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OCIA: Prayers of the Third Scrutiny (revised)

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Our nerdy journey into the new (yet retro) translation of the OCIA texts for the Scrutinies takes a divergent path this week (into the Latin original for comparison). A few reminders: These texts draw on the Gospel readings in Lent for Year A (Lent 3, 4, 5), all from the Gospel of John, all terrific narratives: the woman at the well, the man born blind, and (today’s subject) the raising of Lazarus. Each set of texts for a given liturgy includes prayers (a lead collect and prayer of exorcism, as Kent noted last week), for which there are two options. To illustrate my primary points this week, I’ve chosen the prayer of exorcism, Option B, and this week I took the time to find the Editio Typica, the official Latin text. Here we can see clearly the principle of formal correspondence at work in the recent OCIA translation, which “is not so much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 49). As Kent asked in his March 6 post, “Or do they achieve their own goal according to Liturgiam Authenticam of providing ‘language which is easily understandable, yet at the same time preserves these texts’ dignity, beauty, and doctrinal precision?’” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 25). 

First, look at the OCIA translation, the third column, and note the word in bold in each of the four sections of the prayer: “who ….” Then move to the middle column and see the bold word in the original Latin: “qui ….” The Latin text is laden with a relative clause in each section, all of which are retained in the OCIA translation, a clear example of the principle of formal correspondence at work. Note that the RCIA drops two of the relative clauses (in sections 1 and 3), likely to break up the prayer for an aural reading, in a way that, one might argue, uses “language which is easily understandable, yet at the same time preserves these texts’ dignity, beauty, and doctrinal precision.” In contrast to the prayers Kent analyzed last week, the translations are very close.

  1. As noted, the “who” (qui) is abandoned for “he” in the RCIA translation, allowing for the statement of Christ’s work to end with a period—a pause for the assembly to connect this prayer with the Gospel text. The only other difference is the infinitive (exire). The OCIA (to come forth) is an example “of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately,” while the RCIA, “to step forth,” is more vivid and concrete, emphasizing the human agency of Lazarus. Note also that this prayer of exorcism is addressed to Jesus, the One who overcame temptation by the Devil and who cast out demons.
  2. One need not be fluent in Latin to notice that the OCIA includes the Latin modifier “humbly,” while the RCIA omits the word, leading to speculation about the motives of scholars translating in the 1970s. Perhaps they felt it drew attention to those “humbly” praying at the expense of those for whom the prayer was offered, the Elect preparing for baptism. One can be more confident speculating about the reason for the RCIA addition of a second verb in the relative clause. In the OCIA version, the servants are hastening to both baptism and the Eucharist. But the RCIA not only translates the verb in more common vernacular (“eagerly approach”), but the translators also deliberately chose to include the word “hunger,” rendering the phrase “and hunger for the banquet of life.” As with the verb in section 1, “hunger” is more concrete, with an obvious connection to “the banquet.” “Hunger” evokes a physical sensation universally known, but here used with a spiritual meaning.
  3. Here is the heart of the petition, of the exorcism; the wording in the two translations is identical with the exception of the rendering of the relative clause. The OCIA’s translation is faithful and accurate: “Do not let the power of death hold back those who by their faith ….” What of the RCIA? “Do not let the power of death hold them back, for, by their faith, they …” The OCIA seems very straightforward—so much so that it seems “the servants” for whom this prayer is offered don’t really need our prayers. The RCIA wording implies that the power of death may impede their faith, and the prayer implicitly asks that their faith remain strong.
  4. Here the RCIA, by replacing “who” with “you” makes clear that this phrase is addressed to Jesus, not to those for whom the prayer is offered.

The liturgy calls for poetic language evocative of the human experience. To step forth … to hunger … these word choices bring concrete actions and feelings to the ambiguity of spiritual formation. While they may fail the text of formal correspondence, they are words of dignity and beauty.

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Banner photo “The Tomb of Lazarus” by Breen, A. E. (Andrew Edward) – A diary of my life in the Holy Land. J. P. Smith printing company Rochester, N.Y., (1906), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6771086

https://archive.org/details/OICA1972/page/n67/mode/2up?q=electus&view=theater

For the main text, see page 65-66, par. 178

For the Option B prayers, see page159-60, par. 378

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Order of Christian Initiation of Adults: Prayers of the Second Scrutiny

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This week in our nerdy journey we take up the prayers of the Second Scrutiny rite in the OCIA/RCIA. As Rhoda indicated last week, “our goal is to set forth some principles for making sound theological and pastoral decisions when borrowing rites and prayers from a variety of sources. Our nerdiness is earnest and with good purpose.” Just like the catechumenate itself!

