A message from your Interim Rector 7/8

Promise #6

Our baptismal vows are foundational to our life as disciples of Jesus Christ. A final reminder of those promises, at least for a week or two.  We can’t talk about discipleship without talking about our baptismal vows.  Baptismal promise #1 was faithfulness in worship, study of scripture and in prayers.  Promise # 2 was perseverance in resisting evil and when we miss the mark we repent, ask God to help us, and try again.  Promise #3 was a call to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. Our 4^th baptismal promise, called us to service.  And Promise # 5, called us to respect the dignity of every human being so that we might work toward justice and peace.  Our constant answer is, “I will, with God’s help”.

Now the Prayer Book savvy among you might be wondering about the title, “Promise #6".  After all, you know there are only 5 baptismal promises!  I want you to think about those baptismal vows.  What would be promise #6?

Now, I am not suggesting that we petition the next General Convention to add another baptismal promise.  I am suggesting that we look at how we live into our baptismal vows.  In what ways are we faithful to those promises?  Faithfulness is often about simply showing up.  We do it because it is a pattern of life for us, We find that even if we don’t always want to be faithful, we show up anyway, because we are called to offer our worship to God in the good times and in the difficult times.  We show up faithfully because God accepts us where we are and lifts us up when our own sense of faithfulness is low.  The community of St. Catherine’s faithfully comes together week after week, month after month, and year after year because we are called to be here for each other in ways we may not even recognize.  Part of our faithfulness is accompanied by perseverance - that moment by moment movement of the Holy Spirit which uplifts us and helps to continue our discipleship.  One step after another until we find ourselves surprised to realize that God has worked to help us grow in our discipleship.  Through faithfulness and perseverance we are equipped to proclaim God’s presence not only in our lives, but in the lives of others. Now we proclaim God’s love to others because we have found God’s love for ourselves and that leads us to service in the name of Christ.  Service to the faith community and service in the world.  Our service is centered on respecting the dignity of every human being and working for justice and peace.

All the baptismal promises are simply stepping stones in our life of discipleship.  Much like the path of a labyrinth looks confusing and has multiple twists and turns; but you will notice that it does not have any dead ends.  The curving path leads us to the center which is God and the path we walked in is the same path that leads us into the world again, renewed and restored.

One of my clergy friends said long ago that we should always be splashing around in the waters of baptism, dripping with the gift of wonder and joy as God makes each day new for us.  The symbolism of St. Catherine’s baptismal font and the space around it reminds us how we are always being reborn through God’s grace and called to live into our baptismal promises.  Touch the water in the font, look at the wall dripping with water and remember that you are the beloved of God.    God’s peace, Mo Pat+