|
You know how greeting card displays have little tags to describe the cards? They're usually things like, "Birthday: Romantic," or "Anniversary: Husband." My favourite, by far, was "Baptism: Religious." Really. Ever been to a non-religious baptism? Sadly, many people have. Whatever the beliefs of the guests, if you're having your child (or yourself, for that matter) baptized, you ought to know what it means. It's not just a thing that everyone does when they have a baby...it means something, and it ought to be something that affects your entire life. Today the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus. It's a difficult time to be thinking about life from water, as the death toll from South-East Asia continues to mount. Yet there is a death in baptism, as the baptized is drowned and raised...in fact, it is a very fitting image. In North America, especially in mainstream Christian denominations, we rarely dunk our baptismal candidates in the full immersion style favoured by our early-church ancestors. (Neither are we baptized in the nude, as they were. Funny how we never hear anyone argue for reviving that tradition.) The shift from full immersion to a sprinkling of water had no theological root - it was simply too cold on Easter in northern Europe, where Christianity came to flourish, to be dunking anyone in water. No good welcoming someone into new life by giving them hypothermia. Still, the sprinkling of a bit of water over the head of a newborn is a symbol of death by drowning. Like Christ rising from the grave, the newly baptized rises from the water and into life in Christ. The baptismal vows are a solemn dedication of membership in the body of Christ on earth. Baptism commits us to a life of Christian action - to "seek and serve Christ in all persons," and to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."* It's not just joining a group. Nor is it merely gaining salvation for one's self. Baptism is a call to action in Christ's name. Those who lost their lives in the tsunami's path will not be reborn on this earth. There will be no rising from the water for them. Where is there rebirth in the wake of such a terrible baptism? The dead are gone from us. They are called back to God, reunited with their creator. Though we mourn their passing, especially those who are dear to us, we mourn for our loss rather than theirs. God will see to them, in better fashion than we ever could. Still, we are left, both literally and figuratively, to clean up. What do we have that makes sense of this? What we have is a call to action, much like that of baptism. We are called, and so many have responded, to love our neighbours as ourselves...and to see our neighbour on the other side of the world as clearly as we do those right next door. The world has responded to the tsunami's horrific destruction with an outpouring of support. We are suddenly all members of the human race, and the suffering of some has become a concern for all. While we can't begin to unravel why such a thing happens, we can decide what we're going to do about it. We can decide, as individuals and as societies, to "seek and serve Christ in all persons," and to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."* We've seen natural disasters before and we've seen outpourings of support. The good will usually dries up when the story gets old. Like "Easter Christians" (the ones the rector doesn't know by name because they only show up once a year) we forget that love for our fellow creatures is not a one-shot affair. The death of so many seems a very high price to pay for the realization that we all share this planet. We'd better not waste it. * Both quotes from the baptismal liturgy. I found them in the American Book of Common Prayer and Canadian Book of Alternative Services, but I'm sure they're common across denominations. |
