularized? Could I only express it in terms that were influenced, if not dictated, by the concepts and rules of the Roman church of my upbringing? Could I expand my mind to see what other concepts of Baptism are?
We are all familiar with the expression "Baptism by fire". It isn't exactly the way we would want to enter a situation and yet like many 'fires', it produces strong metal. Challenges seem to make us stronger. I know how good I feel after an invigorating spin class. I know how good it feels to have accomplished a difficult task. This is not what we think of religiously as baptism but it is another view of baptism isn't it?
Are there other paradigms for baptism then? At it's core baptism is a about initiation, about cleansing, starting new and the hope of the future. We can embrace that concept every day. Could we say we are baptised in the light of the rising sun? Does this daily ritual cleanse us and can we see the opportunities each day brings?
As we approach Ash Wednesday, I was thinking too about the ashes we don. That is a remembrance and actually a look to the future while embracing our past. In an extreme sense, getting personally sand blasted, reminding us of the graffiti of our soul and life and making us clean and fresh. Do we baptize ourselves with ashes then?
Then I can think of other new beginnings, the first day at a new job, at school. Perhaps the first time we make love with someone. Maybe having a chunk of my aorta cut out last year was a baptism of sorts, a new beginning for me. The opportunities for newness abound.
It does not matter so much then what paradigm I use to look at baptism. The truth is, newness abounds. We are constantly stepping forward in life in new situations and each decision we make.
The importance of baptism the is not in the initiation, it's the engagement that really says it all.
What do we do after the baptism? How do handle the commitment, our life, our relationships? There is a joke about a small child who receives his First Holy Communion. He sees a priest years later and asks 'when do I receive my second holy communion?' While we celebrate initial engagements and events no matter what kind of 'baptism' it is, what truly counts is the carry through.
As we approach Ash Wednesday, I was thinking too about the ashes we don. That is a remembrance and actually a look to the future while embracing our past. In an extreme sense, getting personally sand blasted, reminding us of the graffiti of our soul and life and making us clean and fresh. Do we baptize ourselves with ashes then?
Then I can think of other new beginnings, the first day at a new job, at school. Perhaps the first time we make love with someone. Maybe having a chunk of my aorta cut out last year was a baptism of sorts, a new beginning for me. The opportunities for newness abound.
It does not matter so much then what paradigm I use to look at baptism. The truth is, newness abounds. We are constantly stepping forward in life in new situations and each decision we make.
The importance of baptism the is not in the initiation, it's the engagement that really says it all.
What do we do after the baptism? How do handle the commitment, our life, our relationships? There is a joke about a small child who receives his First Holy Communion. He sees a priest years later and asks 'when do I receive my second holy communion?' While we celebrate initial engagements and events no matter what kind of 'baptism' it is, what truly counts is the carry through.
And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.
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