Pastor Hugh's Monthly Meditation
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It All Begins in Baptism
St. Paul’s Church has been blessed with a rich and varied legacy. Among this inheritance are our stained glass windows. While it may seem that the purpose of stained glass windows was to keep people from day-dreaming during the sermon—you can’t stare out the window if they are stained glass—or to make the sanctuary “pretty”, their original purpose was to tell a story. In a day when the vast majority of people were illiterate, the story of God’s love and action in the world could be “read” in the stained glass windows. That story was not just for a people long ago, but continues to address each of our lives today. And that story begins in Baptism.
Click on image to see a larger view of St. Paul’s "Baptism Window", in a separate window.
If you look above the altar at St. Paul’s Church, you will notice three windows. At the top of each window is a round section with a picture or symbol in it. From right to left you will find depicted a paten and chalice (the plate and cup used to hold the bread and wine for Holy Communion), an open bible, and a baptismal font (see picture). These three symbols—God’s word surrounded by the sacraments of baptism and communion—stand at the center of our worship life together. (A sacrament is a religious ceremony instituted by Jesus himself that offers the promise of grace through the use of a concrete or visible sign. Following this definition, Lutherans only recognize two sacraments: baptism and communion.) It is God’s promise of new life and new possibilities that is made real in our lives through these.
Our story begins in Baptism because it is through this sacrament that we are given our ultimate identity: redeemed children of God. In his “Small Catechism,” Martin Luther asks the question, “What gifts of benefits does baptism grant?” To this question he answers, “It brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promises of God declare.” [Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal, p. 1165.]
Baptism begins a new life and offers us all continued access to that new life each and every day. This is why the window with the baptismal font is there above the altar. It is a constant reminder not only of our beginnings, but also of our present and future as well. We are proclaimed children of God by the water of baptism, even when the world would name us something else— something far less noble. We are given the ongoing gift of forgiveness of sins, even when the world would remind us of our mistakes and failures and judge and demean us accordingly. And we are promised a future beyond the grip and power of death, even when the world would terrorize us with the threat of our own mortality.
Baptism is countercultural. Through baptism we have each been set aside, literally chosen by God, for a special purpose in this world. It is through the waters of baptism that we have been given our individual calling. And while no two callings or purposes are exactly alike, they are all rooted in Jesus and the work he is doing in the world through us.
And Baptism is not merely an idea or notion. It is a reality and it brings a concrete and eternal promise. Through baptism we each receive the Holy Spirit and with this we are gifted not only with God’s love and forgiveness, but also with the spiritual resources needed for the journey that lies before us. God’s spirit is like God’s breath, bringing us life and hope and power for living.
During September and into October the three windows above the altar will be removed so they can be rebuilt. When they finally are returned in late October or so, I hope we will all look at these symbols of God’s love with new eyes. Yes, these windows are pretty, and perhaps they keep our minds from wandering out into the streets or up into the sky. But most importantly they remind us of a truth that the world cannot take away. A truth about God’s unbelievable love. And about each of us: God’s beloved children.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
September 2007
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