Scripture: Matthew 28:19
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
Thought for the Day: Catherine Mowry LaCugna was a fascinating Catholic theologian who taught at Notre Dame until her death at the young age of 44. I have had a couple of quotes from her floating around in my notes for years. One of them says this:
Just as the doctrine of the Trinity is not an abstract teaching about God apart from us but a teaching about God’s life with us and our life with each other, ecclesiology is not the study of an abstract church but a study of the actual gathering of persons in a common faith and a common mission…
She goes on to speak of how baptism within the church is not just a rite of passage for church membership, but an initiation into the very life of the Triune God. That’s powerful stuff, and it elevates the meaning of baptism beyond a nice experience for those wanting to publicly announce their faith. It is the ritual by which one claims his/her place within the fullness of the God who we claim as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all life.
Prayer: Bring me again to the waters of baptism. Draw me close, O Gracious God, to that experience through which my life is given to you, not simply for church membership, but for the living of your perfect relational love. Amen.
