This article is a search for some questions that we often ask about Baptism. Its an attempt to comprehend the essence n beauty of this Sacrament.
Introducing Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is the core action of the Church and the key factor of faith. The whole idea of Baptism is to consecrate by setting apart for a special object and a new life. Baptism is inextricably bound with the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is actually a reflection of the death of the sinful human being with Christ and the resurrection thereafter. , resulting in the union with the body of Christ, viz. the church. It is a sacrament performed in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and it is a gift from God. Through this sacrament God enters into a new covenant with his people. Here I would like to primarily focus on the theology of Baptism and the theological and Biblical basis for Infant Baptism as followed by the Mar Thoma Church. I am deeply indebted to Rev Dr K. G. Pothen for igniting my quest in the Sacrament of Baptism as his classes on Baptism were the foundation for my understanding of the profundity of Baptism. The basic premise of the article is heavily drawn from the article, “Baptism: Divine Gift and Challenge” written by Rev. Sam Koshy written for the study material for the Mar Thoma Clergy Conference 2009- Self Formation Through Worship And Sacraments.
Every image and metaphor used in the baptismal liturgy and the symbolic actions are of endorsing the dimension of discipleship. The sacrament of baptism is not done as proclamation of content of faith, rather it is initiating to the way of life of discipleship.
Baptism for New Birth and Resurrection
Discipleship becomes a possibility through new birth and resurrection. The Pauline thought on baptism goes more on line with the resurrection. But the Johannine tradition gives focus on the new birth. Our liturgy of baptism combines both. Or else we can say both the new birth and the resurrection are not separate rather they are part of the life of discipleship. Hence baptismal pond is both Eden and Golgotha. This is the reason why the Pauline and Johannine readings found special place in the baptismal liturgy. The epistle and the gospel portion are affirmation of the new birth and resurrection. The gospel is read and only then is the person named, or otherwise a person is named in the gospel tradition. Every baptism service is a kind of burial service. The self of the individual is buried, the new self is given. It is the putting on of a new nature. The new nature is that of light, of the new Adam.
The wording of the baptism can be reflected in this sense…..
So and so is baptized in the hope of redemption and eternal life.
The dimension of new birth and resurrection is otherwise portrayed as the redemption and eternal life. The usage “in the hope” is very important. This is a call, a potential and a challenge. The holy baptism is the sacrament of hope. This is realized and yet not completed. Here baptism is a gift from God and is a challenge to live in wholeness.
God-parent.
God parents symbolize the mentoring of the Christian way of living/ discipleship. Mentoring is a biblical activity. Samuel was mentored by Eli. Moses was mentored by Jethro. Elisha by Elijah, and the disciples of Jesus. It is not a denominational activity .It is an activity of the church. The baptized ones become corporate ones. Both old and the new, senior and junior all of them need God parents. God parents are not for kids. It is rather accepting the corporate identity. John Zizoulas comments that the baptism is giving us the ecclesial identity. Therefore what the black theologian John Mbiti’s saying “because we are, I am” is very baptismal. So the saintly and sinful state of the baptized one has got a corporate dimension and responsibility. God parents represent the corporeality of the disciples.
Baptismal Acts
There are three significant acts in the sacrament of baptism. These three acts constitute the vision of the sacrament.1. The naming.The baptismal naming is the act of accepting the tradition of the forefathers and mothers. The name of the grand mother is added to some biblical names. The naming is done at the church, during the first part of the baptism service. Baptism is not conviction or confession; rather it is confirmation to a way of living. When we take one name from the bible, we dedicate the boy/girl to order their lives in biblical genealogy. We never take any name like Pharaoh or BAL, rather we take the names of those who led themselves and other dignified before God.2. The sealing.The sealing is the second act done in every baptism. The priest lays hand on the forehead and signs the sign of the cross. This action is for the whole body, the whole person. This becomes our identity. In all the worship and sacrament this sealing is our right, privilege and responsibility .In every Eucharist service , in the second part of the last russma, the community is saluted as sealed by the zeal of holy baptism. This is the affirmed every time. God is in charge of our lives. God takes possession of us. We are possessed by God. The sealing with oil is peculiar to the kingly ownership. Each Christian is God embraced. The sealing has got a dual function. It is a command to us– a reminder, and it is a declaration to the world – a signifier. It is the apostolic commission to be a disciple.3. The anointing In the baptism there are three levels of anointing, i.e. anointing the blessed oil, sanctified water and holy Myron. The prayers done at the three occasions are of appointing for special tasks. The sacraments are the occasion of imparting responsibilities. The baptism is the highest among them. The baptism is being done as the hope of the anointment. The holy Myron blankets the kid all over the body with blessing. After which, there is a prayer that indicates that the baptized persons are expected to rule the world for God. The ruling is in taking up initiatives and to pray before God for the world. As they share the throne with Jesus, they are to lead, to take responsibilities, to be accountable and thereby to rule the world (Rev. 3.21).