The Second Scrutiny, often on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, follows the Presentation of the Creed. As we saw with the First Scrutiny, the orientation and purpose of the scrutinies in the modern RCIA is for the elect to “renounce sin and evil and profess faith in the Triune God at their baptism” (Guide for Celebrating Christian Initiation with Adults, 58). The Second Scrutiny follows the same pattern as the first (see the first post in this series for that pattern). The gospel reading for the 4th Sunday in Lent is the account of Jesus’ healing of the man born blind, John 9:1-41. The Second Scrutiny in light of this gospel reading emphasizes to the elect the ways in which blindness might affect them and where they need the light of Christ “so that they might see the truth” (Guide, 60). Seeing the truth, who is the Light of the world, is central to the conversion experience facilitated through the catechumenate. It leads them toward enlivened faith in the Triune God throughout the catechumenate culminating in God’s enlightening them in the baptismal water of their Jordan. These prayers for enlightenment direct the Elect to see their liberation from sin, evil, and the power of Satan in Christ Jesus. How do these prayers facilitate the Elect’s participation in the story told in John 9 as those born unable to see the light who are now led into the kingdom of light?

Here are the texts of both. The first prayer is the lead collect and the second prayer is the actual prayer of exorcism. Major differences are highlighted in italicized bold.

Father of mercy, you led the man born blind to the kingdom of light through the gift of faith in your Son. Free these elect from the false values that surround and blind them. Set them firmly in your truth, children of the light forever. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Lord Jesus, you are the true light that enlightens the world. Through your Spirit of truth free those enslaved by the father of lies. Stir up the desire for good in these elect, whom you have chosen for your sacraments. Let them rejoice in your light, that they may see, and, like the man born blind whose sight you restored, let them prove to be staunch and fearless witnesses to the faith, for you are Lord for ever and ever (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, Liturgy Training Publications, 1988, 98-9).

Most merciful Father, who granted the man born blind to believe in your Son, and through this faith to come to the kingdom of your light, grant also that your elect here present may be freed from deceits that surround and blind them, so that firmly grounded in the truth, they may become children of light and remain so forever. Through Christ our Lord.

Lord Jesus, true light who enlightens all people, by the Spirit of truth free all who are oppressed beneath the yoke of the Father of lies, and stir up good will in those you have chosen for your Sacraments, that, delighting in the joy of your light, and, like the blind man you once restored to sight, they may prove to be staunch and fearless witnesses to the faith. Who live and reign forever and ever (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, The Liturgical Press, 2018, 132-133).

  1. Light and Blindness: The man born blind and his encounter with Jesus is the focus of the story. Earthly light is unable to penetrate his sight. But his more profound inability to see is that he cannot see the Light of the world, Jesus the Christ. And so it is for the Elect. They are entering the kingfom of light just as he did. While both the OCIA and RCIA texts communicate this, in the first prayer the OCIA does it in a very clunky mechanistic way: “Granted and come to” versus “Led.” There is a simplistic elegance in God the Father leading the catechumens to the Light. In the second prayer the change from “world” to “people” has both positive and negative repercussions. The conversion of humanity is at the forefront of Jesus’ mission. But ultimately it leads to the enlightenment of the whole world.
  2. Faith and Kingdom: Lutheran proclivities shine through with the juxtaposition of these images. Entrance into the kingdom of light is through the sight of faith. In the OCIA the language implies that faith is the beginning of that entry: “through this faith to come to the kingdom of your light.” The RCIA implies that entrance into the kingdom is purely and always by faith: “you led the man born blind to the kingdom of light through the gift of faith in your Son.”
  3. Freedom and Deceits: The implications of enlightenment that leads the catechumens into the kingdom of light is that they are free from bondage in the darkness of sin, evil, and Satan. That is the ritual intention of the scrutiny rites: to effect that deliverance. Here the OCIA better captures the nature of the bondage: “freed from deceits.” However, the RCIA captures better the nihilistic age in which we live: “from the false values.” Make your pick depending upon what you are trying to emphasize. In the second prayer the OCIA is simply much more cumbersome: “free all who are oppressed beneath the yoke of the father of lies.” The RCIA is much more direct: “free those who are enslaved by the father of lies.” There is a simple earnestness of the church on behalf of the catechumens in the RCIA version.
  4. Delighting in joy versus Rejoicing: Here it is apparent how the traditional collect form imposes a certain clumsiness on the language. The RCIA concludes prayer #2 with the words “Let them rejoice in your light.” A result of entering the kingdom of light is pure rejoicing, in very active terms. I am reminded of the redeemed in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. There is pure rejoicing at being IN the light that streams from the city of God. Because the OCIA prayer has to make this a subordinate clause, the direct sense of the active and intensive activity of rejoicing is lost: “that, delighting in the joy of your light.” Delighting in the light is certainly delightful, but it is not the same as full-throated rejoicing. Granted, both will be a result of the entrance of the catechumens into the kingdom of light and of all believers into the eternal kingdom of light.

