As we prepare to enter the church season of Lent, I invite you to reflect on your baptism. At your baptism you entered into the body of believers who promised to pray for you and support you. You also entered a covenant with God, and you were sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ, FOREVER! In Gail Ramshaw’s book, Word of God, Work of Life, she writes, “Lent developed in the third century as a time of preparation for those adults who would be baptized at the Easter festival. Catechumens were invited to intense study of the scripture, urged to abandon the values of the culture, and called to amendment of life. They would be welcomed into the body of believers after baptism.”
Historically, adult baptisms would take place at the
Easter Vigil. A service that is filled
with rich scripture readings and music. I had the privilege of witnessing a
baptism during an Easter Vigil worship service.
The baptism added to the excitement of the worship service. The Easter season is the time we
intentionally focus on the resurrection of Christ and celebrate what that means
for us. In baptism we participate in the death and resurrection of Christ and
become a part of the body of Christ.
Gail Ramshaw writes in the same book, “The sacrament
of baptism acknowledges that one’s personal identity is not a solely private
acquisition of individual construction. Along with much else in the human
person, baptism sets one’s personal identity within the past, present, and even
future of a communal identity. In
baptism, the past is there, in one’s participation in the death and
resurrection of Christ and in communion with all the faithful departed. The present is there: the “me” who I am is
now a member of the body of Christ, and thus I am connected with the whole of
the body of Christ, which connects me to all the needy. The future is there, since at my death I
enter fully into that body, at the end of time.
I as one of the whole people of God anticipate being raised into the
divine presence.”
In our baptism, we are connected to the saints who
have gone before us. Years ago, a pastor
told me that when we take communion we are joined by all the saints who have
gone before us. I like this because it reminds me of my ancestors and all the
people who I loved who have died. Our
communal identity is deep and filled with so many from our past, present, and
even future.
During Lent I encourage you to read scripture as often
as you can from the bible or a devotional book.
Find a time of the day where you can sit with the reading and reflect on
what it says to you. I encourage you to
think about your baptism and what it means to be a member of the body of
Christ. You may be surprised to discover that you have changed and grown closer
to God and Jesus Christ.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Katrina Steingraeber
