The Message of the Cross–and Baptism

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

Do you remember who baptized you? If you were baptized as an adult, most likely. But if you were an infant, probably not, unless your parents were friends with the priest or he went on to serve for many more years in your community.

And really, isn’t that the way it should be? It’s not about the person who provided the sacrament, but tripod_baptism_20140829rather the Lord to whom it bound us. In today’s first lectionary reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds the early Christians that their allegiance is to Christ, not the one who baptized them.

Most of us are like Paul, who says he wasn’t sent to baptize but to preach the Gospel. We weren’t sent to be among the ordained and those who baptize under ordinary circumstances. But we all, each and every one of us, has the privilege and obligation to preach about the Good News, to carry the message of the cross, in our every word and thought an interaction. Human eloquence isn’t critical. Devotion and sincerity are.

 

By Melanie

Melanie Rigney is the author of Radical Saints: 21 Women for the 21st Century and other Catholic books. She is a contributor to Living Faith and other Catholic blogs. She lives in Arlington, Virginia. Melanie also owns Editor for You, a publishing consultancy that since 2003 has helped hundreds of writers, publishers, and agents.

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