How does Baptism affect the life of the church?

- The Rev. Linda L. Grenz

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Baptism is a rite of passage that celebrates someone's full entry into the life of the Christian community.  In the Episcopal Church, the celebration of the sacrament of baptism regularly reminds us of our commitment to Christ and inspires us to deeper levels of Christian living.

The first set of questions call us into relationship with God in Christ:

• Do you renounce (reject) Satan, the spiritual forces of wickedness, evil powers of this world and all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
• Do you turn to Jesus Christ, accept him as your Savior, put your whole trust in him and promise to follow and obey him?
• Do you believe in God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting?
  

These questions remind us of our basic beliefs and, more importantly, our commitment to be in relationship with Christ on a daily basis.  Our call is not to be perfect Christians, but to be Christians who remember who we are and whose we are, turning back to Christ again and again.

The second set of questions outlines the basics of Christian life:

• Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
• Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
• Will you proclaim the Good News by word and example?
• Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
• Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

These five questions describe a Christian lifestyle and guide us in our daily living.  All Christians are called to weekly corporate worship and study.  All of us are called to acknowledge our sin — the brokenness in our relationships with God, others, ourselves and God's creation — and we are constantly called to "repent," to turn towards God and each other and to seek reconciliation and wholeness.  God calls all of us to bring Good News to others — by what we say, how we live, and who we are.  All of us are called to speak up for and fight for justice and peace, to respect the dignity of all people.
 
The church's regular celebration of baptism both reminds us of these things and inspires us to do them.  It also reminds us that Christianity is NOT a solitary religion — that it is a communal religion.  We promise to support the baptismal candidate and, by implication, each other.  We learn the Christian life in community. And we are guided and supported in Christian living by the Christian community.
 
This becomes especially important during those times when we, for whatever reason, cannot believe, cannot pray, or cannot worship.  At those times, the community believes, prays and worships with us and on our behalf.  Belonging to the community and having the desire to believe or pray or worship is enough.  Today you may "carry me;” tomorrow it will be my turn to "carry" you.  This means that we are not alone in this journey. We share each other's burdens and joys. 

We are impacted by each other's pain, and sin, as well as each other's joys and faithfulness.  Our salvation — our journey towards wholeness and holiness — is not something we do alone.  We do it within the Christian community which embodies the being of Christ and it is the Holy Spirit that "sanctifies us," that makes us holy, in and through our life in the Christian community.  Participating in a baptismal service enables us to renew our commitment to Christ, to the Christian community and to Christian living; it opens us to the power of God's love, which transforms us into truly being the people of God.