Baptism (2 March 2014)
Today is a special day for all of us here at St Barnabas, not only because we come together as God’s people to offer our worship, but because today, we welcome two new members into our community.
Today, these children have come for baptism, accompanied by their parents and godparents. The question is: what is baptism all about? Why is it such an important step?
Baptism is the start of what we hope will be a lifelong Christian journey. A journey which will hopefully help them to learn more about God, grow in faith and draw closer to God. Our hope is that, as they grow, they will be able to do this through prayer, the study of Scripture and by private worship, but also in fellowship with us as a Church community. We will be there to support and enable them to learn from us, but at the same time, they will have much to give us too.
Today marks the first step on this journey, where these children’s parents and godparents will make promises on their behalf. These promises include a commitment to following the example of Christ and, in time, sharing that with others.
We pray today for these children and for all who will have a part to play in their nurture and care. We pray that God will grant them strength, wisdom, courage and patience, and that their home may be a place of love and support.
In two of today’s Scripture readings (firstly from the Second Letter of Peter and secondly from Matthew’s Gospel), there are some words which are very appropriate.
In the first reading, the events of Jesus’ Transfiguration are recalled, where He led three of His disciples (Peter, James and John) up a high mountain. His face began to shine brightly and His clothes became dazzling white. The disciples then heard the following words:
“This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased”.
These same words also appear in Matthew’s Gospel at Jesus’ own baptism. Yes, Jesus sets the example for baptism by receiving it Himself, and therefore these children could not be in better company today.
Before we get to the baptism itself, I just want to mention three symbols we use in the service and to help explain their meaning. Those three things are:
Oil – this is used for anointing. Anointing is a sign of being joined to Christ and claimed by God as His children.
Water – a sign of being cleansed from all that holds us back from a relationship with God
Fire – comprising flames from the candles which will be presented to the children later in the service (or perhaps to their parents on their behalf). Their candle flames were lit from our Paschal candle, which itself was lit from a new fire at the first Mass of Easter. The flames from these candles symbolise new light, new hope, new life. Jesus is often referred to as the Light of the World, and today, the light of Christ enters the lives of these children.
I mentioned earlier that baptism was the start of what we hoped would be a lifelong journey of drawing closer to God and following the example of Christ. For these children, that journey begins now.
AMEN