Last night I had the joy of leading worship and giving the message at Christ the Redeemer in Phoenix.
The service included a Baptismal Reaffirmation which included this beautiful prayer: Lord God, I am Your child. You named me with Your own holy name before I could speak. You made me Your own before I could move a hand to help or prevent You. You insisted on having me even though You knew the end of my life as well as its beginning, its shame as well as its glory, its failures as well as its achievements, its bad as well as its good. Forgive me, Father, for so often wandering away from You, Your forgiveness, Your joy, Your promises, and Your love in Jesus Christ. Help me to live in the freedom of my baptism, and the faith You have given me.
You have called me by my name. I am baptized. I belong to You. Amen.
I especially appreciated the words, "I am baptized." It is said that when Martin Luther was being tormented by the evil one, he would respond with words like, "Say what you will, devil. But I am baptized!"
Jane Fryer, who wrote the devotions for "Today's Light" Bible, penned these words regarding baptism, inspired by Romans 6:1-6: In God's ledger, your debt is wiped out. The sinful person you once were died on Calvary with Christ. That person was buried with Christ in Baptism. Now you have been raised with Christ from the dead. You have a whole new life, a fresh start. In your Baptism, it's a new day - every day!
So, we all had the opportunity to walk up to the Baptismal Font, dip our fingers into the water and make the sign of the cross upon our foreheads that marked us as those redeemed by the crucified Christ.
Following Confession and Absolution, the inposition of ashes was a part of the service, followed immediately by Holy Communion. We are reminded by the ashes that "dust you are and to dust you shall return." But death is not the end for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Holy Meal reminds us that we are forgiven of our sins for Christ's sake and that we have a place in heaven through faith in our Savior.
As the service ended, we prayed together this Sending Prayer: Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the Word which we have heard this day, may through Your grace, be so engrafted in my heart, that I may bring forth the Fruit of the Spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
All in all, it was a fitting way to get Ash Wednesday and the observance of Lent off to a good start. May you see your Savior in a brand new light as you journey with Him to cross and tomb this Lenten season.
