**Rowland Croucher**
Guest
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 Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject: Baptismal sermon (ever heard one like this :-)? |
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What Do We Think We're Doing?
A Sermon on the Occasion of Baptism
By Harry T. Cook
If I thought for one minute that all we were actually doing today was
providing
a photo-op for additions to family albums, I would quit my job and go
find honest
work. I mean it. And if that really was all that we were doing, what
would be the
point?
None of us knows precisely what we are doing in the sacrament of
baptism. Should
any theologian try to tell you exactly what it means, you have my
permission to
laugh in derision.
Christians have been doing in one form or another what we are about to
do today
to Richard, Grace and Myles . . . and have been doing it for all of 2000
years.
Some of our Jewish forebears for longer than that. Cultural
anthropologists tell
us that Homo sapiens has performed symbolic water-based rites for as
many as 11,000
years. Different religions and cultures in different times have decided
differently
as to what the rites mean.
I can tell you what I think I'm not doing today by participating in this
water rite
known as baptism:
I will not be thinking of myself as washing away any original sin from
these three
beautiful babies. There's a bankrupt and vicious piece of theology that
belongs
on the ash heap of religious history, if ever there was one.
I will not be thinking of myself as doing something magical to these
babies to save
them from hell. There's another idea that only sick and demented people
and their
churches believe in.
I will not be thinking of myself as "baptizing them Episcopal," as is
often said.
One is not baptized "Episcopal" or "Catholic" or "Baptist." One is
baptized a Christian.
Period.
What I think I will be doing is leading the congregation in welcoming
Richard, Grace
and Myles into one of the world's strangest communities.
Trying to be a real, bona fide Christian in the world as it is can be
something
between a pain in the neck and a life-threatening proposition - if one
does it right.
In the course of the baptismal liturgy, the congregation will say, I
will with God's
help given through the church. That is its collective answer to the
question: Will
you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the
dignity of every
human being? This being part of what the Episcopal Church calls "the
Baptismal Covenant."
During a rehearsal for a baptism a number of years ago, a last-minute
stand-in for
a godparent stopped me to ask if, by answering the question that way, he
had to
be (and I'll use his words) some friggin' kind of United Nations and
Mother Teresa,
too. Other persons in the baptismal party were covered with
embarrassment. I exploded
in laughter, walked over and shook his hand and said, Mister: You've got
it. You
understand what's going on here. Your honesty is refreshing. And, by
the way, the
answer to your friggin' question is Yes.
So depending on how honestly and sincerely Richard's and Grace's and
Myles' parents
and godparents fulfill their intentions made and promises given today,
these little
ones could grow up to be really hard-core Christians who demand justice
for those
who deserve it, who work for peace where it is required, who insist on
respect for
all sorts and conditions of people.
For all we know, they may grow up taking this stuff seriously and end up
turning
their parts of the world upside down. That, essentially, is what a guy
named Jesus
is said to have done. - Come to church next Good Friday and be reminded
of what
it apparently cost him.
No wonder he told his followers: Anybody who signs up with me needs to
put her own
agenda on hold, take up her own cross and follow me. If you try to save
your life,
you'll lose it. If you're willing to lose your life, you'll save it. -
That's the
upside down world into which we are about to welcome Richard, Grace and
Myles. The
trick is to hang in there with them, come what may.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Copyright 2008, Harry T. Cook. All rights reserved. This article may
not be used
or reproduced without proper credit.
--
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/ (20,000 articles 4000 humor)
Blogs - http://rowlandsblogs.blogspot.com/
Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/
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