Acts 2:38-39
Stop.
Go get some water. With just a little water on the tip of your finger, make the sign of the cross on your forehead. Take a few deep breaths. Rest for a moment in God’s promises for your life.
Listen.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” – Acts 2:38-39
Reflect.
This Sunday, we’ll celebrate Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. It’s a time to reflect on the gift of baptism and what it means for our lives. For many of us, baptism is an abstract event. We were baptized when we were too young to remember the event and the ceremony and meaning get forgotten unless we have the joy of watching another baby baptized during worship.
However, many were baptized when they were older. Some belonged to traditions that held that belief should precede baptism. Others didn’t come to know a faith community until they were older. Still others just never got around to it. We can argue about what’s right when it comes to baptism, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters about baptism is that it happens.
In our reading from Acts, we hear Peter encourage those present at the first Pentecost of the church that they should repent and then be baptized. For those who think baptism depends on your action first, this checks out. You should repent; then you’re welcome to choose baptism. But note what happens next: Peter extends the promise to “you, for your children, and for all who are far away”. There’s plenty of space in there for anyone of any age, ability, or stage in faith to receive baptism. For those who think baptism depends only on God’s action, not our capacity, this makes sense.
The moral of the story is that the order doesn’t matter. Faith and baptism go together. Sometimes one comes first; sometimes, the other comes first. Does it truly matter? Or is the most important thing that we know God, receive the gift of baptism, and continue to grow in a life of faith – in any order?
No matter when or how you were baptized, it was enough. God was there. The promise belongs to you.
Pray.
God, I thank you for all your gifts: life, faith, grace, mercy, love, hope, community, and baptism itself. Guide me as I live into all these promises and celebrate them with the whole church on earth and in heaven. Amen.
Carry On.
Do you have a friend or family member of a different faith tradition? Ask them about their baptism, or how baptisms happen at their church. What can you learn about the many ways God’s promises come to us in baptism from their stories?