Admittedly these assessments are subtle. But they matter because the rhetoric of faith matters in the ritual moment. And that ritual moment is that all of us might be set firmly in God’s truth, even Jesus Christ our Lord, and be “children of the light forever.”

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Order of Christian Initiation of Adults: Handing on of the Creed

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We continue (as Kent coined it) our “nerdy” series comparing the Roman Catholic Church’s new OCIA translation with the earlier RCIA translation. Following the practice of the early church, the period of the Enlightenment (third stage of the catechumenate) includes “the handing on” of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (OCIA translation; the RCIA text says the “presentation of …”). The OCIA’s translation, although more clunky in English, follows the goal “of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 49). From the Latin word, traditio, comes tradition—the handing down of values and beliefs from one generation to the next. This “handing on” is the beginning of a process for the Elect to learn by heart these core Christian texts. The Creed, of course, is a core part of the baptismal rite, at which the elect will publicly assent to this summary of the work of the Triune God for human salvation.

Both sources call for the ritual to take place during a weekday mass, following the homily, which “explains the meaning and importance of the Creed” (RCIA, #159). Following the homily, the elect are invited forward, and the celebrant speaks the first line of the creed (either the Apostles’ or Nicene, although the Apostles’ is the “A” option), “And then he continues alone or with the community of the faithful” (OCIA). The RCIA is more explicit: “As the elect listen, he continues with the assembly of the faithful.” There is an exhortation to pray, time for silent prayer, and then a prayer for the elect. Here are the texts of both, with major differences highlighted in italicized bold; the numbers correspond to the analysis of section that follows.

RCIA
(1) Let us pray for these elect,
that God in his mercy may make them responsive to his love,
 
(2) so that through the waters of rebirth they may receive pardon for their sins and have life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All pray in silence. Then the celebrant, with hands outstretched over the elect, says:
 
(3) Lord, eternal source of light, justice, and truth, take under your tender care your servants N. and N.
 
(4) Purify them and make them holy; give them true knowledge, sure hope, and sound understanding, and make them worthy to receive the grace of baptism.
Amen.		OCIA
(1) Let us pray for our elect,
that our God and Lord will open the ears of their innermost hearts and the gate of mercy,

(2) so that, receiving remission of all sins through the cleansing waters of rebirth, they too may be found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All pray in silence. Then the celebrant, with hands extended over the elect says:
 
(3) O Lord, fount of light and truth, we invoke your eternal and supremely just compassion upon these your servants, N. and N.:

(4) cleanse and sanctify them, bestow on them true knowledge, firm hope, and holy doctrine, that they may be made worthy of attaining the grace of Baptism.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

  1. In both translations, God is the acting subject, but the OCIA translation has stronger concrete, albeit odd, imagery: “open the ears of their innermost hearts.” Perhaps the crafters of this language felt that if Paul could use the phrase “eyes of the heart” (Eph 1:18), an image of the heart with ears is equally evocative. If only this nerd had time to look at the Latin! The evocative image wins this round, beating out (pun intended) the terse RCIA version, even with the lovely way in which the RCIA phrasing puts the focus on the attributes of God’s love and mercy.
  2. Comparing first the verbs at the end: The RCIA “have life in” wins a point for more evocative language than the passive “be found” of OCIA. Note the addition in the OCIA of “cleansing” to modify the “waters of rebirth.” Here, I appeal to Luther, who was not a big fan of “cleansing” as an image for baptism, as it implies that the problem of sin is mild and external, remedied with soap and water. Not only that, but to pair “cleansing” with “rebirth” seems to muddy the waters (pun intended) of the birth language—the life-giving event that commences when the woman’s “water breaks” and the birthing process begins. RCIA scores another point.
  3. Oh, to have the Latin text before me! What is the verb form of the Latin? An imperative addressed to God (RCIA “take”) or the first-person plural indicative (OCIA “we invoke”)? Is the Latin the noun justitia (“justice,” paired with “light” and “truth” in the RCIA) or the superlative form of the adjective justus (“supremely just,” modifying “compassion” in the OCIA)? Lacking the time to answer these questions, the simplicity of the RCIA form wins the day. The OCIA may meet the translation goal “of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately,” but it fails the pastoral, aural test; reading both versions aloud ought to convince the skeptic. Keep the language clear and plain for the sake of the elect and assembly.
  4. Working from bottom to top, there are three issues. First, to be “made worthy to receive (OR of attaining) grace” is an oxymoron in Lutheran theology, even when God is doing the “making.” Grace, by definition, excludes one’s worthiness; it is an undeserved gift. Period. For Lutherans (or others not governed by canon law) who want to include the “handing on” of the Creed as a ritual in their catechumenal process, a suggested wording is “so that they may enter the water of rebirth with rejoicing.” Second, while I suspect that “holy doctrine” may be a more faithful, accurate translation, let’s play a modified form of the Sesame Street game “One of These Things.” Which noun better completes this trio: “… knowledge … hope” …”? To choose “understanding” over “doctrine” seems self-evident. Point for RCIA. Finally: To cleanse or to purify, that is the question. As noted earlier, “cleanse” is quite tame, signifying a simple remedy. To “purify” indicates a problem deep within; in a literal sense, it requires serious chemical reactions from a catalyst like fire that separates the dross from a precious metal (Malachi 3:3). From a Lutheran perspective, the metaphor of purifying wins, and the RCIA translation is worthy (as defined above) of another point.

