On Sunday (before we all got sick), we celebrated the anniversary of the baptism of Jesus. I think my favorite part of that every year is we all renew out baptismal vows together. What stuck with me, I'll cut and paste here so you can read:
Celebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
your neighbor as yourself?
your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
People I will, with God's help.
People so often promise these things, but in their actual practices children are left out. I really want to focus on my respect this year. It's easy to respect people who are our age, have our experience level, to honor the dignity of people who behave in ways in which we feel comfortable. But Jesus isn't about comfort levels. He never told us it would be easy, and he did state specifically that the kingdom of God belonged to children 'such as these'.
I'll end this with a quote from our wonderful new priest, Father Alan:
"The point is too often we argue over the how of baptism, and then the when, and then the why. It's not our job to say who goes or does not go. That's God's job."
For us, baptism moves us from what we believe to how we LIVE what we believe. If I truly believe that all people deserve justice and peace and dignity, then how can I not live my life honoring that in all people, regardless of race or age or cognitive ability? I just promised to serve Christ in all people, not some of them, God doesn't qualify! This year, while I work hard on my new years promise to take better care of my body, I'm going to work just as hard to take care of my baptismal vows.
