Baptismal Reflection

Yesterday in church, I glanced at the bulletin header to see the following words:

The First Sunday After The Epiphany
The Baptism of Our Lord
Holy Eucharist: Rite II January 10, 2010

Three things popped into my mind after reading those words -

1. Our visit last fall to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome where we viewed the beautiful portrait I'm showing here today of Jesus' baptism.

2. My baptism. Having just discovered my own baptism certificate last November, I hesitated yesterday when I stood in church to celebrate my baptism, naming only the month. Coming home though, I confirmed as I suspected, my actual infant baptism (age 6 weeks) was January 10 so my savoring of this day's importance seemed even more relevant to me.

3. The word savor. As regular readers here at the MindSieve might remember, savor is my selected word for this year.

In remembering our visit to St. Peter's and in rejoicing over a found baptismal certificate, I savored the precious moments and import of those events in my life. It's unlikely at this point in my life that I'll revisit St. Peter's in Rome, but what a memorable occasion it was to be there with my beloved spouse viewing the portrait of such an important event in the history of Christianity.

Also, finding bits and pieces of my infancy, early childhood, and school years seems to be a trend lately.....one that begins to bring into focus how that baptism event of being publicly declared a Child of God was the beginning of a life long relationship that as an infant I had no idea was there for me. Even as a young child, a teen, a young mother - really not until my adult years of church life did the import of baptism register with me. It is only now that I've come to treasure the God/human relationship that was started on my behalf by my very young parents. I doubt they knew what they were "doing" with a tiny baby at God's altar but I am thankful for that event and pray that young parents, like mine, like I did as a parent, will baptize their children realizing it not as just a social rite of passing but a spiritual proclamation of intention for them and for their children.

If you're a Christian, what of your baptism - infant, teen or adult, have you ever spent any time considering how that event changed, did not change, is beginning to change your life? And if you're of another faith with a precious rite meant for initiation or acceptance or connection, have you participated fully in that rite or not, and has it changed your life, your direction, your spirituality? I welcome your sharing.

Grateful for the Grace

I had the wonderful pleasure of being witness to a baby's baptism last evening. Beautiful baby boy, beaming parents, godparents, grandparents all making promises to God on behalf of this amazing first child and grandchild. My mind raced backwards and forwards to my own children's baptisms - did I have any idea then what I was promising? Did I have any idea of the journey my children would take me on? Did I have any idea of the journey that God would take me on through the lives of my children, through the stormy life of my first marriage, through the joy and love of my marriage now? I think the answers are no, I did not. Grace, what bountiful grace God gives to young parents to take their promises, their innocent promises, and hold them in His hands as though the parents were indeed wise and trustworthy.

Don't get me wrong - they are solemn, and wise as young persons can be, and they are trustworthy at the moment but when the years go by and life gets complicated and the promises seem less fresh and in the forefront, and the teenager is not so sweet any more, and the baptism is a long ago memory, it's harder to remember that God's grace is still there....waiting, waiting, willing to help in every situation, willing to be a guide, a crutch, a stronghold.

I think that I actually have a vision of my personal baptism as a young child. I don't think I was an infant, maybe a toddler. This vision has me being held on the arm of probably my father, looking out at a congregation in wonder. It's a vision that has come to me more than once in my life, so I'm beginning to believe it might actually be true. Anyway, my parents were very young, capable, in love and confident their child was the most special ever born. They made their baptismal promises on my behalf, perhaps not in the same words that I heard last night, but on behalf of me their first born and believed sincerely that they would uphold those promises throughout their lives. In a way I believe they did.

The vows they fulfilled were enough of a way to carry me through many trials and much happiness in living my life in partnership with God. Every moment? Seems unlikely that I could have sustained such an existence 100% of my life. But God did take my parents seriously, and He has taken me seriously and I have taken God seriously "most" of my life. Reflecting as I do on the times when I put God in the backseat rather than the driver's seat, I'm quite sure He was and is glad to have/had a "heavenly seatbelt" on and I'm grateful for the grace. The grace of my baptismal vows, the grace of my life as an adult, the grace to continue my life remembering the solemn vows of baptism and dedication as a child of God.

Baptism - infant, toddler, adult? Yes, no? Do you remember, not remember? Maybe never, maybe sometime in the future? Ever have a chance to review the baptism vows of your tradition - no tradition? Well, I recommend it.

Yes, I had the wonderful privilege of being witness to a baby's baptism last evening.