Evolution of Baptismal Ritual

Christian churches agree that Baptism is a sacrament.  When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, the heavens were torn apart, the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, and “a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Mk 1:9-11).

From the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the elements of the sacrament of baptism are present:  a blessing and immersion in water (Cooke and Macy 70).  Jesus went from that moment to the desert to pray and be tempted by the devil.  A new Christian emerges from the water with the blessing of the Triune God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, entering “a growing initiation into Christianity, into living the mystery of Christ with others” (C&M 69). 

Two things struck me as I read the selections in Johnson’s Sacraments and Worship: the variety in the descriptions of baptism in the New Testament,  and the elaboration surrounding the basic elements of the sacrament as time went on, eventually to be simplified again after Vatican II.

Some speak of baptism as being baptized into one body (1Cor 12:13), or "clothed with Christ," and "all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:27-29).

Others speak of being baptized into Christ’s death and that they are certain to be “united with him in a resurrection like his” (Johnson 105).

Some references speak only of Jesus (1Peter 3:21-22; Acts 10:48), while other places do not mention Jesus at all (Jn 3:5).  Matthew 28:19 says to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

It is kind of amazing that most churches seem to have agreed upon the Trinitarian formula today!  One of the women in prison who had been baptized as a Catholic when a child had to be baptized again in another church.  They do it “in the name of Jesus,” because that is what the bible says.

As for the complexity of the baptismal rites, I was stuck by how often they spoke of exorcising the water and the catechumens, the number of times people had to strip off all of their clothes, the amount of fasting, and the number of anointings.  Some of the prayers were extremely long.  If you add the singing that undoubtedly took place, the processions from one place to another,  some of these celebrations must have taken the better part of a day, if not several days.  They obviously were not of the mentality that church services should be short and sweet!

After Vatican II, rites were simplified, and the significance of the various parts was made clear.  The addition of baptism by immersion in many Catholic churches should help to make people more aware of the symbolism and its meaning.  The months of preparation in RCIA give the participants a deep awareness that they are entering into a new life: living the mystery of Christ with others.

In prison today, for some reason several people had questions about baptism, so what we are learning is definitely useful in my daily life.  Several of the women who usually come had gone home, so the ritual for next week might not come together after all. 

Baptism - Only the Beginning

Baptism is a Sacrament that fascinates me because many Christian denominations celebrate baptism different (i.e. Priest baptizes baby, adult is baptized in lake). However, there is a common thread: Original Sin is washed away, and we are all now joined with Christ.  We must understand when baptism took place in early Christian times. According to DeWaal writes that Baptism began at “three o’clock on the afternoon of Good Friday” because at that time they were at the foot of the Cross with the vision of the crucified Jesus, vowing to renounce Satan and follow Jesus (44). 3:00 on Good Friday is of course the time that the Good Friday mass starts.  At this time people renounced Satan, counting this as part of their Baptism for when death would be overcome and Christ would rise (DeWaal 45).  Cooke and Macy would write that baptism occurred on Easter Vigil (72). Despite the differences of days, I feel that early Christians regardless would have seen Triduum as appropriate for baptism, because of how baptism can represent our joining with Christ in the Paschal Mystery.

Cooke and Macy first highlight St. Justin Martyr and how this saint felt that there was no minister for baptism because anyone who was worthy in Christ’s eyes could baptize someone else. Early Christians had a giant ceremony for Baptism on Easter Vigil – for those who were baptized. This occurred after lengthy instructional process in which adults learned about life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Eventually these prospective Disciples would have sponsors, or godparents, assist them in their growth and vouch for them to join the Church. Finally, they were baptized (Cooke and Macy 72-73). I found this interesting I have godparents who were there when I was baptized, as well as a sponsor for Confirmation. Reading about early Christian baptism reminds me more of the Confirmation process. In fact, I taught my students that while Confirmation and Baptism are traditionally given separately, at Easter Vigil, one can receive both Sacraments, on that night.

