A wet witness?

Last Sunday we had about eighty people crammed into our small building to witness Marijan’s baptism. As it was raining we moved the event from outside into the safety of the church building. She made her baptismal promises and was duly baptised in a pool outside the front of the building.

This has got me thinking about baptism (again) and the fact that some of those in the Christian family see fit to ignore baptism in the Church of England, considering it obviously not ‘proper’ baptism, and re-baptising those who were done as infants.

Now, I was very taken with the words of Paul when he recounts the story of Peter and the other disciples before the Jews, telling them of God’s love and the power of the Cross. Hearing the ‘Good News’ (for this is what Gospel means) the people are ‘cut to the heart’ and cry out:

“Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2)

It struck me once again that the promise of baptism is for ‘us and our children’ and just as has been the practice of the Church (meaning the universal church) for almost two thousand years, this is what we claim when we bring children to baptism.
During a discussion regarding this often-contentious topic I was asked how I would start a fellowship (or family) of people. My response was that I would get people to join. My tutor nodded and smiled, asking.” And then?”

“Well,” I replied, “I’d get them to bring their friends and partners and get them to join too.”

“And when people had children?” he continued. “I’d get them to bring them in and let them be a part too!”

“This is what pioneers do,” the wise man commented, “For when pioneering one brings in adults and then, as the pioneers become settlers, they grow biologically – adding to their numbers the children who are born into the family that is the fellowship. The same is true of Christianity for as the Early Church it added adults and brought along the whole household. As it became settled, those children born into it we added as a matter of course.”

It seems we Christians are in fact an ethnic group – no surprise for Christian is what we are, not what we do for an hour on Sunday!

And for those who are challenged by re-baptism? Taking the lead from Acts 19 they consider themselves to act correctly:

” While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.”

We, in the Church of England, do not practice John’s baptism (John the Baptist that is) but following two thousand year’s practice baptise in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

We baptise as Christians did in the very earliest times of the Christian Church and our baptism is valid and sufficient. Perhaps some of those rebaptisers out there need to read the Didache and realise that ignoring two thousand years of practice for a couple of hundred years of skewed theological understanding does not hold the water they want to dunk people in :-)

How are you living out your baptismal promises and calling today?

Pax,

V