A baptism is an event for the family, for the baby or young person of course, and for the Christian community. The font is usually near the door to the church, often at the back of the church, in a place where it is difficult for the congregation to see. Why is this? Because the font is the way into the faith, baptism being the pathway to join the Church of God, the Body of Christ.
When I did my first baptism in 1993, I had a training incumbent who saw that I would enjoy doing baptisms more than he did. As a result, in my three years in Tadworth I did more than 100 baptisms, baptisms on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes three in a row; or baptisms for regular church families as part of the morning service. I usually baptised babies or young children. Once I baptised a 90 year old, as a preparation for confirmation. That was a real privilege. They all were. Baptisms have three actions - the marking of the child’s forehead with the sign of the cross, usually using oil - to surround the child with the grace of God. This anointing is similar to what happens to kings and queens at their coronations or confirmands at their confirmation. The ancient Greeks used oil for wrestling - I used to tell families that the oil at baptism meant that the babies would slip through the devil’s grasp! Oil in the Bible signifies rejoicing. The second action is the sprinkling with water, blessed by the Holy Spirit. Water is such a powerful symbol - we are mostly made up of water; water washes, water refreshes, water brings life in desert places; water is so powerful it can drown us - think of the Red Sea! Jesus passes through the waters of death to his resurrection life. So powerful. At Easter we renew our baptism vows and are sprinkled with water to remind us of the event. Alas, we weren’t able to do that last year. Will we this year on 4th April? I pray so. The final act in the service is the giving of a lighted candle, lit of course from the Easter candle. It symbolises the light of the risen Christ we are passing on. Light out of dark is one Easter theme - ‘Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father. Amen.’ In Jesus’ baptism he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, after John had sprinkled him with water - or was he plunged under the waves, as Robert Powell was in ‘Jesus of Nazareth’? We all share baptism with Our Lord. Now that is a thought worth meditating on. Let us all pray that we shall soon be able to celebrate baptisms with all the splashing of water and pouring of oil we are not allowed to do at the moment. Pray for that day, brothers and sisters. Pray fervently and remember the waters of your baptism that bring refreshment and new life in the desert we are going through at the moment.
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AuthorCanon John Green Archives
May 2021
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