I also wrote about infant baptism because I know that while it is traditional in Catholic churches, many of my Protestant friends told me that they weren’t baptized until they were older. Why do many of us Catholics get baptized as infants? There are a few reasons. One reason is that because of high infant mortality rate, many families wanted to make sure their children washed away of their original sin. There was a fear that unbaptized people went to hell – even if they were infants! The other reason I found was because many parents felt that if a child were baptized, that child would be raised by parents and family who could teach him or her how to be true Disciples of Christ. When baptized and then raised in the environment to be enlightened about Jesus’s teachings, it’s easier for someone to understand (Cooke and Macy 76-77). However, others feel that people should be older and mature in their faith before baptism. This is why I understood Catholics celebrate Confirmation. This Sacrament was given to an older Catholic, who was anointed by Bishop to be strong in his or her faith, and spread the word of Christ while attaining his or her own Disciples (Cooke and Macy 78). This is how I’ve understood Baptism and Confirmation, and why I found it interesting reading Cooke and Macy, as well as DeWaal. All of these authors show a real understanding about the sacredness and development of Baptism and Confirmation. For me, it helped me understand and begin to formulate my own questions about how I would want my children raised in the Church when the time comes.

Baptism

Called to a Moment That Continues On

In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we believe in what is called believer's baptism.  It is considered a sacrament in our church, an expression of God's grace in a visible sign.  It is for many Disciples the moment when they have seriously and consciously considered the costs, the weight and responsibility of being called a disciple, of following The Way.  

Our Cambellite heritage (Cambellite defined) was a continuation of the work of the Protestant Reformation and early followers saw themselves as picking up where Luther left off.   Alexander Campbell believed that the New Testament spoke of baptism being for a person of mature age, a "penitent" believer, and that the proper mode of baptism was that of immersion in water.  We have come a long way from these early views.  While we still hold these core values, we recognize and honor the baptism of all Christians whether they be Methodist, Congregationalist, Catholic, or even if they received their baptism as infants.  

Baptism in the DOC church today is often viewed as an act of covenant making.  "It symbolizes a covenant between the new disciple and the living Lord, between the neophyte and the church.  The act is rich in meaning" (Osborn, 60).  Baptism is also intricately connected to the Lord's Supper.  Each Sunday we are called not just to ask for the forgiveness of our sins, recall the power of the cross, but to remember our baptism gives us new life (Romans 6:3-4).

Now, with our little history lesson behind us, I can get to my story, the moment of my baptism and what it meant to me then and what it means to me today.  As a Disciple I was raised as a Christian.  Everything revolved around the church.  Of course, it helps if your father is a minister.  From an early age, I identified myself as a Christian.  I was taught that my faith in Christ Jesus made me a Christian and that I should live my live as a child of God.  I realized from an early age that baptism was a big deal.  It meant that you were ready, that you understood what it meant to be a disciple of Christ.  My father use to tell me how early Christians had to be catechumens, that they had to prepare to become Christians, that they had to understand their faith and this was a serious affair. 

The picture above is actually me.  Yes, I once had hair.  I was baptized when I was eighteen in the White River of Arkansas.  My paternal grandfather was seriously ill in the hospital when I felt the Holy Spirit come over me.  I can’t explain it any other way.  I asked my Dad if he would baptize me.  So, down to the river we went and my father administered the order of baptism which entails the renunciation of evil and profession of faith.  I was baptized!  What a glorious moment!  As we tramped back up to the house from the river we were met by my grandfather’s second wife and she told us the news that my grandfather just passed away.  I’ll never forget what I said to my father.  “One life given to God in heaven, one life gained for Christ in the water.”  We both cried.

