Friday, February 19, 2010

Teaching And Baptism

In last month’s issue of the Olive Tree, I spoke briefly about the shift toward catechesis that has in recent years, taken place during the Lenten season. Certainly the season retains its strong emphasis on repentance and renewal, but we have turned back the clock to the third century and the manner in which teaching and baptism were central to the cycle of the Lenten season leading up to the Baptismal ordo that was (and continues to be) central to the Vigil of Easter.


Part of the recent history of Lutheranism, and perhaps many other churches as well, is that we have nearly lost the link between teaching and baptism. That is to say, quite simply, that too often in our recent history, baptisms are conducted without a fair assessment of whether or not there has been adequate teaching of either those who are brought to the baptismal font, or those who are bringing them. (When I was ordained, I had a reasonable degree of confidence that those bringing infants to the font knew why they were there. This is no longer a reasonable assumption.) Yet, for centuries, the pattern has been the same: we teach and then we baptize. The Christian faith includes a tradition that must be learned, scriptures to be read, as we do so candidly on Ash Wednesday, questions which must be asked of our lives, prayers to be prayed, and a cycle that is annual, seasonal, weekly and daily. All of these things must be learned, and they all precede baptism.


Of course, in a church that practices infant baptism obviously no one expects a newborn to know all of these things. In fact, approached with seriousness, each of us spends our entire life delving into the meaning of our baptism, and in many ways it remains a mystery. Nevertheless, even when infants are baptized, teaching still precedes the baptism; or at least it should. There is an expectation, expressed within the rite for baptism that when children are baptized, the learning of parents, sponsors, and the whole community will be brought to bear upon the lives of the newly baptized so that the essentials of the faith will be taught. Teaching and baptism are juxtaposed.


In this way the nature of the gift of the sacrament is not lost. Lutherans declare that baptism is an unearned gift, given to us freely and completely. As we declare in the baptismal rite, “In Holy Baptism our gracious heavenly Father liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are born children of a fallen humanity; in the waters of Baptism we are reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life.” In baptism we are made members of the church which is the body of Christ. All of this is comes as God’s free gift.

Yet, while Holy Baptism and faith itself come as gift, each draws us to a life of learning and renewal. Living out our baptism; dying daily to sin and rising to newness of life, must be learned. Teaching and the washing of baptism can never be separated.


During the season of Lent, we see this clearly in the ministry carried on by Jesus. Following his baptism, Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, and in the confrontation he has with Satan, his faith in the Father is both tested and affirmed. Lent gives us an opportunity to explore and reflect upon our own baptism, and for those who have taken on the responsibility of teaching either their own children or others, a time to renew the commitment so that the link between teaching and baptism is not lost.

Pastor Boehringer