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).
Holding the Reservation
Jerry: I made a reservation for a mid-size...
Rental Car Agent: Okay, ler' see here. I'm sorry, we have no midsize available at the moment.
Jerry: I don't understand. Do you have my reservation?
Rental Car Agent: We have your reservation, we just ran out of cars.
Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation.
Rental Car Agent: I think I know why we have reservations.
Jerry: I don't think you do. You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.
Do you have a reservation in Heaven? Various world religions claim to provide reservations in Heaven for their adherents, but only God can hold them. That was precisely Jesus' promise when He said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am" (John 14:1-3, NLT).
Think about it. What good is a religion that only takes reservations? But Jesus not only makes the reservation, He also holds it for us!
Protecting Your Identity
Occasionally I will check my credit report to make sure no one has stolen my identity. On one occasion, I could not remember my user name for the Experian website. So, I clicked on the "Forgot Username" button to have it sent to me by e-mail.
Then they wanted my birthdate and my Social Security number. Ten minutes later the e-mail arrived with my username. I went back to the Experian website and logged in without any difficulty.
But logging in was not enough. I remained locked out until I typed in the six-digit number they texted to my phone. Finally, I was in and the screen said, "Thank you for helping keep your identity secure!"
Experian goes to great lengths to protect my identity. To log in as me, a thief would have to know my email, my login, my birthdate, my SS number, my cell number, and have my cell phone in their possession. If someone had all that information they would be able to impersonate me, take out loans in my name, and cause me great harm.
Of even greater value, though, is my identity in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." This new identity is also worth protecting.
According to Jesus, there is a thief who would like to steal this identity, and he does this by lying to us about who we are and what we have been given in Christ (John 10:10).
We must be vigilant to maintain a strong sense of our spiritual identity in Christ, at least as vigilantly as Experian fights to protect our personal identity in this world.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4,5, NKJV)