Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Jesus’ Baptism by John. Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful. Photo by Al Caldwell.

By John Haselton, Current MDiv Student

THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER
(Paragraph 3) The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray.

Pour out your Holy Spirit, and by this gift of water call to our remembrance the grace declared to us in our baptism. For you have washed away our sins, and you clothe us with righteous- ness throughout our lives, that dying and rising with Christ we may share in his final victory.

All praise to you, eternal Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and forever. Amen.

The Sacrament of Baptism can seem so straightforward on the surface. We bring the candidate to the front of the church, we say a few words, and sprinkle some water, and it can all be over so quickly with little time to meditate on the deeper meaning of the words, of the action of baptizing with water, and what this means for the one receiving baptism. And what exactly does it mean for the congregation? Fortunately, during this Lenten Season we have opportunity to give sustained attention to how we will live into our own baptisms.

Baptism of Jesus. www.hegigallery.com

The prayer over the water which we are considering for today's devotion is anything but mundane once we consider what the words really mean. First, we ask for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon the one who is receiving baptism; but reading closely, that same Holy Spirit is invoked to pour out on us, and call to mind our baptismal covenant as well. In order to fully participate in this sacrament we must be willing to receive the Spirit that was poured out on us at our baptism, and continues to be poured out upon us every day.

By this sacrament we have been cleansed of all of our sins and called to live into the newness of life promised in this act of baptism. The way this happens is as much a mystery as the presence of Christ at the Lord's Table, but it is just as real. The promise of baptism is that we will share in the righteousness of Christ, and share in Christ's ultimate and final victory. For the fulfillment of this promise we earnestly pray. Come, Holy Spirit, Come.

Amen.