Dear Friends,

The principle prayer of the baptismal liturgy is the thanksgiving or the blessing said over the water. Similar to the Great Thanksgiving, which is the principle prayer said at the eucharist, the blessing said over the water in the baptismal liturgy is the formal proclamation before God of what the church is about, namely, giving thanks. “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” (BCP 306). This proclamation is said by the celebrant, who is the leader of the congregation, on behalf of all who have come to witness and participate in the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

This prayer continues by giving thanks to God for the gift of water. Water is that abundant, simple, necessary, and life-giving substance that God has provided for all of God’s creatures. How can we not give thanks for water? As the prayer proceeds, it puts water into a theological context by recounting how the Spirit moved over the water at creation (Genesis 1:2), how the Israelites passed through water at the Exodus (Exodus 14:22) and how Jesus was baptized in water by John and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the Messiah.

“The early Church used the Gospel account (Mark 1:9-11) as a model for its baptismal liturgies: as Jesus went down into the water of the Jordan, so the Christian goes down into the water of the font; as when Jesus came up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon him, so the Christian comes up from the water of baptism and is sealed with the Holy Spirit; as the voice of the Father proclaimed Jesus his Son, so, too, is the Christian proclaimed to be the child of God by adoption and grace.”[i]

The second paragraph of the prayer over the water is even more explicit. It says very clearly that in baptism we are buried with Christ in his death and we, in turn, share in his resurrection (see Romans 6:4-5; Colossians 2:12). Through the water of baptism, we are reborn by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5) and ultimately sent into the world to bring others into the community of faith baptizing them in the name of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19).

The third paragraph invokes the Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify the water. It speaks of the baptized as “cleansed from sin and born again” and prays that they may continue for ever in the risen life of Christ. In the words of the late liturgical theologian Leonel Mitchell, “The most important teachings of the Church concerning baptism are set forth in this prayer. ‘Reborn’ is used instead of the Latinate ‘regenerate,’ but the meaning is the same. The term ‘born again,’ so dear to the hearts of Evangelicals, makes it clear that this is what the Church believes happens in the Paschal sacraments. Birth, death and rebirth or resurrection are the great events celebrated in the Paschal Mystery, in baptism, and in the eucharist. The salvation won for all by Christ in his death and resurrection is made available to each individual believer in the sacraments. Once for all in baptism, and week by week in the eucharist.”[ii] This is what the Paschal Mystery is; to be united with Christ in the power of his dying and rising.

It is important to realize that the structure of the prayer over the water is deliberately parallel to the prayer of the Great Thanksgiving at the eucharist. They both begin with thanksgiving for creation and redemption and end by invoking the Holy Spirit to sanctify the elements (water, bread, wine) to make them holy. They both then conclude with a doxology. According to Mitchell, “The structure is not artificial. The Church has traditionally used the eucharistia form for its most important prayers of blessing.”[iii]

Next week we will take a look at Chrism and Chrismation.

Peace,

Dave.