Renewing Baptismal Promises
As we celebrate the solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, we might appropriately reflect on the meaning of this feast in connection to our own baptisms.Since we are so familiar with the baptism of infants, it is sometimes difficult for us to grasp the fullness of this sacrament. The association of baptism with sweet, cuddly babies doesn’t come close to its full meaning. True, we are vaguely aware that there is a cleansing of “Original Sin.” The average Catholic is also probably familiar with the baptismal concept of becoming a child of God; though that begs the question of a baby before he/she is baptized or one that is never baptized. (Or what it means for those who are not Christian!) I’m afraid that what most people experience in the rite of infant baptism is full of conflicting concepts.This feast of the Baptism of Jesus is probably the best place to begin if we want to understand more fully this primary sacrament of Christianity. The readings proclaimed today are right on target. They speak of being chosen, of being commissioned for nothing less than the transformation of the world. Isaiah speaks of a servant, generally accepted as the Messiah, but he also speaks to each one of us as being……my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,….This image of the covenant of Baptism might go a long way to impress on us the necessity of raising children who have a mission in the world and of leading the way by our example.
So above all else, this is a sacrament of God’s choosing us. It is a gift! It is the gift of God’s unconditional love, for which we Christians have a powerful ritual, an outward sign of that gracious gift. The very reason that baptism is the first of the sacraments of initiation is that it is the foundation of all our other relationships. Through it, God’s irrevocable covenant, established at the creation of the world, is brought to fulfillment with the self-sacrificing act of love witnessed in the life, death and resurrection of the Christ. The proclamation of today’s Gospel is significant for just that reason. Jesus had no need of John’s “baptism of repentance.” Yet he submitted to it to witness the unquestioning connection he had with the rest of humanity. He, the sinless one, would free humanity from the shackles of sin and death. This is yet another visible sign of our God entering into our lived experience as one of us so that we might be more like him.Our response to God’s irrevocable covenant and God’s embrace of our humanity in Jesus Christ demands a response. That response we know as our baptismal promises. It is on this feast that we traditionally renew our baptismal promises. I would offer a re-working of the traditional promises of Easter Sunday I found on the website of Creighton University. It might do well to use these as a meditation on this feast and at every occasion we recall God’s love for us. Left click this link.
