Reclaiming Baptism:  First Sunday after Epiphany, Year B

Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

The season of Epiphany for Year B will be a seven-week journey through Jesus’s life, as seen through the eyes of the writer of the Gospel of Mark.  The one exception is the second Sunday, when John’s gospel is used.  This seminar will hit the high points: Jesus’s Baptism, the calling of the disciples, Jesus’s ministry of healing miracles, culminating with the extraordinary vision of Jesus’s transfiguration.  This is a time for magical, mystical metaphor, not verifiable fact.  The point is what these writings meant to 1st and 2nd Century Christians, and whether there is meaning to be found for 21st Century realists.

The first reading sets up a nice context: A wind (ruach – spirit) from God sweeps over the face of the Waters, and Light is separated from Darkness.  The Elves stop the reading before the waters are divided by the dome of the sky, but we have evening and morning – the first day.  Along with this metaphor comes Psalm 29, where God’s voice is heard in the midst of a tremendous storm.  With the Lord, enthroned over the flood, controlling the power of the elements of earth, air, fire, water, the people expect strength and peace.  Mark’s gospel continues the metaphor, as Jesus is baptized by John, and the heavens open, as they did in the beginning and in the power of the storm, and God’s voice thunders from the heavens: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus is initiated, recognized, ready to begin his ministry.  So far, so good.  But then we come to Luke’s story in his Acts of the Apostles about Paul’s baptism of the Christian community in Ephesus.  The people tell Paul that the baptism in the name of John the Baptizer delivered no magic.  Nothing changed.  They never heard of a “Holy Spirit.”  Luke’s Paul says, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him.”  Luke doesn’t need to remind his community that John was not worthy to untie Jesus’s sandals (Luke 3:16-17).  As soon as Paul lays his hands on the Ephesians, baptizing and initiating them into the fellowship of the Christ, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they are empowered with prophesy and the ability to “speak in tongues.”  And just in case the message is missed, the number of new disciples in Ephesus is twelve.

The theme of the day has been subtly changed.  Now the light separated from darkness can be seen as the legitimacy of Jesus’s message (light) separated from the Baptizer (darkness).  God’s voice speaks from the maelstrom, and descends from the heavens confirming Jesus as the Son.  John is merely the messenger – the precursor.  He is shortly eliminated from the scene by Herod.  Luke leaves him in prison (Luke 3:19-20); Mark makes sure John is permanently dead (6:14-29 – part of the summer block-buster blogs coming in Year B.  Proper 10.  Stay tuned.)

The ability to “speak in tongues” and to “prophesy” are signs of the presence of the “Holy Spirit” for many charismatic, evangelical Christians.  These experiences are routinely caricatured in movies (Elmer Gantry), and exploited by televangelists.  Instead of being accepted as an ecstatic response to a profound realization about spiritual truth, such “gifts of the spirit,” as Paul described them (1st Corinthians 12:4-11), are used to divide, invalidate, and disqualify people from community – on both ends of the spectrum of belief.

Baptism in such a context becomes yet another way of aligning Christianity with the theology of Empire.  If you are not baptized by the Holy Spirit, say some, you are not really a Christian.  Only when the Holy Spirit manifests in tongues and prophesy are you considered to be “born again,” and accepted into the group.  If you are not baptized as an infant at birth, say some, you are not accepted into the Kingdom of God.  A friend tells the heart-breaking story of his brother, who died shortly after birth.  The nun in charge of the Catholic hospital where he was born insisted that he be baptized – otherwise, this infant would go straight to hell.  The heartbreak was not in the supposed threat of salvation being denied to the baby – although that in itself was a personal theological outrage.  The heartbreak was in the struggle to extract the dead child from the hospital without being forced to participate in a theological lie, while in the midst of devastating grief.

Christian Baptism has a bad name among “recovering Christians” and other exiles abused by Church dogma (such as described above) as well as non-Christians turned off by Christian exclusivity and fundamentalist extremism.  Nevertheless, even though the 21st Century is a post-modern, post-Christian time, Baptism is a ritual – perhaps an archetype – that is deeply important to all of humanity, as evidenced by “child dedications” and naming rituals developed for Unitarian Universalists, Buddhists, and Pagans, indeed among all cultures, religions, tribes, and communities.  

When Baptism is not a proof of salvation from hell, but is a ceremony of welcoming and initiation, it becomes a primary and universal sacrament.  A reclaimed, post-modern ritual might include these elements:  First the child is placed within the matrix of time, space, and the continuous unfolding mystery of the known universe.  Second, the child is initiated into a new life on Planet Earth and the ongoing Great Work of restoring God’s realm of distributive justice-compassion.  Third, Baptism welcomes the child (or adult) into a community grounded in Covenant, non-violence, distributive justice-compassion and peace.  Fourth, the community, in turn pledges its continuing nurture and support in the ongoing struggle with civilization’s systemic injustice, and the accompanying theology of Empire (piety, war, victory).

