THE “USUAL” most assuredly has to give way to the unusual, the unfamiliar and the different when we baptise little ones in the context of our Sunday Eucharist. Priests, parents, all present, have to be light on the balls of their feet to keep a grip on what’s going on. Exercise in liturgical “thinking on the run”! That’s why ultimately they’re so energising and rewarding (even if one collapses in a chair for an hour immediately afterwards!)
Harry and Sophie were baptised today on the Feast of the Birth of St John the Baptist and a large assembly reflected on the Baptist’s cry “Prepare the Way of the Lord”. Yes, that’s what Baptism’s for: a splash of fresh water, a wake up and smell the coffee, a being dunked in Jordan river, a being upended and yet held safe, a being changed and challenged and chastened and commissioned and celebrated and loved – all at the same time. And recurring forever. Way to go!
How wonderful to have the experience of ‘upending’ one’s being while feeling secure in the process!! How wonderful that these two people had the chance to experience this – for whether young or old, renewal is as essential as breathing. It sounds like a magical day..
Absolutely. The photo, of course, of a Baptism in the River Jordan; Harry and Sophie’s, here in Bramhall UK, were no less special for that. Yes: secure, renewal, breathing – all these life elements contribute towards “belonging”, don’t they? As you do