Have you ever attended a celebration where there was a favor given to all who attended? They are often something inexpensive that is cute or curiously interesting, but rarely useful in the long term of life. For instance, we have personalized coasters, can cozies, and wine bottle stoppers we received as wedding fa- vors with the couple’s names and wedding date on them. We use them occasionally, but for the most part they remain in a drawer somewhere in our home.
Wedding gifts are qualitatively different. Kate and I often give the couple a water pitcher and two nice crystal wine goblets as a reminder that just as Jesus miraculously changed water into wine at the wedding at Cana, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, we pray the couple may experience the extraordinary grace of God in the ordinary moments of mar- riage. Everybody can use a water pitcher whether serving water, juice, sangria, or margaritas. The two wine goblets can be their “special” ones used when celebrating special or ordinary moments.
Baptism is an extraordinary gift of God’s grace. It is not a religious ceremony favor. In Baptism we are joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We receive God’s promise that when we walk through a shadowy valley of suffering and death the hope of new life God offers in a risen Lord is the staff we cling to on that journey. It is that relationship of faith in a God who loves us and a risen Lord Jesus that gives us the courage in the midst of our fears and, hope in the midst of des- pair. Baptism and faith are what sustains us in our darkest times with the light of a risen Christ dispelling our doubts and fears.
However, baptism without faith is as useless to us as a million dollar cashiers check we mount and frame and hang on a wall, yet never endorse. It is valuable. But can you imagine a couple receiving a wedding gift of a million dollar check only to hang it on the wall? As long as it is merely a wall decoration it is useless to them in their daily lives. Similarly, it is our relationship of faith in the God whose grace we receive in baptism, the God we have come to know in the person of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, that makes our baptism useful in our daily lives. Faith is the endorsing of God’s gift of grace we receive in baptism.
This is why parents bring their infant or child to be baptized. They promise before God and the congregation that they will; Live with them among God’s faithful people, bring them to the word of God and the holy supper, teach them the Lord’sPrayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in their hands the holy scriptures, and nurture them in faith in prayer. Parents promise to do all these things SO THAT their child might learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace.
Unfortunately, for some families, the gift of baptism is sometimes perceived more like a religious party favor than the precious gift that it is. There is little to no life among the congregation, regular worship participation, teaching of basic tenants of the Christian faith, or reading of the Bible that are all part of nurturing their child in faith and prayer. For families such as these, is it possible the reason the parents didn’t follow through on the promises was because we, the church, didn’t spend enough time first engaging with parents on where they are in their faith relationship with God and Christ before ask- ing them to be the role models for their children? How can an infant or child’s baptism be the opportunity for the parents to rekindle or fan the flame of faith they have in God by the church providing a more deliberate process of engaging their faith relationship with the God we have come to know in Jesus?
This is the question I will be wrestling with over the summer months. There are a number of resources available to address the issue, including my own Doctor of Ministry project I wrote, that will help in the process. I hope you too might wrestle with how your baptism really is an incredibly valuable and precious gift of God’s grace and not just a mere religious cere- mony favor we hang on the wall as décor. It is a gift that keeps on giving throughout our journey through life. We walk wet from the font each day. God bless your travels this summer.