The person is called to live according to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is for the kings. The baptized ones are anointed to live with Christ in the world, to dine with Christ at the Eucharist, to rule with Christ in leading the world. These are the three levels of discipleship.
Baptism as Illumination
Illumination is a core theme in the bible. The face of Moses was illumined on his return from the Mount Sinai. Illumination of the intellect is also a key term fore the Syriac tradition. The church is neither a collective of holy fools nor a pathological pedantry. Rather it is a group of people with illumined intellect, meaning that they can discern the futility of the world (prayer before promeon and sedra.)
May he/she reject the works of death , may he/she glorify you as father son and holy spirit , May their consciousness be illumined that they discern the futility of the world .
The gospel of St. John considers the discipleship as witnessing to the illumination through Jesus Christ (John 1). The baptized ones are illumined ones.
Baptism as Ordination
Through baptism we are joined to Christ, the head and the church, the body. We share in the priestly, kingly and prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ. Hence through baptism we have become the royal priest. The act of anointing, commissioning are all part of this royal priesthood. Hence the baptized ones are given white dress, symbolizing victory over the forces of death. And the white dress becomes the dress code to worship God. This is the reason that even bishops are expected to wear white dress during the Eucharist.
It is very important to note that in any other ordination service Sythu and Myron is not used. The reason is that the baptism is the highest ordination. And all other ordinations are subsidiary to this. All other ordinations are within the royal priesthood of the church.
Baptism for relations of Serenity
In the writings of Cyril of Jerusalem it is commented that the persons for baptism is turned to the west outside the church symbolizing the evil relations of Egypt, then they are turned to the east symbolizing life in new relation. Romans 6 explicate that the organs are baptized for the acts of justice.
Then no longer present your organs to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life , and present your organs to God as instruments of righteousness(Rom 6. 13) .
Baptism is the elevation of the organs into a higher order of living. Col.3.4 endorses that the baptized ones are risen. Every Kauma (the standing posture) is an affirmation of the resurrected existence, the standing symbolizes the same. This is profoundly seen in the sedra prayer of the fourth section of the Kahanaitha order that quote the prayer .
We believe that the tongues that sung your divine songs will not be silenced , the hands that distributed your holy body will not be chained, the foot that touched your Madbaha will not be flamed but will be brought to new life.
In a sense this can be altered to every baptized one , as we can try to reread it as
We believe that the tongues that sung your divine songs will not be silenced , the hands that glorified you will not be chained, the foot that touched your Madbaha will not flamed; but will be brought to new life.
Baptism is for a new order of relations, a new way of relating to the self and others. It is interesting to note that, in the earliest traditions the persons to be baptized were positioned as turning to the Egypt, symbolizing the relations of oppression and death, and then they are turned to the east- the thronos symbolizing the relation of justice and life. Baptism is for the relations of life, love and justice.
Baptism as Identity Constituting
The fourth affirmation of the Nicene Creed declares that the baptismal identity of the church. “We” , is a collective by baptism. “We” are dedicated to the hope of new birth and resurrection. The eagerly waiting is an act of committing oneself to the cause. That is why Nicene Creed endorses it is done only once. But the “once” was with due preparation. It is clear from the patristic material that both the celebrant and the persons and related ones of the baptized used to observe prayer and fasting for three days prior to the baptism. It is also obvious from the Syriac tradition that the baptisms were conducted on the Easter Sundays. In every Holy Communion service in the second part of the last blessing the liturgy of the Holy Qurbana endorses the baptismal identity of the worshippers. In the first prayer of the funeral service, this baptismal identity is invoked.
Through the baptism, biological identity is transformed into ecclesial identity .That is why water of baptism is thicker than the blood. It is the commencement of relations which is more than the biological and cultural, transforming both. That is the call of the community in Acts. 2 .41
As the conception of human constitute his or her biological hypostasis( being) , so baptism leads to a new mode of existence , to a regeneration ( 1 Pet.1:3,23), and consequently to a new hypostasis. Jesus Christ is the basis for this new existence not as he brings the world a beautiful revelation, a sublime teaching about the person, but because he realizes in history the very reality of the person and makes it the basis and hypostasis (being) of the person of every human.
Baptism as Sacrament of Metaphors
In distinction to other traditions of faith, the Syriac tradition works through metaphors. Metaphors are way of narrating the higher order of life and history. Metaphors do not limit reality to concepts; rather they sketch on the shadows of the unfathomable mystery of God and life.
The metaphor of light.
The metaphor of clothing.
The metaphor of crowning.
These three metaphors are to symbolize life with Christ. We are called from darkness to light by the true light of Jesus Christ. As Col 3.10 the clothing imagery is very central to the Syriac tradition, it denotes the new person in Christ. The ruling imagery is from the book of revelation. The ruling is not the one that of Herod or Nero .We are called to rule through just relations. We are commissioned to take initiatives for
Acts 2.47 verse gives the purpose of the baptism devoted to apostolic teaching, fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and prayers.