Ritual of Baptism and Dedication

[Find the cardinal directions for the room or outdoor space by using a compass.   On the worship table or altar, have a small container of salt or potting soil, a rosebud, a candle, a bowl of fresh water, and a vial of anointing oil (use olive oil, essential oil of jasmine, or lavender).]

Part One: Naming and Consecration

One:    Who is this new traveler?

Parents    __________

One:    I bless you, ____, with the powers that brought forth life in our solar system:  Earth [sprinkle salt or soil on the table or around the family group]; Air [let the child and parents smell the rose]; Fire [light candle, walk around the group with it]; and Water [touch the child’s head or hands with water, have the parents dip their hands in the water, OR sprinkle the water around the family group].

All:    You are a Child of the Universe.  May you be guided in the ways of kindness and courage, which are the pillars of compassionate justice.  May you be valiant and wise, able to lead when you can and follow when you must.  May you discover your talents and appreciation for thought and action, poetry, art and music; may you be empowered and encouraged through the long days of learning ahead.

         You are a Child of the Universe.  May you breathe in the fresh air of the mountains, the forests, the rivers and oceans, the fruitful and the dry lands.  May you be as strong, free, and independent as these sacred spaces.  May you find your own path among them, guided by the sun by day and the moon by night, protected through the darkest of times  by the infinity of the universe of light.

[The parents take the child to face each of the four directions, starting with east.  After each blessing, walk clock wise or turn to face the next direction, and pause for the next blessing.]

One:    Powers of the Eastern Realms where light and inspiration reside: Here is _______.  May s/he soar in the limitless sky of thought and imagination.

           Powers of the Southern Realms where heat and passion reside: Here is ________.  May s/he be strong, and full of fire, and find the path she was born to follow..

           Powers of the Western Realms where dreams and prophesy reside: Here is _________.  May s/he swim the deep seas of emotion and empathy, and find courage in cleansing waters to overcome doubt and confusion.

           Powers of the Northern Realms where wisdom comes forth from the void: Here is ______. May she stand firm on Mother Earth. May she find rich soil to root in, and connect her with all that is.

Name Chant

One:    Because it truly does take a Community to nurture a child, I invite all of us to chant her name.  Children especially, will you chant her name and call her to play with you, and promise to play with her and help her as she grows up? [Children may come up and surround the family and chant the child’s name]

           And all of you: will you chant _______ name, as an invitation to her to join us, as a blessing upon her, and as a commitment that we all make to participate in her life in whatever way we can?

[Parents stand in the center with the child as the congregation chants her name.  Some people will start to say it in different ways; some may begin whispering it, singing it, or saying it in different tones and inflections.  When the chanting is at its peak, hold the child up to receive the energy as it goes forth to the Universe, declaring the child's presence and blessing the child.]

Part 2: Dedication to Justice   [If desired, a full service of Communion may be held at this point .]

One:        On the last night with his disciples, as they lounged at their dinner, Jesus decided to try one last time to make them really understand what he was doing, and what it really meant to follow him. . . . As they passed the cup among themselves, one of the women – perhaps it was Mary of Magdala – the one who Jesus loved – left the room and returned with a tiny jar of essential oil of lavender.  And she came up to Jesus’ couch and said, “You will die for what you have done this week – perhaps tonight – and I know I will never have the chance to prepare your body for burial.  If they take you, there will be nothing left.”

One:        Then she broke open the vial and anointed his face and hands.  And he took it from her and went to the one next to him and said, “She has done what she could.  She has prepared my body for death.  Do the same for one another in remembrance of her.”  And he anointed that one, and that one went to the next until all in the company had been so ordained.

One:        [to the parents] ________ and _________, I remind you of your commitment to this community and to the ongoing work of justice with this sign. [Oil may be placed on the forehead or palms, as desired.]

              ___________ and _____________, Are you willing to dedicate this child to the Great Work until s/he is of an age to freely accept that work on her own?

Parents:    We are willing.  [The parents then take a drop of oil and anoint the child’s forehead or hands]

Parents:    [Turn with the child to the people]  Friends, are you willing to renew your commitment to Covenant, and to assist us in teaching this child the ways of Covenant, justice and peace?

ALL:        We are willing and pledge to do so.

[The parents then take the oil to the first persons in the congregation and anoint them, and give the oil to them to anoint the one beside them, etc., until all have been anointed.]

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