Readers, did you keep score? We hope not; rather, our goal is to set forth some principles for making sound theological and pastoral decisions when borrowing rites and prayers from a variety of sources. Our nerdiness is earnest and with good purpose.

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Image: The Apostles’ Creed; European Tapestry, circa 1550-1600
Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Apostles_Creed_MET_SC105541.jpg

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Order of Christian Initiation of Adults: Prayers of the First Scrutiny

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Last week we discussed the approaches to translating the texts of the Roman Catholic Latin rites of the catechumenate reflected in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and in the new Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. This week we begin teasing out how those changes are reflected in the actual translations. Our first case study are the prayers of the First Scrutiny Rite on the 3rd Sunday in Lent. As I (Kent) noted in this blog several moons ago the orientation and purpose of the scrutinies in the modern RCIA is to allow the elect to renounce sin and evil and to make their profession of faith in the Triune God at their baptism. The scrutinies ritually express the turn from the lordship of sin, evil, and the devil and submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. The scrutiny rites are structured according to this pattern:

  • Readings from Series A (woman at the well, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus, seeking to illuminate the lives of the elect)
  • Homily (which includes exploration of the meaning of the scrutiny)
  • Silent prayer by the presider, sponsors, elect, and the assembly
  • Intercessions for the elect
  • Exorcism Prayer
  • [Psalm/Hymn/Song]
  • Dismissal of the elect

We will focus on the Exorcism Prayers. The Exorcism Prayers contain three parts: An initial prayer over all of the elect; individual silent prayer by the presider over each of the elect; a concluding prayer over all of the elect. I am going to focus this week on the first prayer of the exorcism prayers. In terms of the assessment of the prayers we should keep in mind two things. First, this Sunday through the Gospel reading focuses on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well and her conversion to faith in the Messiah. Second, the primary orientations in terms of translation under the guidance of Comme le prévoit for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Liturgiam Authenticam for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. The former is “hearer-oriented” while being textually faithful. It wants the text to make sense for the hearer in that given linguistic context. The latter focuses on formal correspondence, translating the Latin as faithfully and literally as possible while creating a text that flows in the vernacular language in the rhythm of popular prayer.

Here are the two initial prayer texts from the Exorcism Prayer (RCIA first, OCIA second):

God of power, you sent your Son to be our Savior. Grant that these catechumens, who, like the woman of Samaria, thirst for living water, may turn to the Lord as they hear his word and acknowledge the sins and weaknesses that weigh them down. Protect them from vain reliance on self and defend them from the power of Satan. Free them from the spirit of deceit, so that, admitting the wrong they have done, they may attain purity of heart and advance on the way to salvation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, Liturgy Training Publications, 1988, 84).

O God, who sent your Son to us as Savior, grant that these elect, who desire to draw living water like the Samaritan woman and have been converted by the Word of the Lord, may acknowledge the hindrance of their own sins and weaknesses. Do not permit them, we pray, to rely on a vain confidence in themselves, and to be deceived by the power of the devil, but free them from the spirit of untruth, so that, recognizing their sinfulness, they may be cleansed inwardly and advance on the way of salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, The Liturgical Press, 2018, 116-117).

Note that both texts pray for the elect in light of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus. Thus, the prayer is intended to allow the elect to understand their own conversion to trust in Christ and his lordship from within the story of the Samaritan woman, to read their life in light of that story. How well does either prayer accomplish that? I’ll return to that at the end. In addition, note that the OCIA prayer is written in traditional collect fashion. It is one continuous prayer. The RCIA translation is written according to modern English syntax and oral patterns with shorter sentences and phrases, but still following the ancient collect structure.

