Thanksgiving for baptism

THANKSGIVING  FOR  BAPTISM

Joined  to  Christ  in  the  waters  of  baptism,

we  are  clothed  with  God's  mercy  and  forgiveness.

Let  us  give  thanks  for  the  gift  of  baptism.

Water is poured.

We  give  you  thanks,  O  God,

for  in  the  beginning  your  Spirit  moved  over  the  waters

and  by  your  Word  you  created  the  world,

calling  forth  life  in  which  you  took  delight.

Through  the  waters  of  the  flood  you  delivered  Noah  and  his  family.

Through  the  sea  you  led  your  people  Israel  from  slavery  into freedom.

At  the  river  your  Son  was  baptized  by  John  and  anointed  with  the  Holy  Spirit.

By  water  and  your  Word  you  claim  us  as  daughters  and  sons,

making  us  heirs  of  your  promise  and  servants  of  all.

We  praise  you  for  the  gift  of  water  that  sustains  life,

and  above  all  we  praise  you  for  the  gift  of  new  life  in  Jesus  Christ.

Shower  us  with  your  Spirit,

and  renew  our  lives  with  your  forgiveness,  grace,  and  love.

To  you  be  given  honor  and  praise  

through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord

in  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  now  and  forever.

Amen

Today I stood at the Baptism River and remembered the promise of baptism.  It was a beautiful scene.  It is in this Identity that we are made whole.  Water plus God's word brings meaning to who we are as God's people.  This is an aspect of Sabbath that seems hard to wrap our head around.  A pure gift.

A person is baptized once. Because of the unfailing nature of God's promise, and because of God's once-for-all action in Christ, Baptism is not repeated. - from The Use of Means of Grace.

And from Ephesians 4:4-6

For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

I have been reading a book with my spiritual director and coach, Gerry, where we discovered this quote from Eugene Peterson; "If you don't take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You're doing too much, you're being too much in charge. You've got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you're not doing anything."

And so, at the foot of this river, I watched what God was doing as I did nothing.  It is humbling for sure to know that God is working among us, even if we just watch what God is doing.

Watching and waiting to see what God will do next.