Restored to grace
“Do you reject Satan?” We are a people rich with ritual action and dialogue,
so when challenged with these words, we respond (sometimes too quickly)
with, “I do.” Perhaps we do so without really considering what it means
to renounce sin. I once witnessed a liturgy in which the presider worked
his way through both forms of the renunciation of sin. He then did form
A again for good measure, never realizing he was repeating himself. There
was no awareness of the critical nature of the ritual moment.
A Christian life, a life offered in ministry, is all about baptism.
That baptism surely calls us to “reject the glamor of evil, and refuse
to be mastered by sin” (Rite of Baptism for Children 94B). In our
daily lives we struggle to do what is just, to offer the best part of ourselves
to others, to turn away from what separates us from God. We stumble and
fall, but when we refuse to let our sinfulness overshadow the image of
God in us, we rise and acclaim the Christ who leads us on. With every breath
we who dare to call ourselves Christians choose to “live in the freedom
of God’s children” (94B). When we reject all the empty promises that this
world offers, we are free to turn away from sin and toward the God who
loved us back from the grave. For us, the font holds death and life. We
who are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ are compelled to service
because the new life to which we are called demands it of us. The grace
once lost but restored to all in baptism challenges us to live and grow
together as a community of believers. Holiness is within our reach.
Continuing our journey of reflection on the song of the great Vigil,
this month’s issue focuses on the multidimensional challenge of baptism.
Paul
Turner writes of the common priesthood shared by all the baptized,
making us a people set apart. Bill Graham considers how the way
Christians name God reflects their unity in baptism. Leisa Anslinger
explores
how baptism calls communities to grow together in holiness and, in doing
so, discover a Christ-centered sense of belonging. Ed Hogan shares
his perspective on integrity in liturgical ministry and how ministers can
be faithful to the call to serve.
Baptism is something we should all be passionate about. It is our entry
point into the paschal mystery, and we should hold that piece of the mystery
with the awe it merits. We should spare no poetry, no sign or symbol, as
we attempt to own that mystery. There should be no empty fonts in our churches
or homes. Baptism should be a community event shared with joy. The high
point of our liturgical year is the Easter Vigil with the baptism of the
Elect. This isn’t news, but the point here is critical. Everything we do
starts with that moment at the Vigil. We share in the journey to the waters
of baptism, we emerge to renew our commitment to a shared faith, we join
in communion, and we take the light of Christ out into the world. We come
back every Sunday to celebrate the wonder of all of that, to pray and praise,
to reach out to holiness, to simply be in the presence of each other. What
that means is that all our liturgies, from Holy Week to Ordinary Time,
must be prepared with care so that they may be celebrated by a people engaged
in the wonder of life from death. Nothing less will do.
It is a simple thing to pay lip service to belief in the Holy Spirit,
the catholicity of the church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. It is something
else entirely to profess with our very lives that “this is our faith.”
Saying “I do” is very different than living out that commitment. In living
this, we willingly embrace the cup of salvation, putting our lives in God’s
hands as we walk together to and through the cross. Restored to grace,
may our words and actions be one.
This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin
and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. ML
