ROUGHLY EDITED COPY LUTHERAN PASTORAL THEOLOGY & PRACTICE LPTP-15 Captioning Provided By: Caption First, Inc. P.O. Box 1924 Lombard, IL 60148 800-825-5234 www.captionfirst.com *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. *** >> NICK: Obviously, baptisms are something we all look forward to doing among our people. Professor, what can you tell me about how baptisms are conducted? What kind of procedures should I follow in baptizing children? What about baptizing adults? >> PROF. SENKBEIL: Nick, as someone has once remarked that in the Lutheran church we baptize infants as though they're adults; that is, we address them with questions. Do you believe? Will you be baptized? At the same time we baptize adults as though they're infants, that is, because we cannot believe in Jesus Christ or Lord or even come to him except by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it is that even adults come into the faith as helpless infants drawn by the invitation of the father in heaven, given faith as a gift through the Holy Spirit who works through the Gospel. So the question of baptizing infants and baptizing adults really revolves around what baptism itself is. And, there again, back to the basics. Look to the small catechism. How do we define Holy Baptism. What is baptism? Baptism is not just water, but it is the water which is included in God's command and combined with God's word. Very interesting words there. Not just water. Certainly it is water. That's what baptism means�-- to wash in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But it's not just water. It's the word of God which is in and with the water that does these things. So baptism is the water which is included in God's command and combined with God's word. This is the efficacy of the power of Holy Baptism. What procedures then do we use in baptizing infants? Really, the same procedures that we use in baptizing adults -- faith and the desire to be baptized apply for both. In the large catechism Dr.�Luther remarks we bring these little children to Jesus just like the disciples brought little children to Jesus asking him to touch them. So we bring our own infants to Jesus trusting that God the Holy Spirit will, through his word, create the faith which trusts the word of God in the water. Believing that by the intervention and power of the Holy Spirit who works such faith that child also desires to be baptized into this faith. So, as a pastor, the practical question is this: Are these infants brought by those who have been given responsibility by God to the font for Holy Baptism? In other words, is one or both parents bringing that child for baptism? If so, we baptize as we're given to do by God himself. Now, in the case of adults the same question applies. By the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit through the Word, that person has been given opportunity to believe so we want to hear the confession of the faith which God the Holy Spirit has worked in him or her and then, along with that, the desire to be baptized. So it is then that in the rite of baptism in our pastoral agenda, the rite of holy Baptism, we first give a basic introduction to what baptism is. We read the text from Mark chapter 16, the very text I quoted a moment earlier where Jesus invites all the little ones, the babes in arms to come to him. And then we hear the profession of the faith which God the Holy Spirit works and the confession of the apostolic faith. I believe in God the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian church, and so forth. Then the question will you be baptized? Upon this profession of faith worked by the Holy Spirit in full confidence that God indeed is working through the water by means of his word, we baptize in the powerful name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now, Nick, if I heard you correctly, you asked what procedures do we use? Well, there's some very practical things to remember. First of all, to have a real baptism, one must have water. What kind of water? H20. The quantity of that water is not really the important thing, but it should be a real water. The church fathers in our Lutheran church always said there should be a quantity, a sufficient quantity of water so that everyone will know that it is a washing. Very practical matter in the case of infants, one may certainly baptize either as the parents or the sponsors might hold the child over the font. One can use the provided baptismal shell or also one own's hand in applying this water. If the pastor takes the child himself, which, again, is certainly a fine outward ceremony to show that Christ himself invites little children to come to him and receives them as his own through their faith in his word. And so a pastor might indeed take the child from his parents, hold him in his own arms, placing the child's body into his arm, his head in his hand. And then with the other hand cupping the water from the font three times. I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Then, holding the child before your face so you can speak directly to the child the blessing which is given through the washing of Holy Baptism. Almighty God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has begotten you again by the new birth of water and the Holy Spirit and forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace into life everlasting. Peace be with you. And then take the child and hand him back to his parents or even to the sponsors in order to show to the assembled congregation that by this act of Holy Baptism, the child has now been received into the fellowship of Christ's body, the church, the responsibility now of the entire congregation assists that of the parents in order to bring this child up in the fear and nurture of the Lord. Now, what about baptizing adults in terms of the practical aspects of Holy Baptism? Again, water with the word is important. But of course you're not going to hold the adult in your arms. Rather, you ask the adult to stand at the font, to bend over the font and to perhaps turn her head to the side and then baptize her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit just as you would an infant. Speak it again directly to that person, the blessing of God. May God the Father almighty who has begotten you again by water and the spirit forgiven you all your sins strengthen you with His grace into life everlasting. Peace be with you. And then right there that sign of the cross. That's always been again part of our practice of Holy Baptism. It really comes from the very earliest centuries of the Christian church. Every person St.�Paul writes in Romans chapter 6 who has been baptized has been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. This sign of a cross is an outward tracing of the very instrument of our salvation to signify that that person has been redeemed by the blood of Christ. And so, prior to baptism, we make the sign of the cross upon them in order to show them and to show the assembled congregation this mark of God's grace, this blessing that has been given to all Christ's people to be baptized into the death of Jesus by which they are saved and raised with him in newness of life to live before him in righteousness and innocence forever. That sign of the cross continues to be the mark of every Christian, the sign of God's grace. Their personal identity as a child of the heavenly Father. One has been washed and redeemed in the blood of the lamb who's made to walk before God in newness of life day in and day out until that day when we join with the saints in glory. I hope that that gets at some of the practical aspects of baptizing both adults and infants. *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. ***