Now let’s examine five different phrases in the two translations:

  • “thirst for living water” versus “desire to draw living water.” The RCIA text expresses faith in more active vocabulary that reflects the Gospel narrative. The OCIA is more abstract.
  • “turn to the Lord as they hear his word” versus “converted by the word of the Lord.” The RCIA text reflects the effective power of the Word through hearing it in the catechumenate as the means by which the Lord converts people. The active engagement with the oral word is lost in the OCIA version.
  • “sins and weaknesses that weigh them down” versus “may acknowledge the hindrance of their own sins and weaknesses.” Weigh is much more evocative language than hindrance in conveying the effect of sin.
  • “spirit of deceit” versus “the spirit of untruth.” Both of these phrases are effective but communicate differently. The RCIA focuses on how Satan’s lordship deceives the human. The OCIA focuses on how Satan’s lordship leads away from the truth in Christ.
  • “attain purity of heart” versus “cleansed inwardly.” For a Lutheran, neither of these are possible in this life so the prayer would need to be adapted to reflect the striving for this in sanctification while acknowledging it is only realized in the eschaton. However, the RCIA language is yet more evocative. Envisioning what being cleansed inwardly looks like is challenging.

So, how well does either prayer facilitate the elect reading their lives in light of the Gospel reading? The evocative vocabulary and language reflective of modern English thought patterns and usage of the RCIA translation, allows the hearer to hear their life in light of the reading in deeper and more profound ways.

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Order of Christian Initiation of Adults: Translating the Rites

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We embark on a series during Lent that might seem the height of all nerdiness to some (and Rhoda and I might rightly be accused of being liturgical nerds). With the appearance of the new 2018 translation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults last November from the Roman Catholic Church, it seemed appropriate to us to begin exploring this new translation. It is the form of catechumenate that the Roman Catholics will be using in English into the foreseeable future. So, we will compare prayer texts over the next five weeks from the stage of enlightenment and final preparation for baptism from the former process, The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, and the new translation, with each other. Nerdy as it may seem, important issues such as clear understanding and participation in the process by which God through the church is making new Christians is at stake in the translations and in any Lutheran adaptation of them. Failure to understand and participate hinders the vary process of making Christians through the catechumenate itself.

What got this whole process of providing new translations for all the Roman liturgical books and rites started was the 2001 document Liturgiam Authenticam: Fifth Instruction on Vernacular Translation in the Roman Liturgy. Since in many ways some of the translations immediately after Vatican II were considered provisional, it was expected that new translations would appear in the future. All the original translations were guided by the first instruction Comme le prévoit of 1969, which was supplanted essentially by Liturgiam Authenticam. The catechumenate was one of the last documents to be translated anew. Comme le prévoit operated under the translation principle of dynamic equivalence. As John Baldovin observes, “It is as concerned with the receiver as it is with the original text. In other words, how is this text going to make sense (in an oral/aural fashion) for the listeners? This approach gave translators great leeway in fashioning texts and inspired avoiding a wooden literalism when translating” (Baldovin, 117). Liturgiam Authenticam on the other hand operated under the principle of formal correspondence, a literal, word-for-word approach. As Liturgiam Authenticam itself says,

“The translation of the liturgical texts of the Roman Liturgy is not so much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language. While it is permissible to arrange the wording, the syntax and the style in such a way as to prepare a flowing vernacular text suitable to the rhythm of popular prayer, the original text, insofar as possible, must be translated integrally and in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without paraphrases or glosses. Any adaptation to the characteristics or the nature of the various vernacular language is to be sober and discreet” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 49; italics mine).

In previous translations, such as the Missal, some of the prayer texts are cumbersome and lack clarity in meaning. Is that the case for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults under the principle of formal correspondence? Or do they achieve their own goal according to Liturgiam Authenticam of providing “language which is easily understandable, yet at the same time preserves these texts’ dignity, beauty, and doctrinal precision?” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 25). Only an examination of the texts from the RCIA versus The Order can determine that.  One that was helpful and positive was the change of title. The RCIA was always a series of rites, a process including significant ritual action that birthed new Christians. It is an order, a process that identifies and creates a vocation, in this case catechumens, within the church’s life. And, as Stephen Wilbricht notes, “We have long been accustomed to abbreviating the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults as the RCIA. It is time that we cease this unfortunate habit” [Wilbricht, “Synodality, Baptismal Ecclesiology, and Welcoming a Newly Translated Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, Worship 98 (October 2024), 305].

So, nerd away on prayer texts we shall over the next five weeks as we make the journey to the paschal feast in sincerity and truth. May these prayer texts invite us into that mystery. And may we keep in mind the words of Pope Paul VI when he said of the sacrifice of the priceless treasure of the Latin for the vernacular languages, “What is worth more than these sublime values of the church. The answer may seem trite and prosaic, but it is sound because it is both human and apostolic. Our understanding of prayer is worth more than the previous, ancient garments in which it has been regally clad. Of more value, too, is the participation of the people” (quoted in John Baldovin, Reforming the Liturgy, 117). Undoubtedly a truly catholic sentiment.

