Baptism has been a feature of Christian life from the very beginning. In the Acts of the Apostles Peter says, immediately following Pentecost:
Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
Of course baptism came before Christianity – John the Baptist. There had clearly been a tradition of ritual washing in the Jordan going back a long time.
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his master, “This is what the girl from the land of Israel said. “The king of Aram said, “Go. I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
He brought the king of Israel the letter, which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone for me to cure him of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!” When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: “Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”http://www.usccb.org/bible/2kings/5 – 12005010-b But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand there to call on the name of the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the place, and thus cure the leprous spot. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him: “My father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”http://www.usccb.org/bible/2kings/5 – 12005015-d Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it.” And despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused. Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for your servant will no longer make burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant this: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down there, as he leans upon my arm, I too must bow down in the temple of Rimmon. When I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant this.”
Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.” (2 Kings 5: 1-19)
Baptism is still today the one common feature across all Christian churches – and is recognized by the Catholic Church regardless of which tradition it has been taken under.
The way baptism has been understood and practiced is varied and has changed over the life of the church. Initially Baptism was given to adults, and there was no distinction between Baptism and Confirmation, although even in the early Church the cleansing with water and the laying on hands could be separate.
Once Christianity became the state region of the Roman Empire, conversion was required (often of a conquered king and thus of his people) – so baptism lost something of the personal choice element! Then Christianity became the norm and people started to worry about those who were not baptized, hence the development of infant baptism, and forced conversion (the Crusades).
Despite all this Baptism has a simpler history than the Eucharist and certainly causes less controversy between Christians.
So how do we understand Baptism now?
Baptism is the acceptance by the individual of the call to conversion, and of the Christian community that this person is a follower of Christ.
Baptism is thought of as a cleaning away of old sins, or more strongly as a rebirth:
are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
Baptism is about change
Confirmation
For adults entering the Church Baptism and Confirmation are combined within the single Rite of Initiation, together with first Eucharist, typically at the Easter Vigil. In this case a priest administers both sacraments.
For those baptized as infants, Confirmation is administered by a Bishop, at or after the “age of discernment”. Attitudes have varied as to when that age might be – today, at least in the US Church it’s taken to be early teens. The principle is that the person should be capable of making a full commitment to the Christian life, and taking up the responsibility implied by Baptism.
So what is happening in an infant baptism, where the child is obviously not able to make any decision or commitment? In that case it is the parents who are making the commitment – hence the question “Are you willing to bring up your child in the practice of the faith?” But the expectation is that the individual will eventually make that commitment to practice the faith in their own right. And that sacrament is Confirmation.
In all these cases we recognize that the primary action is that of Christ – we respond, and the minister is a vehicle, but the validity of the sacrament does not depend on the minister – which is one reason why all baptism is recognized, and there has always been an acceptance that the visible or formal sacrament is not a precondition for God’s love to be communicated to the individual.
While the symbols of Baptism focus on water, cleansing, light; the symbols of Confirmation are oil, spirit (breath), and fire. Confirmation is also associated with Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. These elements are not really distinct however and this is more a matter of emphasis and focus than a difference in kind. The RCIA has brought back the understanding that there is really a single sacrament here.
John the Baptist said:
“I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.”
(Luke 3:15)
Jesus said:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.
The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:15-17, 26-27)
Paul spells out what receiving this spirit means and the effect it has:
For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:13-23)
The Sacraments of Initiation are the entrance way into the life of Christ, where we live in communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and there is nothing to fear. And from this follows the Christian responsibility, not just to live a holy life, but to serve others, and help them discover this opportunity also. And to do this not as a lone individual, but as a member of as community which is committed to sharing this responsibility and supporting each other.