Do You Need A Baptism Do-Over?
In a bizarre turn of events, the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix has ruled that countless Catholics must now re-do their sacrament of baptism.
Father Andres Arango resigned from St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix after it was determined he used the words "We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," instead of the correct phrase “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," according to Thomas J. Olmsted, the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix.
Olmsted explained, "The issue with using ‘We’ is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is Christ, and Him alone, who presides at all of the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptizes," with the priest presumably acting as Christ’s surrogate to perform the sacrament.
The priest in question had performed hundreds, maybe thousands of baptisms over the course of his 20+ year career. But the Diocese determined that because he used the wrong word, "... all of the baptisms he has performed until June 17, 2021, are presumed invalid." He suggested this was a particularly serious error, since, according to the Catholic Church, "Baptism is a requirement for salvation."
"It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula,” said Father Arango.
So, do all of these people whom Father Arango baptized now need a do-over? Well, if any of them actually believed that the validity of their baptism hinged on just how precisely a ritual was performed, then yes, they most certainly do -- not so that the priest can correct his words, but rather that they might correct their faith.
The Scriptures teach that if we have sincerely placed our trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the eternal salvation of our souls, then our salvation is eternally secure. There is no human “formula” which can either codify or nullify it.
This story illustrates just how tenuous it is to place one's confidence in rituals. But the good news is that it is our faith in Christ, not in the proper performance of rituals, that saves us.
"Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death" (1 Pet 3:21, CEV).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9 NKJV).
Loving Church Not God
"We love all the incense, the stained glass windows, the organ music, the vestments, and all of that. It's drama. It's aesthetics, It's the ritual. That's neat stuff. I don't want to give all that up just because I don't believe in God."
- James Kelly, church-going Episcopalian from Washington, D.C.
Of course, the incense, the stained glass windows, the organ music, the vestments, the drama, the aesthetics, the ritual, etc., are all intended to point us to God. Why would anyone want the but not the real thing? Perhaps the answer is found in the fact that ritual has the capacity to make us feel better about ourselves without demanding any real change.
"They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" (2 Timothy 3:5, NLT).
Thou Shalt Not Fish
Sometimes, making rules and regulations can backfire:
Consider the case of the Flagship Hotel in Galveston, Texas. This pier based hotel, constructed in the 1960’s, stretched 1,000 feet out to sea, capturing a panoramic view. Since the balconies were directly above the ocean, management decided to place signs in the room stating, 'Do Not Fish on Balcony.'
When the hotel was completed and ready to open, guess what started to happen? Guests began to fish off their balconies. Hotel guests would tie large lead weights to their fishing line to reach the ocean floor several stories below. Some guests would cast their line and miss the ocean altogether and the line would swing back towards the hotel, along with the heavy lead weights. Unfortunately, there were large picture windows on the first floor dining room and hotel management had to replace a number of broken windows. The crashing sound of windows breaking was a common occurrence to dining room guests.
The solution??
After evaluating their predicament, management wisely decided to remove all the “Do not fish on balcony” signs. This immediately resolved the problem of guests fishing on the balcony. It turns out guests did not even think about fishing until they read the sign.
Because of our fallen nature, the Law can actually work like an invitation to sin. It can take something good and holy like the Law and twist it to promote evil. Sin warps love into lust, an honest desire to provide for one’s family into greed, achievment into arrogance, ambition into bloodthirstiness, and the Law iitself nto a promoter of sin.
"But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead" (Romans 7:8, NIV).
"Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin" (Romans 3:20).