Believer’s baptism is important to me because of the serious nature that the sacrament requires of the individual.  It’s also communal.  You can ask most Disciples about their baptism and they can tell you exactly when it happened.  For me, my baptism wasn’t a onetime act.  In a sense, it was Christ’s way of making physical contact with me, there in the water.  He hasn’t stop making contact with me.  My baptism was a single moment in my life where Christ took hold of me, made me new, and in so doing it’s a moment that continues on and will until that day I’m called home.

Osborn, Ronald E. The Faith We Affirm: Basic Beliefs of Disciples of Christ. St. Louis: Bethany, 1979. Print.

Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism and Confirmation

            What were my husband and I thinking when we had our children, our babies, baptized into the Catholic faith? We were marking them for life in a convergence of the tension and conflict of glory, hurt/suffering, choice, growth, doubt, denial, community, isolation, transformation, and eternal life – a birth into the liturgy of the Church. We introduced “that subversive element of indeterminancy” into their lives (Johnson, 99). Who knew then? Johnson discusses how Christian liturgy “destabilizes;” discomfits as God is “met and worshiped only within the ‘body of the world and of humanity’ – more specifically, of suffering humanity. Christian liturgy always speaks the Word of the cross, and it is a ‘rupturing Word’” (99).

            In their formal infant Baptisms, we invited the Holy Spirit to fill our children and “empower… them to live the selfless love to which they were called” (Cooke and Maye, 71); we invited our children “to grow into their baptisms, allowing the Spirit of the risen Christ to enlighten and strengthen them to live the kind of life that Jesus lived” (77). It is ultimately up to them to “make this world their own” (77). Such a life will not always “make them most happy” (78),

            While our daughter was confirmed at 16 years of age, our son refused to complete the confirmation program. While it saddened and hurt me, in time, I have recognized that his heart and spirit have not matured to publically “choose…to live out the commitment of a Christian way of life” (Cooke and Maye, 85). I do not believe he is anything but a normal, still maturing, 19 year old who may choose a faith community in which to make his “own commitment to the Christian life as” an adult (79). As I noted in my opening, “who would”? As Esther De Waal so beautifully described the baptism initiation of early adult Christians, one who is ready to “strip away the many layers of self-deception” and “put on Christ” sought Baptism, which included today’s Confirmation ritual, the anointing with the oil of chrism, “the aroma of Christ” (47-53). Am I, my children’s mother, ready to publically declare my nakedness and wrap myself in the white robe of Christ today, every day? May the Holy Spirit continue to empower me with grace and gratitude to live the selfless love to which I am called. In a nod to Kathy's post, "may I illumine and enlighten those around me" in my little ways during my days and evenings; in my comings and goings.

Week 12 Blog

Lawyer’s Blog:

Week 12

In this writing I want to briefly deviate from the weekly reading and elaborate on a news report broadcast today on CNN. http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/03/22/lok-nadeau-pope-naples.cnn.  The news report provided a retrospective update on some of the highlights of the activities of newly presiding Pope Francis during the first year of his tenure. The report reviewed places he travelled within the past year, the meaningfulness of his itinerary and was the media grading his performance as leader of the Catholic Church. Naples, Italy was the backdrop of it all and appears to be where he was credited for challenging the Mafia. I do not remember all the details of the report but there was one thing mentioned which I found to be absolutely baffling. While standing in what appears to be the sanctuary, the Cardinal of Naples displayed and provided to Pope Francis a sacred vessel containing the solidified preserved blood of Saint Gennero. I did some research and discovered Saint Gennero was martyred in 305 A.D. as a consequence of the Diocletianic Persecution which is another story in and of itself. Getting back to what I found so baffling. The report says when the vial of solidified blood was placed into the hands of Pope Francis the blood appeared to suddenly change its state from a solid into a liquefied substance. This sudden transformation of blood was deemed a miracle performed by Pope Francis. If I am not mistaken, it was the Cardinal of Naples who reached this conclusion. In my opinion, I think the Cardinal of Naples was too eager to appease and elevate the status of Pope Francis. So unnecessary; he is already a Pope. How much higher can the brother go?