Excerpt from Acts 19:1-7

"On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver

Unlike some Christian traditions, in the United Church of Christ we do not have a normative age for baptism.  So I have baptized infants who are just weeks old and I once baptized a man who was 87.  Somehow the waters of baptism make newborns out of us all.

One of the things I love about baptizing infants, however, is that it makes clear that it is a sacrament of grace.  You cannot earn baptism or in any way deserve it. 

Before an adult is baptized he is asked to affirm faith in the God we know in Jesus Christ.  That can mistakenly lead us to believe that we have to do something first before God can act in the sacrament.
 
In baptizing infants it is clear that baptism is not about anything we do.  Before an infant can affirm any faith in God, God binds God's own self to her.  Nothing she has done prepared her to receive that gift, nothing she has failed to do prevents her from receiving it.

Some people approach worship as the place where God adds to their to-do lists.  We come distracted by our own to-do list and God adds, "Seek justice," or, "Pray more," or, "Serve a meal at the homeless shelter."

But worship is not primarily about what we are supposed to do.  It is primarily about what God has already done.  When baptismal waters trickle off the nose of an infant and we declare that in that act she is bound to God, it is made clear that we are not the primary actors in this drama.  Our to-do lists are not the central focus.  Instead, we see that we were on God's to-do list all along.

Prayer

God, give me words of praise for all you have done, because you acted even before I had a chance to do anything, anything at all. 

About the Author Martin B. Copenhaver is Senior Pastor, Wellesley Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is the author, with Lillian Daniel, of This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers.

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