One Baptism

Eleventh Wednesday after Pentecost

Lectionary Texts:

Wednesday:

2 Samuel 18:19-33

John 6:48-51

 

Thursday:

2 Samuel 19

Ephesians 4:17-24

 

Thanks to Frances Casey for reading all the blogs. 

Here's a comment from Vicki Church, our long time travel companion, friend, and blog reader:  

 

Loved Barcelona!!! Loved where we stayed at the hotel Calon across from the cathedral in the historical district. Always music being played on the steps of the cathedral. Enjoyed having breakfast at the restaurant across the street. It’s a very special city!!!

 

Vicki and husband Kin were with us on that wonderful Barcelona trip. 

 

Today we continue our series on things in the Nicene Creed that are not in the Apostles' Creed.

 

"We we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."  --Nicene Creed

 

Let me first note that United Methodists accept all baptisms from all Christian denominations as valid. We do not rebaptize. We practice infant baptism, as did the Nicene Fathers. 

 

In 1993 I had a class of Elon students on a winter term study abroad trip in Israel and Egypt. The Jordan River flows from the peak of Mt. Hermon (8300 feet) in Lebanon down into the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a fresh water lake. The water flows out of the Sea of Galilee back into the continuation of the Jordan River. We stopped at a place with restrooms, food and drink, and souvenir bottles of water from the Jordan River. Many baptisms are performed at this site. We saw some while we were there. Two girls on the trip asked me would I baptize them there. It was a spur of the moment request. I asked whether they had been baptized as infants. They said yes. I said no. Methodists do not baptize a second time. They thought I was being unreasonable. I told them that it was not a personal decision on my part but a part of the Methodist Discipline that I took vows to uphold. They then decided to baptize themselves. You can rent baptismal gowns and towels there and there are changing rooms. It was January. It was a frigid experience for them. 

 

Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches will not accept baptisms from other denominations. If you want to join, you must be rebaptized--they would say simply "baptized," since your original baptism didn't count. Southern Baptists will accept a baptism from another denomination, as long as it was not an infant baptism or a baptism done other than by complete immersion. In those cases, you must be rebaptized--they would say simply "baptized,"  your first baptism being invalid.  Non-denominational evangelical churches are all over the place. Almost all will do second baptisms; some require them. Some will rebaptize numerous times. To them, it seem to be a matter of "baptism is fun."

 

When the Nicene Creed says "one baptism," does it mean baptism only once, or does it mean there is only one baptism for all denominations? Since at the time the Creed was written, there was essentially only one denomination--Catholic and Orthodox not yet split--the Creed likely meant "one" to mean baptism one time only. Granted that it could mean either, or it could mean both. Methodists take it as meaning both.

 

I should probably mention that the Catholic/Orthodox Church did not accept monosphysite churches, such as Coptic Orthodox and Nestorian Syrian Orthodox. 

 

It seems odd to me that neither creed mentions the other Holy Sacrament, Communion.

 

That the Nicene Creed says that Baptism is "for forgiveness of sins" is good Wesleyan theology. Wesley called it "prevenient grace." A sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual act."  God's grace is working in us before we ever know it. Baptism is a sign of that grace. 

 

There seem to be scores of controversies about baptism. Pentecostals split over whether baptism should be "in the name of Jesus" only, or in the name of "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  Quakers don't practice baptism at all. I could go on and on.

 

One final point, a baptism is not a christening. A christening is something a woman does by throwing a bottle of champagne against a ship. A baptism is something a clergyperson does with water to another person for the forgiveness of sins.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

For our baptism we each are thankful. May we be faithful to the vows we took or our parents took for us as we live our lives following you. Amen.

Faithfully,

Christian