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            As Anglicans, we believe that the holy spirit is conferred in water baptism, even when the one baptized is an infant.  To be sure, the spirit is conferred once again in confirmation, when the one whose baptismal vows were pronounced by the godparents is able to re-affirm them for him- or herself. 
            In today’s Lesson (Acts 10:44-48) the holy spirit fell on all who heard Peter’s sermon, and this was manifested by the charismatic gift of speaking in tongues.  Here water baptism comes after the spirit has been bestowed, when the Jews who have witnessed the event ask, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the holy spirit just as we have?” (v. 47).  God’s pouring out of the spirit on Gentiles demonstrated that they too deserved admission to the church through water baptism. 
            Baptism is the sacramental wellspring of our corporate life in Christ.  Through baptism God incorporates the baptized, one by one, into the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ and into the body of which Christ is the head. 
            But we need to keep in mind that the essential thing is rebirth.  Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”  (John 3:3).
All living religions offer the promise of rebirth, by which we come into contact with the true light which enlightens everyone coming into the world (John 1:9).  It has been suggested that originally John 3:5 read simply, “Unless one is born of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  (“Water” = baptism would be a secondary addition to the text, arising out of Christian sacramental practice.)
            John’s gospel, which includes Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, has been known from antiquity as “the spiritual gospel.”  In the Anglican Church of Canada the new rites of baptism show a clear shift away from the English Reformers’ emphasis on personal salvation to a concentration on the collective symbols of church, community, and people of God. 
            It is important to remember that while being born again can be described in a  general way, it cannot be experienced in a collective way.  As the Salvation Army puts it, “God saves the world one soul at a time.”  Failure to recognize this important truth undermines the valiant efforts being made to breathe new life into Christian sacramental rites. 
            Unfortunately, for many people today the ceremony of baptism has more social than religious meaning.  This danger is particularly great when baptism is conferred privately, which could suggest that it is purely a family affair.  Our church therefore insists that baptism be conferred as part of the eucharistic celebration of the community, in which we experience rebirth by participating in a rite which represents sacramentally the death and resurrection of Christ. 
            Whether baptism is conferred on an infant or on an adult, it is meaningless unless it marks the beginning of a life-long journey on which we grow, day by day, into the one in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).      

May 17, 2009

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