Remember Your Baptisms

I’ve spent some time this week working with our sexton, Tom, to test the baptismal tank for an upcoming baptism. Good news - the baptismal holds water!

This has given me the opportunity to remember my own baptism - a story that I’ve shared with some of you in sermons. My dad baptized me. He isn’t a minister, but in that tradition this was allowed. I remember the congregation following me from our evening sanctuary to the big sanctuary where the baptismal was (my baptism was at night so my Catholic grandmother could be there and not miss her own morning mass). I remember being nervous when I had to come forward during the invitation time to tell the congregation I had decided to be baptized.

“Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” was the question I was asked. My answer, of course, was “yes.”  This wasn’t a vow, exactly, but it was a covenant with the Lord I was committing to follow.

For those of you who were baptized as infants, you don’t remember what was asked of your parents. And for those of you baptized as older children, teens, or adults, perhaps the question was somewhat different. But, no matter the question asked or the age at which you were baptized, all who are baptized are part of a water-sealed covenant with our Triune God.

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he tells his readers to remember their baptisms and in remembering them to live as people of faith and justice in the world. 

“For in Jesus Christ you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

It has been a rough week and a half in our country - no matter what side you are on politically. And as we worry about what the future will bring either between neighbors or on the political stage, let us remember our baptisms. Let us remember the covenant we share with our Creator to live as a child of God, walking in Christ’s footsteps and seeking unity and the healing of destructive social distinctions. Our baptisms call us to this!

And, for those of you who aren’t baptized but are considering whether you are ready to take this step and share in this ancient Christian rite, I assure you that baptismal tank holds water well! (There’s a sermon in there, I’m sure of it.)

Remember your baptisms in all things.

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

PS - For reference, here is the PMBC ministry statement: Reflective of God’s love, and responsive to our evolving community’s diverse needs, Phillips Memorial Baptist Church strives to be an inclusive, nurturing, and Christ-centered church family. We are an open and loving community of faith for all people, of every age, race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, cultural background, socio-economic status, mental or physical ability, marital status, and any other distinctions of society.