By Jeff at The Mockingbird BlogThere are two messages coming from some pulpits today that I personally don't like. I'm sure there are plenty of things being said from plenty of pulpits that could be addressed, but these two things have become so ubiquitous that I'm simply fed up, and feel I must say something.
The first of these is the admonition to "live into my baptismal vows." The other is the admonition to "see Jesus Christ in the face of 'the other'." I'll deal with the first one here, and the other one at a later date.
So you want me to live into my baptismal vows? Wow, that sounds like a great idea! One hitch though: how am I supposed to do that?
Now, granted, in the Episcopal liturgy those who are about to be baptized make certain vows (and the congregation present renews those vows) to renounce evil, turn to Christ, etc., etc. Here's the rub, though: in making each vow, we all say, "I will, with God's help," the point being, of course, that I have absolutely no chance of fulfilling these things that I'm promising to do without the work of God within me.
If I wake up in the morning and say, "Today I think I will live into my baptismal vows," I'm doomed to failure. I will come home that evening sorrowing, because all I will have achieved is a troubled conscience that points out to me each and every time I failed to do that which I vowed to do. Besides, that isn't really the point of my baptism, is it?
No, the point of baptism is not my promises to God, it's God's promise to me: the promise that through baptism I am accepted as God's own, sealed with Christ in his death, and raised with Christ to a new and everlasting life. That's God's promise to me that is sealed in my baptism.
I'm reminded of two Old Testament examples that speak to this matter. The first of these is God's handling of Moses and the Israelites. After Moses had received the ten commandments and come down from the mountain, he presented God's Law to the Israelites. Then they sacrificed young bulls, Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of the sacrifice, and the people vowed, "All this we will do." And we know how that turned out! They failed at every turn. And that's what "living into my baptismal vows" looks like. The Israelites never managed to follow the Law, and I can't do it, either.
The other Old Testament example, the one that points to what baptism is really about, is that of God's covenant with Abraham. After God made his covenant with Abraham, he told him to make sacrifices, and Abraham split the animals in two, after which God's spirit passed between the halves, thereby sealing God's promise in blood. So with Abraham, it wasn't him saying "All this I will do," it was God promising what he would do for Abraham.
That's what Baptism looks like. It's not my vow to God, it's his vow, his promise to me. And like God's promise to Abraham, his promise to me is sealed in blood, the blood of Christ shed on Calvary. That's the blood sacrifice that seals this promise of the new covenant. That's what I am sealed into with my baptism. And that's where my only real hope lies.
So, please, you folks who ascend the pulpit Sunday by Sunday, take note: if you're going to tell me to live into my baptismal vows, I might as well stay home. Failure is the only possible outcome of that errand. Instead, tell me the good news about what God has done for me, which is symbolized and sealed by my baptism, and for that I will gladly show up every Sunday!
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Comments (4)
We do have to live within the confines of our covenant; if we were to depart from those confines we would break the covenant and move outside of His promise to us. Fortunately Legal Perfection is not included in the covenant. What we do have to deal with is that Jesus did say "let the one who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity". The believer has to deal with that.
Our justification is by Faith not works and our Sanctification is by the blood of Christ through the Holy Spirit. But we are purified. The REAL outcome of our sanctification is a departure from Sin and a purification in faith, blood, and the Spirit.
I hope I misunderstood what you meant by that quote above; what it sounds like to me is "stop telling me to live a Godly life and start telling me how God is going to make me happy." Peter warns us of those who would put pressure on their preachers to bring this kind of message.
It is, in fact, the job of your preacher to preach Godliness, Holiness, and to train you up in Godly Discipline so that you are fully equipped to do the work of God.
There were no vows at my baptism. Which, looking back, is a bummer.
This topic is why I am careful what I vow. We cannot vow to serve God in everything we do, nor can we vow to serve him unfailingly. We're human, we're going to mess up along the way.
Matthew 5:
33“Again,
34you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU
SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS
TO THE LORD.’
“But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven,
35for it is the throne of God,
or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or
36by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.
“Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
37“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’
or‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.
Sorry for the bad formating, I'm not too great at the whole reformat text stuff. I don't remember making any vows when I was baptised beyond a promise to lead my life in Christ and to try my best to follow his teachings.. I don't remember the exact wording >_<
What vows do your churches have?
@Kidd - actually, the better translation of "oath" in the translation you're using is "swear." The admonition is not to swear in order to be heard, which leads to manipulation. The outcome of an upright life and consistent integrity is the need not to swear. Insert "swear" where "oath" is and let me know what you see.