Phloem and Xylem: Remember your baptism

September 25, 2013

This weekend is the church retreat at Camp Luz.  Along with the fun and recreation, we’ll be celebrating two baptisms.  Tennison G and Andrew N will be baptized during the Sunday morning worship service, accompanied respectively by their sponsors Austin K and Andy K K.

One of my distinct memories of my own baptism was in the moments after I had come out of the pond where I was baptized and one of the adults of our small fellowship told me that this and the day I would be married were two of the most important days of my life.  It was a new thought, and since then those two major life commitments have been linked in my mind.  It is a decision entered into with thought and care; there are vows one makes, surrounded by loving community who pledge to accompany and support; and one really has no idea what one is getting oneself into.  One knows just enough to say ‘Yes,’ and from there the meaning of that Yes takes on substance and depth as life happens.

For everyone else, who will witness and celebrate the baptisms on Sunday, there is another parallel.  Like weddings, baptisms are an occasion for us to remember our own vows and to renew our commitments to living them out.  “Remember your baptism” is a phrase that some Christian traditions repeat often, and that will be something each person present will be invited to do – to remember your baptism, to renew its meaning, and live into our baptismal identity.