I am definitely a child of the 70s. I grew up in a stereotypical 70s home: mom was home with us, and I had two sets of grandparents that lived not too far away, and were a big part of my life. None of my grandparents graduated from high school. My grandfathers were both hard working union laborers. They lived good lives and provided for their families, although some of their beliefs were a bit mixed up, even as those beliefs were common for the times. Neither had faith, and I doubt that they were baptized, except that we baptized one of my grandfathers just before he died.
I grew up watching All in the Family. The show resonated with me at first because Archie Bunker resembled my grandfathers so much. I came to appreciate and understand the satire much later (thank God!). As I grew up and traveled my path, I largely put those thoughts and memories aside.
Some of those memories resurfaced when I became a grandfather myself. I started thinking about the kind of grandfather I wanted to be. A couple of years in now, I know that I am not the grandfather that they were any more than I am the man that they were: I have benefitted greatly from education, from my own brand of hard work and ambition, and from a society that has advanced, though we have a ways to go.
One specific memory of All in the Family came back as I was preparing for today’s homily: the episode in which Archie decides that he needs to baptize his new grandson, Joey. Archie’s atheist son-in-law refused to baptize the baby. So, Archie goes to his Catholic priest, who refuses to perform the ceremony because the child’s parents did not want it. Archie’s wife Edith refuses to help for the same reason. So, left to his own devices, Archie sneaks away with the child to his church, where he performs a baptism himself. It is as funny as it is touching and weird.
Then there is a memory from my own parenting experiences. When my oldest was 14, he went through many of the questions about life that adolescents do. My son is very well read in the Bible even as he does not take it to heart. When he was a teenager he came across a “kit” that he could get in which he could “unbaptize” himself. He quickly figured out that it was a scam for money, but he did express to me his disappointment that we baptized him as a child, because he believes he should have been allowed to decide that for himself. That and circumcision. Hard to disagree with him.
In a short while I will welcome two more grandchildren. Like their siblings, one of them will be raised with faith; one will not. One will likely be baptized, and one will not. (That only one of my three children retains any Christian beliefs is, to me, one of my great failures.) But what does that mean for them?
The character Archie Bunker acted the way he did because he believed that the act of baptism was necessary for his grandson’s salvation. He’s not alone in that. Many Christian faiths, including the Churches of Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormon Church, espouse baptism as necessary for salvation. That belief probably comes from the Great Commission in Matthew 28, where Jesus commands the disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But is the act of baptism truly required for salvation? Should I be concerned if my grandchildren are not baptized?
Let’s start with the scriptures. Today’s Gospel tells of John the Baptist’s practice of baptizing people by immersing them in the Jordan River. The practice of baptism emerged from Jewish ritualistic practices involving washing, bathing, sprinkling, and immersing and being made holy with the waters of repentance. Discussion of this appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls. So why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? If we believe that Jesus lived without sin there would be no need for him to be cleansed and to repent!
It could be that Jesus went to be baptized by John simply as an example to others. Or, more likely I think, he used those practices to take them to a whole new level, as He did in so many other ways in His ministry. We are told that God appeared and told all in attendance that Jesus is his son, with whom he is well pleased. It seems clear that Jesus’ baptism transforms the old ritual of John into something new. John the Baptist himself seems to indicate that in the Gospel from Luke we read a couple of weeks ago, when he says that he baptizes with water, but the one to come will baptize with the holy spirit.
Acts 19 tells us that when Paul was in Ephesus, some of the disciples told him that they had undergone John’s baptism. But Paul told them that they also had to be baptized in the Spirit. He laid his hands on them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Paul suggests it is more than the original cleansing ritual. In 1 Peter, scripture tells us that baptism saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The verse seems to be saying that Jesus’ resurrection saves us, and through baptism we publicly express our faith in that resurrection.
Baptism is a way of making our faith public. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior. (Romans 6:3- 5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12). In the Episcopal Church, baptism is one of the sacraments. In our Anglican tradition, we recognize sacraments as the “outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace.” We regard Baptism and Eucharist as the two great sacraments given by Christ to His church. In addition to these two, there are other spiritual markers in our journey of faith that can serve as means of grace, including confirmation, reconciliation, matrimony, orders and unction (anointing of the sick).
In Baptism, the outward and visible sign is water, in which the person is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The inward spiritual grace is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. In the waters of baptism, we are lovingly adopted by God into God’s family, and are reminded that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ. It marks a formal entrance into God’s family.
Father John Gibbs at St. Paul’s in Bellingham loved baptisms. When the baptism was completed, he would walk around the entire congregation with the child (crying or not), and proclaim that the child was leading the “new church.” Episcopalians refer to baptism as an “initiating sacrament” and that all people of any age are welcome to be baptized. While baptism is important, it is not considered to be absolutely necessary for salvation. Salvation is made available through the Spirit, especially in the life and sacraments of the church. It is an invitation, not a commandment. To say that baptism is necessary for salvation would be to say we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ’s death in order to make his death sufficient for salvation. Jesus’ death alone paid for our sins. It is our faith in that death that saves us.
Baptism is a symbol of our obedience in faith, but cannot be a separate requirement for our salvation. All children are equal in the eyes of God, baptized or not. God’s judgment will be based on what they believe and not on whether a sacrament has been performed. Archie Bunker need not have been worried. And neither should I.