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Field Trip to Explore Multicultural Ministry

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We (Kent and Rhoda) will be presenting the opening plenary address at Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium, May 6-7, 2025. Our concern to have concrete, firsthand data coalesced with the desire of a pastoral team in Springdale, Arkansas, to have outside “consultants” visit and make recommendations for strengthening congregational faith formation across generations. It was a match made in heaven and came to pass through the work of the Holy Spirit and a generous grant from the Mid-South District of the LCMS.

On Saturday, February 22, we arrived in Springdale and received a warm welcome from Pastors Adam Gless and Brandon Martin, who serve the bilingual Salem Lutheran Church. During our four-day visit we worshipped with the congregation; broke bread with congregational members; attended Bible studies and faith formation gatherings for adults and for youth and their parents; and interviewed a variety of members.

And yes, there was time for relaxation and fun, as the banner photo and gallery of photos indicate. Those who know Kent will not be surprised to see him under the banner of Rendezvous Junction Brewery. A thoughtful colleague, he made Adam and Brandon aware that my beverage of choice is wine, that, according to the Psalmist, “gladdens the heart” (Ps. 104:15). The bartender “poured”—squeezed is more accurate—a generous glass of rose from the “dregs” of the bladder of the (un)boxed wine. One can see the seriousness with which each of the guys approached the flights of beer as they hunched over the beer rating apps on their cellphones. As we parted after a sumptuous breakfast Thursday morning, the four of us gave thanks to God for our time together; we pray our research will be a blessing for the people of Salem Lutheran and for the church at large.

To learn more about our findings, we recommend attending the Multiethnic Symposium. Click for more information.

Rating each flight sample: There’s an app for that!
There’s no beer in heaven, so they’re drinking it here.

Banner photos by anonymous, friendly person at table next to us at brewery. Gallery of photos by Rhoda Schuler.

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Baptism as Incorporation into the Body of Christ

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Last week Kent concluded his post with a quote from Max Johnson noting the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in questions “about faith, justification, ecclesiology, eschatology, and the meaning of the eucharist.” With that assertion in mind, we turn to the final chapter of Images of Baptism, Baptism as Incorporation into the Body of Christ. Johnson’s thesis (echoing both/and statements typical among Lutherans) claims that in baptism the person is incorporated into both the Head, Christ, and his body, the church:

It is not that we are first initiated into union and communion with Christ and then as a consequence into the community of the church. Rather, baptism itself signifies and effects both at the same time (Images of Baptism, 109-10, emphasis in original).

Reflecting his own ecumenical spirit, Johnson draws on Roman Catholic theologians Karl Rahner and Edward Schillebeeckx before turning to Lutherans Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Carl Braaten to support his thesis. A quotation from Braaten draws together the Christological, ecclesiological, and eschatological dimensions of this chapter: “The church is Christ as his bodily presence in the world, prefiguring the future of the world in the kingdom of God” (Braaten, Mother Church, 7 in Images of Baptism, 111, emphasis added by Johnson).

After warning against chasing after a romanticized ideal of “the church” as a cozy community, Johnson offers three biblical images as “proper” ways to understand what the church is, and, more importantly, ways to live as the body of Christ in the world.

Church as a Priestly Community

… the community of the church is a particular kind of community, one that knows itself as engaged in active priestly ministry and self-sacrificial service in the world. The body of Christ is not a community bent on its own survival or self-preservation. The body of Christ, who is Priest, Prophet and King, exists that it may die in Christ, so that it may extend itself for the life of others as it continues its baptismal pilgrimage through death to resurrection (Images of Baptism, 118).

Church as an Ecumenical-Inclusive-Catholic Community

… we are not really baptized “Catholic” or “Lutheran” or anything else. We should strive to remove such an incomplete theology of baptismal identity from our vocabulary (Images of Baptism, 121-22). [Referencing 1 Corinthians 1:13 and Ephesians 4:4-6 he says,] Christian unity is, above all, not a demand, not a call, but already a gift to be received and further realized gratefully…. Through baptism all are incorporated into the one Christ, the one church, the one body of Christ (Images of Baptism, 121, emphasis in original).

The Community of the Church as the “Communion of Saints”

To be incorporated into that body is to be incorporated into communion with the “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone on before us and who, according to the Letter to the Hebrews (11–12), fill the great stadium to cheer us on as we follow Christ, our great pioneer in the pilgrimage to the eschatological City of God (Images of Baptism, 128).

His trinity of images speaks to our current context, evoking ways to imagine the church that can inspire us

  • To be a priestly community “not … bent on its own survival or self-preservation” but for the sake of others;
  • To live with gratitude that, in spite of the fractured witness of the church, we, as the body of Christ, are already one;
  • To rest in the assurance that the communion of saints transcends space and time; we are not alone in our priestly pilgrimage.

We have made it possible for readers to comment on our blog posts. What insights have you gained from this series on Images of Baptism? We would gladly receive your comments.

