A Special Baptism

Every Baptism is special for me, but yesterday I had the priviledge to baptize a baby that I visited and held only hours after it was born. It was a surreal experience, and I remembered a great professor I had at TCU telling the class that the pastor has the best change outside of the parents of being there at birth, at confirmation, at weddings, and at funerals, and what an honor it is to be at things like these throughout someone's life.

As this blog was intended to be, I thought I should share a little about United Methodist belief about baptism. There is a catch-phrase we use, "an outward expression of an inward grace" to describe our sacraments, and this applies to baptism. We feel that God's grace has already begun to work on every one of us, from life to death, and baptism is the recognition that God's grace is with us. It is not different from a child to an adult, with the exception that a child is being recognized for, and the parents are promissing to raise the child in this knowledge until confirmation, when the child can decide for themselves. For an adult, it is the self-recognition of God's grace that changes us.

Baptism is not the wiping away of sins in one act, but is the initiation into the body of Christians who believe their sins were wiped away by God through Jesus Christ, and the recognition of this fact...essentially what we are to accept for salvation.

What is funny though is that it doesn't matter who the pastor is, who the parents are, or where it happens for baptism to take effect...it simply matters that God's grace is upon us and recognized.

So it's hard for me to not feel special in times like yesterday, but as I placed my hand upon the child's head with the blessed water, and felt the hands of the family on mine, it was a surreal experience, one that I've experienced 2 other times, of grace not only flowing through me, but in to me. Through the baptism experience I feel renewal of spirit and covenant, a renewal of hope that my sins are forgiven and I too can be worthy of following Christ. It is a cleansing feeling of knowing that in fact, everything will be alright.

I think it was special for me as I preached about the warmth of mothers and the warmth of God...and that feeling of knowing...yes, everything will be alright. And as I paraded the baby around, I knew the church would raise her alongside the family. And I knew that this child would not only know human love...but would feel the divine love of God upon her. Glory be to God.