The Sacrament of Holy Baptism:
What is baptism?
Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead, it is water used according to God's command and connected with God's word.
What then is this word of God?
Where our Lord Christ says in Matthew 28, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
To Ponder:
We are Christians today because Jesus has called us. He has called us through others - through others who themselves were called, and who upon being called also received the commission to go and teach. Therefore, while not forgetting that we have been commissioned to go and teach, it is also important to remember that we have been called and thought by others.
- Justo L. González, Jesus Calls
Word and Water United:
The baptismal waters flow through more than twenty centuries of the faithful gathering around fancy fonts or on earthen banks doing what Jesus commands. Water varies: different mineral components, sometimes a scarce commodity, other times an overwhelming presence, standing water or flowing, a few drops or full immersion. But, the word that is spoken over the waters unites this diversity. God promises to speak and speaks the promise in every time and place. The divine eternal word enters into our particularity, rippling out from that first incarnation splash. In fact, since the human body is about 60 percent water, when the word first became flesh, the word became water! Since Jesus has entered history, word and water are united.
We speak that word on God's behalf to baptismal candidates: you are a child of God, hija de Dios, Gotteskind, marked by the cross of Christ-forever - the word first spoken to us. The white gowned day is but the beginning of this pronouncement as we grow together into Jesus - shaped discipleship.
Prayer:
Lord, speak to us that you might speak through us of your will to embrace all people.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment