If you were to ask me, “What is the most important sacrament?” I would answer, “Baptism.” On this upcoming Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, that closes the Season of Christmas, what follows is some random thoughts of mine upon this very important, vital sacrament of the Church.
The sacrament of Baptism allows us to enter into a deep, special relationship with God. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Primordial First Sacrament is Jesus Christ. The second most important level of sacrament are those who have been baptized, the living and breathing Body of Christ on the Earth. On the third level of importance is the other sacraments of the Church (Confirmation, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders). It is through our baptism that we are ushered into all these other sacraments we will celebrate during the span of our lives.
Because infant mortality was so high, in the past, it was pressed upon parents of newborns to baptize their infants ASAP following the birth of their child. Why the rush? Many in the Roman Catholic Church believed that eternal salvation was attained only through being baptized. Should a child die unbaptized, not having been cleansed of Original Sin, the child would not be permitted in heaven. The child would go to Limbo, a place that was neither heaven nor hell (not to be confused with a dance in the Carribbean). Approximately 30 years ago, the Roman Catholic Church dismissed this teaching as false, making the correction that a child dying prior to being baptized is welcomed back into the loving arms of God.
Why is it important to have our children baptized? The answer is simply to be in an everlasting relationship with the God who loved our children into existence. God permeates our very being. God is above and below, before and behind, to our right and to our left, within and outside of us. The Jewish faith has long taught that the breath that animates our bodies is the breath of God. The gifts which we have been given have all been given to us out of love by God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, baptism enables us into a deeper relationship with God than if we were not baptized.
What is baptism not? In the parlance of the game of Monopoly, baptism is not a “pass go, collect $200 card” into heaven. As with the relationships we have with others in our lives, we can choose to enter into a deeper relationship with God or we can refuse to be in relationship with God. Baptized or not, a relationship with God will not be forced upon us. We must choose to be in relationship with God. If we reject God, God will respect our choice and will leave us alone. Baptism is more than just joining the “Jesus Club.” Baptism is NOT a free pass into heaven.
Why wouldn’t we want to be in relationship with God?
Admittedly, I was formed and raised in my faith by two very faithful people, my mom and dad. However, like many of my generation, I just didn’t take and believed what they said to believe as true. I had to find out for myself. I questioned, doubted, fell into “disbelief”, questioned my disbelief, studied, meditated upon the faith I had been taught. My faith is not a “Blind Faith,” but, rather, like the Apostle Thomas, I had to probe the wounds in the hands and side of Christ. I began to believe again not because I was told to believe, but because I CHOSE to believe. I, intentionally CHOSE to fully enter into a relationship with God.
What had been missing during my time of disbelief? I found within myself a deep seated longing for something more than just the relationships I had in my life. This longing was deeper than the longing I felt and continue to feel for Ruth, my wife, who is the greatest experience of God in my life. It was a longing, a sense of not being fully complete. From that point onward I have been following that longing, that need to be united with the source of my longing.
For better or for worse, I have dragged my family along on this journey to completeness. After 42 years of ministry in the Church, a graduate degree in Pastoral Studies, ordination to the Diaconate, receiving my certification as a spiritual director, the longing is still there, and more intense than ever. I have not arrived but am still enroute.
The only way to be completely fulfilled as a human being is to be in a deep, loving relationship with God. That is why baptism is so important. The Church (inclusive of all Christian denominations) is filled with broken and sinful people, clergy and laity alike (after 42 years of ministry in the Catholic Church, how well I know this). However, it is through this most broken institution, in the sacrament of baptism, that we find the entry point into an everlasting relationship with the God who is the source of all for which we long. Why would we walk away from this baptism? Why would we deny ourselves the very breath that we need to fully live?
On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us embrace the gift of relationship that we received at our own baptism. Let us choose to deepen that relationship with the God who loved us into existence. Let us choose to “One” ourselves to the One who is the very source of all our longing.
