Mark 1:1-13
8 I have baptized you with water; but
he will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit.’
The
sacrament of holy baptism is one that is very powerful in the Christian
tradition. There are many variations of it from christening babies in
Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, Greek Orthodox, and Episcopalian to full
immersion in the Baptist church and other denominations. Though there are many theological discussions
and arguments for the optimal way to celebrate this sacrament, I believe as the
Episcopal Church does that all baptized Christians are welcome at the Lord’s
Table.
I was
baptized in a Baptist church in Lafayette, Georgia, when I was 11. After I had
made a public profession of faith in front of the church, a date was set for my
baptism. For the day of baptism, I was instructed to wear a white shirt and
blue jeans for the ceremony which I did.
As I walked down the steps into the baptistery, I felt my jeans get very
heavy and immediately began to worry that I might not be able to stand up after
being fully immersed. I was baptized in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and I managed to make it
out of the pool without drowning.
I remember
thinking that I didn’t really feel different, but I was sure something had
changed inside me. I recall being more
intentional about prayer, but I was probably praying for things like getting
good grades and not getting upset with my siblings and getting a boy to ask me
to a dance.
It wasn’t
until I was in college and began to truly reflect on what I believed and why
that I understood that my baptism as an 11 year old was fine with the Episcopal
church and it didn’t matter than I hadn’t been baptized as a baby. I think I may have finally felt the baptism
of the Holy Spirit on my own spiritual journey when I went through Cursillo #98
in June 1995. The joy felt as I felt the
Holy Spirit become evident in my life and the lives around me was
indescribable. This influx of the Holy
Spirit into my adult life was an experience that I treasure and have used to
get involved in living a Christian life.
I have come to understand that inviting all those who are baptized, even
if they are different from us, to the Lord’s table is the truly living into the
baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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