The True Business of the Church

Religious institutions spend a lot of time arguing and quarreling internally and externally.  We argue among the people in our own religion about what belief and practice is right and wrong, true and false.  We argue with other religions and perspectives, trying to convince others that we are right and they are wrong.  We spend so much time doing this that this very process of arguing and quarreling has become identified with the task of religion itself.

Christians have quarreled and argued with each other since the very beginning.  Paul addresses this problem in his first epistle to the Corinthians.  Paul says that quarreling and arguing over belief and practice impedes the Church's true business and agenda, which is to seek after the mind and purpose of Christ, and to live according to the example of Christ.

There were quarrels and arguments in Jesus' own culture.  Jesus did not enter into these quarrels and take sides.  Jesus instead simply proclaimed to everyone that the Kingdom of God had come near to them and that God sought their redemption and reconciliation.  If we are to live our lives after the example of Christ, we will spend our time spreading God's light.  This is what will make the world into the place that God wants it to be.

Missing the Point about Baptism

This Sunday is Baptism of the Lord Sunday in the liturgical year.  It naturally leads to reflection about the nature and significance of baptism.  In the Christian tradition, discussion about baptism is normally framed in terms of understanding who can be baptized and how they can be baptized.  That is, there is significant disagreement about whether baptism requires immersion or can be accomplished by sprinkling or pouring.  There is also disagreement about whether infant baptism should be practiced, which is the practice of my own Wesleyan tradition as well as many other traditions (e.g. Roman Catholicism, most orthodox traditions, Anglican traditions), or restricted to adult believers

I realized this last week as I thought about baptism that these very questions miss the real point about the nature of baptism.  Baptism should be all about celebration.  It celebrates the fact that God seeks to enter into relationship with us and seeks our redemption and transformation, and that this good work began in us before we had the opportunity to respond.  Baptism is not something that should be practiced out of obligation.  By analogy, when the weather begins to get warm, people will start to gather at Centennial Park in Nashville with their blankets and picnic baskets to enjoy the sun and the warm weather.  They are not told or instructed that this is required to be a citizen of Davidson County, Tennessee.  It is not an obligation or regulation that is being followed out of necessity or obligation.  It is something that happens naturally out of our celebration of the renewal of life.

Baptism should be the same.  Jesus was baptized in the Jordan to celebrate that God had entered into the world to bring reconciliation and redemption.