This Sunday, I will baptize our granddaughter, Milla (Meela). This holy event will be followed by a cook-out with family and friends. A gathering of love, of grace.
What does baptism say to us in this historical time? What can the sprinkling of water, the gathering among a congregation, the confession of faith, the anointing with oil, the symbolism of salt, and the lighting of a candle, mean today?
Like many, I have been following the drama of the Iranian election. Ghosts of U.S.A.-2000 appear. Corruption? People finally having enough of repression. A cry to be open to the West. Freedom for women to develop their lives more fully. Democracy. A progressive, 21st century Islam. What can Holy Baptism say to this yearning?
President Obama speaking before the AMA, calling on a reformed health care system. Pushback from the insurance companies. Bailed-out banks lending less. More people out of work. California broke. America living off foreign loans. Two wars draining borrowed resources. Gays demanding rights. Right wing malcontents killing the innocent. Corporate greed. Challenges to going green. What can Holy Baptism say in this environment?
We are brought to the font by family and friends. We are carried. We are loved. Family and friends have taken the time to present us to God, to tell us that the relationship with God is vital and central for living!
Come the sacrament. "God, who is rich in mercy and love, give us new birth into a living hope....By water and the Word God delivers us to new life in Jesus Christ,....and joined in God's mission for the life of the world." There is grace and call.
And there is more. In Holy Baptism we are graced to be responsible: To bring the baptized into the community of the Church, to bring them to worship and the Lord's Supper, to teach, to nurture in Christ, so that the baptized serve and work for peace and justice. We have a most holy purpose in life that does not require employment, but commitment and promise to faith and love.
And more. We stand and renounce the power of evil "and all the forces that defy God....the powers of this world that rebel against God....and the ways of sin that draw us from God". We are graced and called to stand up, step up, to face the winds of life. God gives us what is necessary for the task.
More. We are graced to confess our faith in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. It is a gift to confess faith in the One who creates, liberates, and enlightens. In Christ we can create, liberate others, enlighten each other to faith, hope, and love; towards justice and peace; towards reconciliation.
More. We are forgiven. We are welcomed into the Family of God, the community of the Holy Christian Church. We have a place of love, and people with whom to connect in love.
More. We are anointed to remind us that we are protected by God from the power of anything to keep us from the love of God. We are given a candle to remind us that Jesus is the Light of the world, and that we are now called to reflect Christ's Light. We are given grace and we are called to costly grace.
Bishop Wayne Weissenbuehler once told a story he heard on a trip to Africa. An African church leader told him: "The only way to be safe in an unsafe world is to be part of a large family". In Holy Baptism we become part of the huge Family of God! We are embraced, we are loved, we are nurtured for the sake of making real the Reign of God in the world!
In this troubled time, let us remember our Holy Baptism.
Peace!
Ron
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And what does Baptism have to say to us about the threat of climate change. Next week, the US House of Reps. will likely vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey). As it currently stands, the legislation needs to be strenthened in several ways: stronger Renewable Energy Standard and Energy Efficiency Standard; affirm the EPA's prerogative to regulate emissions from power plants; auction rather than give away more pollution credits. Please contact your Representatives and ask them to help strengthen ACES. Thanks
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