This past weekend was a celebration of a life well lived and a life just beginning. On Saturday, we celebrated my mom’s life with joy and tears and remembrances and friends and family. On Sunday, we celebrated the baptism of the newest member of our extended family, with pretty much all the same things.
I’ve written recently about my mom, so this week I’m going to write about my great-nephew. Not so much about him specifically because other than sleeping and kinda glaring at people, there’s not much visibly going on just yet. I do have a lot of hope for him; he’s got great parents and good genes.
I do want to write about his baptism and about baptism in general. His baptism was full of all the liturgical richness that infant baptism in a very small town can have. The pastor spoke about what baptism is and what it isn’t in a way I had not thought about and which I think we often miss.
I will admit I’ve always viewed baptism a bit one sidedly, as something we choose to do to demonstrate and publicly acknowledge our faith in Jesus as Savior and God. And that is part of it.
The pastor reminded us that baptism is a sacrament of the Christian church. It signifies God’s inward grace for us. It is more than even that. If we look at Jesus’ own baptism, we get a really big clue which I had never stopped to consider.
At Jesus’ baptism, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God like a dove lit on Him, and God’s voice was heard saying, “This is My Son Whom I love and with Whom I am well pleased.“ God CLAIMED Jesus as His own, as well loved and pleasing. All this occurred before Jesus even began His ministry. In other words, Jesus had done nothing yet to earn God’s love, acceptance or delight.
Baptism is a two way interchange in which we are claimed by our Heavenly Father as His own and as His beloved. God the Father is well pleased. We haven’t done anything to earn that. But there is a two way acknowledgment of our heart for God and God’s heart for us.
I’ve missed God’s role in all of this. He is not only receiving, He is actively giving.
What joy.
Just Sayin' 