Joining the Family of God

JOINING THE FAMILY OF GOD

Today is a very special day in the life of Rebecca Helen. Although she was born and became a member of the Knight family on the 23rd September 1992, today she will be born again and become a member of God's family.

Today is also a special day in the life of the Christian church, and particularly for us at St Mary's, North Mymms, because we shall be welcoming into our midst a new member of the family of God.

We call this ceremony of Christian initiation, the Sacrament of Baptism.

Just as God, through a human being called Jesus, used the physical world to express himself to us, so the Christian Church, through its sacramental life, also uses the symbolism of the physical world to point beyond itself to the spiritual dimension of our existence.

Before we baptise Rebecca Helen, let us just pause and look at the Baptismal Service and its significance.

The service is divided into three parts; the Decision, the Baptism and the Welcome.

First of all, the Decision. This part of the service used to take place at the church's door since it is about asking for

admittance into the life of the Church. It consists of three very personal questions which are addressed to the person seeking for admittance, or in the case of an infant, addressed to both the infant's parents and godparents, who are required to answer on behalf of themselves and Rebecca Helen.

So I shall first of all ask, "Do you tum to Christ?" Unless a person is prepared to tum to Christ, there can be no turning away from evil. Without the first turning, there can be no motive, or inspiration to undertake the latter. St Peter recognised this when, in reply to the question "What shall we do now?" from the crowds after hearing him speak at Pentecost, he said "You must repent, and be baptised". Repentance comes from a Greek word meaning 'to turn around'. It means much more than being sorry. It is about a complete reorientation of the focus one's life.

This is then followed by the signing of the candidate with the Sign of the Cross as a sign of the church's acceptance of its responsibility. This is done either with the use of oil or just by the thumb. It is not done in water since it has nothing to do with the actual Baptism, but is part of the ancient pre-baptismal ceremony.

The use of Holy Oil, which has been blessed by the Bishop, traditionally on Maundy Thursday, or in our case, on Tuesday in Holy Week, goes back at least to the third century. Bishop Ambrose talks about candidates being "anointed as Christ's athlete, as about to wrestle in the fight of this world". The fight against evil, which can be present both within and outside the Christian community, is something in which all Christians are engaged. Hence the congregation identify with the candidate by saying "Fight valiantly under the banner of Christ against sin, the world and the devil."

The use of Holy Oil which, as I have already said, is blessed by the Bishop, also reminds us that Rebecca Helen is applying for membership of the worldwide church that goes back through history, and not just membership of St Mary's Norfh Mymms of 1993, since the Bishop is the focus of unity within the Church.

The second part of the service is the Baptism. The actual Baptism involves the profession of faith and water. The candidate declares their personal belief in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit recalling apostolic command at the

end of St Matthews Gospel, and the use of water recalling our Lord's own Baptism in the River Jordan.

This practice goes back at least to the second century AD when we have evidence of candidates standing in the water and being asked three questions and subsequently immersed. The Prayer Book of 1549 provided for a child to be dipped three times, facing north, facing east and facing down, save when a child was too weak, and I still know of at least one church which has a baptismal pool. However, as the practice of using fonts developed, it was no longer possible to practice immersion and so the practice of dipping the person in water or pouring water over the person became the practice. Hence the instruction in the service reads "He dips him in the water or pours water on him".

Water is used, because it symbolises to us in the physical world, not only cleansing, but also bringing new life to a parched body or dry land. In addition to bringing new life, it can also bring death by drowning, as was experienced by the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites through the Red Sea. So it speaks to us of both death and life and therefore of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

All this is expressed in the prayer used for the ancient practice of blessing the water, though this is not essential. For instance, in cases of emergency anyone can baptise a person with water. The Prayer Book of 1549 provided for the water to be changed once a month, which obviously presumed that the water just remained in the font or baptismal pool. The Prayer Book of 1552 had no blessing of the water though provision was made for it again in 1662 and again in the Alternative Service Book of 1980.

In the eleventh century, the custom of handing a lighted candle to the candidate was introduced to symbolise the passing from darkness into light; from death to resurrection. Although it was omitted in the Prayer Book of 1549, it was reintroduced in the Church of England in 1958. The candle is lit from the Easter Candle, commonly called the Paschal Candle, which is situated at the font.

The third part of the Rite of Initiation is the Welcome Rebecca Helen, having sought for membership of the Christian Church, and having been baptised is then welcomed by her new family, here on earth, representing the worldwide

church of yesterday and today.

(Incidentally, it used to be the custom for the person baptised to put on a white robe, and I am delighted to see Rebecca Helen following this ancient tradition which goes back at least to the fourth century).

So without further delay, let us proceed with the Baptism of Rebecca Helen into the family of God.

PRAYER OF BLESSING

May the heavenly Father bless you,

Barry and Melanie,

in your care of Rebecca Helen;

may he give you the spirit of wisdom and love,

that your home may reflect the joy of his etemal Kingdom. Amen.