3 October 2005

Today Luther introduces a question that is worth considering in regard to baptism.

You ask, "How does baptism help me, if it does not altogether blot out and remove sin?
The blessed sacrament of baptism helps you because in it God allies himself with you and becomes one with you in a gracious covenant of comfort.
In the first place you give yourself up to the sacrament of baptism and to what it signifies. That is, you desire to die, together with your sins, and to be made new at the Last Day.
In the second place you pledge yourself to continue in this desire, and to slay your sin more and more as long as you live even until your dying day. This too God accepts.

Let me begin by saying that through baptism, we already are a part of a new domain - a contrary story. Death does not rule us anymore. And yet, because we are claimed by our God and a covenant that has no end has been set up between us, we are shown a new way to walk through the days of our lives. Therefore, when Luther says "you desire to die" that is not a suicidal thought. Rather it is, to me, the beginning of a separation from the way the world and its brokenness would have us go along in life. We know, just by looking around and by being honest with ourselves, that the covenant life must be one in which we stay focused on what life is like as children already a part of the Reign of God. This is a battle. I immediately thought of people who have lived lives of resistance. People who lived within the bigotry and hatred and patterns of violence within our world and yet, they lived in this world as though they were aliens. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes to mind...and Mother Theresa. I'm sure there are many less known baptized people who do indeed continue to remember their baptism and in that turn their backs on the kind of stuff that tries to rule us. Most of all, we turn our backs to unfaith. That is, when we remember our baptism we are brought into the vision of God's Reign and we are welcome into the domain of faithfulness. Every time we go back to that memory, even if it means saying to ourselves "I'm baptized," we are already in the arena of resistance and this stance is ours for life.

Connection: It is not easy to remember our baptism and the One who abides with us as Lord of Life. We have so many lords wanting to become something of importance in our lives. So, today could be a day when we thing a bit about water and the word of promise that makes our encounter with that water - a whole new life ready to be entered no matter where we might be.

Abide with us, Lord God. For when we are easy targets for the gods of the day to make us into their own, we need your word of encouragement, hopefulness, and joy that is able to make us resist all the powers that try to take us out of the loving embrace of your love. Amen.