In this, “Drinking the Cup,” Rev. John Boley encourages all to remember who and whose they are.
REV. JOHN BOLEY
Clergy Assistant to the Bishop
Over the last couple of years I have had the great joy and privilege of baptizing our two grandchildren. What glorious events for our family taking place in an urban congregation in Chicago. And in the photo ops and family plans, it is my most fervent prayer that the baptisms have been meaningful to everyone in the family in a truly life-giving way and that they truly launch these wonderful children on the path of discipleship.
Of course, my two grandchildren, Will and James, will not remember their baptisms. Indeed, I don’t remember being baptized about 60 years ago in a small Methodist church in a small town in central Illinois.
Such is the case for all of us who celebrate infant baptism. So it is vitally important that we develop worshipful ways to be in remembrance of this powerful sacramental act of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Like most of us, I have been through many such worship encounters. Sometimes I’m fully engaged. Sometimes I’m not. But I hope they haven’t become too routine over the years. Recently, such a worshipful remembrance was anything but routine.
So last Friday I attended the opening of the first ever Candidacy Summit of the Michigan Area. This was sponsored by both Boards of Ordained Ministry and will be a regular semi-annual thing as we do candidacy for ministry in a different way. Rather than have candidates work with individual mentors, the candidacy summit, including taking psych assessments and background checks, is being done in groups with group mentoring. A positive step.
We began with opening worship focusing on Remembering our Baptisms. The music, the presence of the water, the message, were all focused together and many new candidates for ministry, along with BOM reps and worship leaders, were drawn into the powerful setting of remembering and claiming our baptisms. Kneeling and having clergy colleagues invite me to remember my baptism with water was good for my soul. All of this occurred at the Chapel at St. Francis Retreat Center, a most spiritual place.
But what ended up being most powerful for me were the verbal witnesses of several of our seasoned clergy colleagues who shared what it meant to them to remember their baptisms. For each one, their baptism meant an acceptance that has been life-giving. It has meant a kind of recognition that they were children of God that has given them comfort and direction in time of need. It has meant that the claim on their lives by Christ has given them a place in this universe that rises above worldly desire for success and notoriety – Christ’s claim on their lives is sufficient for all they need. And it has given each direction in how to live life following the path of the one who we understand as Lord and Savior.
All of that was provoked by a liturgical remembrance of something that we cannot remember. Here are some powerful hopes and dreams from a Remember Your Baptism liturgy from Discipleship Resources:
Let these waters be to us drops of your mercy. Let these waters remind us of your righteousness and justice. Let these waters renew in us the resurrection power of Jesus. Let these waters make us long for your coming reign.
As we go forward, let us all remember who we are and whose we are – that we are claimed by Jesus Christ as his own – and that makes all the difference. Every moment of every day in every action and every thought, we belong to the Risen Christ. Remember Your Baptism and be Thankful.
Last Updated on December 15, 2023