Requirement and Act of Baptism
Requirements for Baptism are, Minister, Candidate( infant or adult), God-Parent, water (hot and cold), Myron, syth( olive oil), Baptism Register( 9 registers are supposed to be with the priests according to the constitution). We use syth to make cross as it symbolizes rebirth and regeneration.
Liturgical Act of Baptism
The minister takes water from 4 sides, takes it first front and back and then the two sides signifying the Cross. The prayer, that with forgiveness and eternal life this child is baptized. Baptism is the anticipation of hope of eternal life that the candidate is baptized.
Biblical And Theological Grounds For Infant Baptism
The major confusion of the Mar Thoma Christians is directly related to the validity of Infant Baptism. The lack of clarity on this subject and the illusion that it is not biblically based has caused major concerns for the Mar Thomites who are succumbed to believe that this particular practice is not biblical. This is a challenge and an opportunity to clear certain misconceptions regarding this topic. We will first consider this historically. In the time of the Apostles we have direct evidence that 3 distinct families or households received Baptism; that is the household of Stephanas, Lydia and the Phillipian Jailor. The term household signifies infants and children included as well. Even in Acts 2: 38-39, it signifies clearly Child Baptism. Origen mentions that the “ Church has an order from the Apostles to give baptism to the infants.” At the Council of Cathage, A.D. 251, the question was asked that whether it was not necessary to postpone baptism of infants until the fourth day , when it was decided that “no person should be hindered from receiving baptism, especially infants and those newly born.” The fourth Century Archbishop of Milan, Ambrose, wrote on the subject of “ Infant Baptism in the time of the Apostles.” This also shows that infant Baptism was uniformly practiced by the Early Church. W.F. Flemington in The New Testament Doctrine of Baptism argues that baptism of infants is a thoroughly legitimate development of New Testament teaching, a practice in full accord with the mind of Christ. J. Jeremias , the New Testament scholar says that Colossians 2: 11,12 shows that Paul considered Baptism equivalent to Circumcision that opened the way for Christian parents to baptize their children. The Old Testament says that circumcision was practiced on the 8th Day, which admitted the child into the Jewish Church. Nowhere in the Bible are children treated outside the scope of blessing. As we have seen that Baptism is the seal of faith. Romans 4:2 says, ‘ And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised.’ So there is a connection of circumcision to be ‘ seal of faith’ and baptism that is called a seal of faith which are tied to respective covenants. As in Gen 17: 11,12 that says “Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the mark of the covenant between you and me. Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised…”. So this is a ‘seal of faith’ and ‘token of covenant’. Circumcision then like baptism now fulfilled a double purpose. It is the seal of the believer’s faith and also the sign of God’s covenant.
So who is included in this covenant? The answer is found in Acts 2: 39 “ the promise is unto you and your children.” Let me quote from Dr. Wall’s “ History of Infant Baptism”( vol 1., p. 3) as follows ‘It is evident that the custom before Jesus’ time was to baptize as well as circumcise any proselyte that came over to them from nations. This was based on their belief that rest all were impure and not worthy to enter into a Covenant without a washing or baptism from their uncleanness and this was called baptizing unto Moses. If any such proselyte , who came over to the Jewish religion, and was baptized into it, had any infant children then born to him, they also were baptized and circumcised. The child’s inability to declare his faith was never looked on as a bar against his reception into the covenant.”
Bernard Manning in his book, “Why Not Abandon the Church”, summarizes beautifully about baptism. He says “In Baptism the main thing is not what men do, but what God has done. It is a sign that Christ claims all men as his own and He has redeemed them to a new way of life. That is why we baptize children and infants. The water of baptism declares that they are entitled to God’s mercies to men in the passion of Christ. Your own baptism ought then to mean much to you. It ought to mean all the more because it happened before you knew anything about it. Christ redeemed you on the Calvary without any thought or action on your part. He did not wait for any sign or confirmation on your part. Similarly we baptize a child and declare to the world in a solemn manner what God does for us without our merit and even without our knowledge. In Baptism, more plainly perhaps than anywhere else, God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
We have to realize that the objection to infant Baptism needs to be rooted to the cult group called the Anabaptists who gave importance to the profession of faith as an imperative for Baptism. This logic is reductionist and places the onus of faith on an individual. No faith is individual but it is a formation of the community that fosters faith. Infant baptism sets apart a child and he becomes part of the Body of Christ to be formed by the faith practices of the community and the God Parent is the representative of the community to ensure that the child is formed in faith. The family is the nucleus of this faith formation. So the corporate formation of faith has been given emphasis in infant Baptism.
Conclusion
As we have surveyed the theological basis of baptism and the rationale for infant baptism, we the ministers in formation need to engage deeply with the liturgical practices of baptism. I personally feel we need to pay a lot of attention in teaching this to the youths, sevika sanghams and prayer meetings in our parish assignments. I have observed the lack of clarity on this topic has made many of our church members vulnerable. We personally need to learn more about it to be convinced about our baptism and to relive and reaffirm the faith that was symbolized at our day of baptism. May God guide us.
Merin Mathew (BD IV)
Mar Thoma Theological Seminary
Kottayam
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