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Image: Padua Baptistry
Frescos by Giusta de’ Menabuoi, 14th century
Photo, © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, 2016
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Communion_of_saints_-_Baptistry_-_Padua_2016.jpg

Easter Vigil 2019 (90)

Images of Baptism: Sacrament and Seal of the Holy Spirit

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                In our last post Rhoda concluded by highlighting the two primary biblical images of baptism: the tomb and the womb. Permeating those two primary images is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is a thread through all of the images of baptism because as Maxwell Johnson says, “the one great and single mystery of our Christian faith” is the “unitive nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection and [the] gift of the Holy Spirit” (Images of Baptism, 73). Yet, as a thread through all of the images of baptism we can lose sight of the Spirit as gift and of the Spirit’s work. This happened in ritual history with the dissolution in the removal of baptismal sealing (anointing) from baptism itself and the creation of the distinct sacrament/rite of growth, confirmation. So, we must focus on the gift as a seal of the Holy Spirit as a distinct image of baptism. Paul himself does this in Ephesians when he says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit is poured out on the disciples of Christ Jesus abundantly through baptism. It seals us in the Holy Spirit who both fills and surrounds our living as children of God. The intent is that that seal is both complete and enduring into the kingdom of God. As Johnson says,

“It is the Holy Spirit, the very breath of God in us, who conforms us to the dying and rising of Christ in our lives, who brings us to new birth and regenerates us to new life in the living waters and womb of the font, who seals us in down payment for redemption, who gives us special charisms and gifts for the building up of and living within Christ’s body, the church, the Spirit of God who directs us in our mission of reconciling love, forgiveness and justice in the world, the Spirit alone who makes it possible for us to say, “We believe” or “I believe” in the first place” (Images of Baptism, 74-75).

The Holy Spirit is sent by Christ as our anointing in Him in baptism so that we might live at the direction of the Spirit.

               It is that anointing in baptism by the Holy Spirit that is symbolized and expressed through the postbaptismal anointings in the western tradition. Historically the West has had a presbyteral anointing and an episcopal anointing. Whether we are talking about both as independent ritual actions or a combination of them, they both express that through the Word in the water the person is anointed with the Holy Spirit. As Johnson says, the baptismal water and the Spirit go together inseparably (80). “It is the presence and gift of the Holy Spirit that makes all the difference in the world in terms of baptism’s meaning and significance. Christian baptism is ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit!’” (Images of Baptism, 80).

               This should have significant implications for our practice of baptism and of the catechumenate. As Johnson shows through the New Testament witness and as an implication of the anointing of the Spirit, all baptismal life in Christ is directed by the Spirit. If the Spirit is poured out in baptism, then that should be ritually expressed by anointing in baptism. It should not be delayed to the rite of confirmation. Doing so deconstructs the reality that as Johnson says, “all life in Christ is dependent upon the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit” (Images of Baptism, 82). Baptism as the gift of the Holy Spirit calls for the practice of post-baptismal anointing.

               The practice of the catechumenate bears out the reality that all life in Christ is dependent upon the Spirit. In no way can the catechumenate be understood as some great Pelagian enterprise, as Johnson indicates (Images of Baptism, 88). “A clear baptismal spirituality places the emphasis where it should be: on God, the great author and initiator of salvation” (Images of Baptism, 88). Conversion through the catechumenal process, as Johnson notes, is grounded in the Spirit’s activity and “the Holy Spirit is active before, in and after baptism” (Images of Baptism, 89). The catechumenate is the ground for the Spirit’s activity through the Word. As Johnson indicates, “Baptism invites the gathered assembly to faith, trust, dependency and receptivity to the sheer gift of God’s baptismal grace. The minds and hearts of that assembly are to be continually directed back to the foundational realities of new birth and new life in the Spirit” (Images of Baptism, 91). That is exactly what the catechumenate does in all its fullness.

               Baptism as the seal of the Holy Spirit is in the end about everything regarding Christian faith and life post Christ’s ascension. “Questions about faith, justification, spirituality, ecclesiology, eschatology and the meaning of the eucharist are ultimately always questions about the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s role in forming people as believers in and disciples of Christ” (Images of Baptism, 102). Sounds very much like the catechumenate to me!

Banner photo: Post-baptismal anointing with chrism at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, The Bronx, New York.

font 1200 x 628

Images of Baptism: New Birth and Adoption

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To read Images of Baptism is a bit like being back in the classroom (as I was three decades ago) with Maxwell E. Johnson, whose teaching style was direct, straight forward, to the point, and thus quite engaging. His introduction to chapter 2, “Baptism as New Birth and Adoption,” begins by stating liturgical scholarship’s “accepted” evolution of baptismal theology in the early church: Eastern traditions had an emphases on regeneration, new birth, and adoption “rooted in Jesus’ own baptism in the Jordan” and the West had a focus on “baptism as a ritual of death, burial resurrection in Christ” (Images of Baptism, 39). He continues, “To say that baptism as ‘new birth’ or adoption ‘by water and the Holy Spirit’ is only a characteristically Eastern image or focus, however, is simply incorrect…. The image of new birth and adoption is as much Western as it is Eastern” (42, emphasis in original).

