No one-size-fits-all baptism
In a landscape of churches that resemble shopping malls, it’s no wonder many of us browse faith communities like we do everything else, looking for what is attractive, entertaining, comfortable or convenient.
Consumer “Christianity” may be as prevalent, although perhaps not as harmful as “Christian” nationalism. The former seems to foster complacency and self-centeredness, the latter superiority.
The trajectory of both seem so far from the heart of Jesus’s life and teachings.
You may be sensing this is where I’ll begin telling you we (at The Well) have found the magic formula, that our community gets it right and WE are the “real” Christians.
Not quite.
If you were to peer into our quirky little faith community, you’d know better. We are anything but religious know-it-alls.
Some of us grew up in church and have undergone major shifts in how we relate to words like heaven, hell, salvation, sin and even *God. Others have not undergone huge theological shifts, but see church differently, sensing the need for something stripped of the bells and whistles - something more grounded in community and connected to our real concerns and those of our struggling neighbors. Others come curious, cautious, skeptical of most things religious, while at the same time, longing to think deeply, encounter meaning, and be in community with others who are learning to love themselves and their neighbors in new ways.
You get the point: we are a mix. There is no one-size-fits-all for this group. We have more questions than answers.
So you can imagine the array of emotions that surface when I begin mentioning baptism. I can see the questions on people’s faces: What do we do with baptism in a community so full of people from different backgrounds & beliefs? What does it mean to us amid our shifting theologies? Wait, don’t I have other plans that day? Or this.
Some folks think I’m crazy for trying to pastor this island of misfit toys, but they have no idea what they’re missing. While yes, it can be daunting, it’s these points of tension that bring clarity about the “why” behind rituals that can become rote.
This year, as we approach our annual beach + baptism day, we are coming from “a summer of sharing”. We’ve explored stories and held conversations that have helped us deepen our practice of sharing. As it turns out, sharing, something most of us were introduced to as children, appears repeatedly in scripture as part of the antidote to isolation, greed, hunger, economic disparity, and toxic individualism. Sharing food and possessions was according to Acts, the earliest, most notable response to the life-giving way of Jesus.
We did not leave the summer having arrived, but with greater awareness that this is the path that leads to more life and we have a part in it. When I think about baptism this year, I can’t help but see it as an immersion into a faith or way of life in which we are learning to trust in enough so that everyone knows enough.
One of my favorite baptism stories is actually not about baptism. It comes from Lauren Winner’s book, Still, and it involves her friend Julian’s confirmation. Julian was 12 years old and having been baptized as a child, she was now old enough to say yes to the life of faith for herself. She started having doubts, though, and began sharing them with her father, who also happened to be her pastor. She didn’t really know that she believed all the things she was supposed to believe, and wasn’t sure that standing before the church to proclaim that she was ready to believe forever was the right thing to do.
“What you promise when you are confirmed”, said Julian’s father, “is not that you will believe this forever. What you promise when you are confirmed is that this is the story you will wrestle with forever.”
As my faith has continued to evolve and expand, so has my relationship with baptism. It is not a one-size fits all expression of faith nor is it a mark that we have figured faith out or even arrived at an everlasting set of right beliefs, yet I also believe baptism is not for everyone.
It’s for those who are learning to say yes —
yes to being marked as a beloved human being created by Love and for love
yes to being a learner of the way of Jesus
yes to being part of the still-unfolding story told in scripture
yes to a God (aka the Ground, Source, Giver of Life, the Mysterious More who inspires sharing), who wants us learn enough so there is enough for everyone
yes to the life of faith, which is less of an “undertaking” and more of an undergoing (think of Mary’s “let it be with me”)
yes to living more in tune with creation
yes to loving our *neighbor as we learn to love ourselves (*the neighbor, according to Jesus, is not just the one we know and love easily, but the stranger, the immigrant, the one who does not speak or look or dress or believe like we do).
yes to letting go of shame, hatred, greed, prejudice, supremacy, revenge, violence and anything else that keeps us from loving our neighbors and ourselves.
Baptism is for those who are learning to say no, I don’t have all the answers, but I do want to keep wrestling with this Story in community. If a portion of this list speaks to you or sparks your curiosity, let’s have a conversation. If you are coming to the beach to simply reflect on the gift and power of water, that is enough. If you are coming to remember or reflect on your baptism, this list may be a good place to begin. What would you add?
Grateful to be on the journey with you,
Susan
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