Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
On this Father’s Day, I want to reflect on one of parenthood’s greatest joys – the day of their children’s baptism. There is great celebration in the sacrament of our church. Baptism is more than just a consecration, more than just a symbol, more than just a ritual. Baptism is an acknowledgement of the amazing miracle of justification and unconditional love God has for all God’s children. Baptism marks every child as beloved of God, welcoming God’s unmerited and undeserved grace, receiving the child fully into the body of Christ.
Baptism is irrevocable – there is no process for or possibility of unbaptizing. Baptism isn’t something we do for a child; it is an acknowledgement of what God has already done – truly an “outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” For parents, baptism is a joyous recognition of the love God has for their child. For the congregation, baptism is an expansion of the Christian family, a reminder of our own baptismal covenant, and a wake-up call to live faithfully and to surround the newly received Christian sibling into our fold. Baptism is the great uniter and unifier. We are reminded that by God’s will and grace, “we are one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.”
On this Father’s Day, let us rejoice in our covenantal family, open to all, welcoming the full diversity of God’s children, each born in the image of God, each reflecting the light of Christ.
Let us pray: Among the many of your names, Great God, today we recognize Father, and your Son who began his ministry following baptism in the Jordan river by John the Baptizer. Baptism is a witness to our identity as the children of God. Bless, O Lord, our fathers and grandfathers, our uncles and our brothers, our siblings and our congregational families, that we may truly do all in our power to wrap new Christians in your love and grace, today and all days. Amen.
On this Father’s Day, I want to reflect on one of parenthood’s greatest joys – the day of their children’s baptism. There is great celebration in the sacrament of our church. Baptism is more than just a consecration, more than just a symbol, more than just a ritual. Baptism is an acknowledgement of the amazing miracle of justification and unconditional love God has for all God’s children. Baptism marks every child as beloved of God, welcoming God’s unmerited and undeserved grace, receiving the child fully into the body of Christ.
Baptism is irrevocable – there is no process for or possibility of unbaptizing. Baptism isn’t something we do for a child; it is an acknowledgement of what God has already done – truly an “outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” For parents, baptism is a joyous recognition of the love God has for their child. For the congregation, baptism is an expansion of the Christian family, a reminder of our own baptismal covenant, and a wake-up call to live faithfully and to surround the newly received Christian sibling into our fold. Baptism is the great uniter and unifier. We are reminded that by God’s will and grace, “we are one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.”
On this Father’s Day, let us rejoice in our covenantal family, open to all, welcoming the full diversity of God’s children, each born in the image of God, each reflecting the light of Christ.
Let us pray: Among the many of your names, Great God, today we recognize Father, and your Son who began his ministry following baptism in the Jordan river by John the Baptizer. Baptism is a witness to our identity as the children of God. Bless, O Lord, our fathers and grandfathers, our uncles and our brothers, our siblings and our congregational families, that we may truly do all in our power to wrap new Christians in your love and grace, today and all days. Amen.
Author
Hee-Soo Jung
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung has served as resident bishop of the Wisconsin Annual Conference since September of 2012. Prior to leading the Wisconsin Conference UMC, Bishop Jung served eight years as bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference (Chicago area).