I've been reading, praying, thinking and writing about baptism as a daily sacrament. I've pondered the many people who treat baptism as a one time religious rite for the purpose of a photo op or family meal. I am saddened by the fact that so many people and churches treat baptism as a one time event that happened once upon a time.I long for understanding baptism as a daily event.
"I was baptized." This is important to claim.
"I am baptized." This is what baptism is all about.
Today I want to jump in the font. I want to drink in the living water of God's covenant. I want to remember what was when I was five years old and was baptized and I want to experience today the death and the promised life. I want to wake up tomorrow with the joy that though I will surely die again God will patiently breathe into me life again and again.
I died today but I am alive.
I am alive but will die again tomorrow when I open my mouth or turn away my eyes.
I will die tomorrow but God will meet me again with new hope.
Baptism is a daily sacrament.
I will not turn away, run away, hide away.
I will turn to, run to, come out of hiding to the God who promises, promises, promises, promises, promises, promises, promises, promises promises, promises, promises and never, never, never, never, never, never, never never, never lets me go.
3 comments:
I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a mormon woman back in college who talked about envy. In short, she envied the new converts who got to experience baptism as a fully cognizant adult. They got to feel their sins washed away....
Made me wonder why there wasn't something more ongoing like the mikvah.
that mormon woman didn't understand the baptismal covenant: we (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, e.g. Mormons) renew the same covenants of baptism every week as a part of the sacrament.
She wasn't looking for a symbolic representation or theological...she wanted the feeling of the water itself.
I don't know anything about Mormon theology outside of the missionary talks. But I do understand the interest in feeling something tangible like the physical sensation of washing away sins or problems. Most religions have some sort of physical manifestation of that
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