Happy New Year to those who read this blog. Sorry I did not post last week. It was a short week and I was called into "Grandpa" duty for a half day as well so time went by very quickly.
Yesterday the liturgical churches of the world acknowledged the baptism of Jesus in worship. This passage provoked a lot of reflection on my part about the practice of (sacrament of) baptism. For my 40+ years since ordination I have been baptizing people with the greatest number by far being babies. The fact that baptisms seemed to be more about a celebration of birth rather than entry into the Christian life caused me to wonder if, like the Mennonites, we should have a thanksgiving event for infants and save baptism for that time in a person's life when they are turning more intentionally toward a life of faith. In chatting with members of the spiritual conversation groups it appeared that trans-formative moments or "baptism by the spirit" (to use the language of yesterday's scripture) occurred at various points in one's life journey. Transitions into adulthood, the beginning of parenthood, or life challenges all seemed to contribute to a more intentional engagement with the faith. What do you think? What role has baptism played in your life? When did you or do you feel most engaged by your faith? I look forward to your comments.
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