Johnson’s goal is to expand our baptismal theology to include the full range of images and metaphors expressed in Scripture; as he says, “How one thinks of baptism will shape how one views Christian life and identity” (64). He succinctly summarizes the two primary images of baptism shaping Christian identity:

For one spirituality, baptism is the tomb in which the sinful self is put to death in Christ. For the other spirituality, baptism is the womb through which the Mothering Spirit of God give new birth and new life (64, emphasis in original).

In good Lutheran fashion, Johnson does not see these images as either/or but rather as both/and, embracing the seeming paradox of baptism as a sacrament that calls for the death of the sinner while at the same time declaring that the one being baptized is a beloved child of God. This latter image, with the baptism of Jesus as the paradigm, links Christians to the Incarnation, as Athanasius said, “God became what we are so that we could be made what he is” (quoted by Johnson, 64).

I close with two of the questions Max Johnson poses in this chapter (Images of Baptism, 64-65), inviting comments from you, the reader (a new feature to our blog posts).

What might it mean to say in our catechesis of parents who present their children for baptism, that in a real sense they are presenting “their” children for “adoption” into a whole new family network of relationships …?  

What might such [language] mean for the identity, nature and mission of the church in the world, empowered by the baptismal Spirit, which understands itself to be so closely united with Christ that, as the very body of Christ, it shares in the divine nature?

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Banner photo: Font at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Wheaton, Illinois. By Rhoda Schuler.

Easter Vigil 2019 (78)

Images of Baptism: Participation in the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ

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It is the quintessential image of baptismal images as Paul says in Romans 6: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). Since Vatican II with its proclamation of the Paschal Mystery, it has become the chief image for baptism. The primary pattern of culminating the catechumenal process at the Easter Vigil as expressing Christ’s Passover from death to life has only cemented this primary association. In its predominancy lies both the challenge and the gift. The challenge? Ignoring other images in deference to this one. The remainder of the blogs in this series will address that challenge. The gift? In Maxwell Johnson’s words, “How, then, might this foundational and rich image or metaphor of baptismal death, burial and resurrection in Christ be rescued from the realm of contemporary cliché and brought to new life within the church today?” (Images of Baptism, 5).

New life for this image surfaces under a number of themes. First, Johnson acknowledges that death must truly be death for us. There must be no escaping it. We must let death be death. That means we must experience our dying as death. Quoting Jennifer Glenn, he notes the unassailing loss of death: “The vision of death lurking within the experience of sickness seems to cut off the future absolutely, at least from the experiential and imaginative viewpoint. With the loss of the future goes the loss of meaning…life and its relationships threaten to become absurd” (8). In this experience death is not cosmetized at all. And Christ’s death must fully be death. He must be encountered as the crucified Christ who cries out in his forsakenness.

Experiencing death as death raises the question, what does our death and burial in him mean? Well, it means hope. As Johnson says, “For Paul, baptism is really about our participation in the death and burial of Christ in the hope of our ultimate resurrection in him….Whatever the future holds in Christ, because of baptism death itself is a reality and experience already behind us! . . . Because of baptism into Christ we are already dead! (18-19).

This means for Christians that baptism becomes, as they approach death, the rehearsal for death. Quoting the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin who wrote of his own impending death, “Our participation in the paschal mystery—in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus—brings a certain freedom: the freedom to let go, to surrender ourselves to the living God, to place ourselves completely in his hands, knowing that ultimately he will win out!….It’s in the act of abandonment that we experience redemption, that we find life, peace, and joy in the midst of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering” (23).

That experience of hope in the midst of death—a baptismal experience—has implications for a church that lives as though dead in the world. Living in hope as a result of dying and rising in Christ means that the church can fully live in mission to the world that God will renew in the living One. As Johnson expresses, “A church dead and buried by baptism into Christ is liberated from the fear of death itself and, therefore, can dare to risk itself in a mission of suffering service in the world because it knows and seeks to know only the cross and suffering with the world as the way to resurrection” (28). A church buried with Christ in baptism into his death is a church that can live in the resurrection for the sake of the world. So Johnson can affirm, “From that watery grave emerges a servant community of the cross, which expects nothing other than what its Servant-Master himself endured and experienced. Who knows what kind of church might yet arise when such baptismal-Paschal Mystery imagery is embraced by the baptized themselves?” (29). Then baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ will truly be a living metaphor in the life of the redeemed community of the crucified One.

 

 

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