Baptism: The Dangers & Transformation in Water
The Baptism of our Lord The Rev. Dr. Sheila N. McJilton@St. Philip’s in Laurel07 January, 2018 Baptism of PMABReadings: Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 Act Mark 1:4-11
Preaching Series: “Down the Hallway of Faith with Harry Potter”
January 7 – February 11, 2018
If you are a Harry Potter fan, you know that there is no overt rite of Holy Baptism in any of the books or movies. In fact, although J.K. Rowling is a Christian—in fact, an Anglican Christian—she never writes explicitly about the Christian faith. Rowling has drawn millions of people into a magical world. Yet her Christian connections to wizards and Muggles. . .(a Muggle is someone with no magical powers and doesn’t know about the world of wizards)[1]—her connections are subtle.Yet while “the Harry Potter scenes do not have a direct religious or spiritual aspect. . .they [do] focus on ‘rebirth’ or renewal, taking characters (and readers) to new places, plot, and conflict. . .[This is] similar to how baptism brings Christians into a new life of Christ.”[2]
What does the sacrament of baptism mean? Is it important? Is it just a sweet ceremony that gives us a chance to coo over babies and enjoy cake with family and friends? Even other traditions have some kind of rite for babies. The Jewish faith has the bris ceremony, performed on an eight-day old male, either in a home or synagogue. More evangelical faith communities don’t do infant baptisms. However, many have adopted a “naming” or “dedication” ceremony, to recognize babies in their congregations.In the ancient Church, babies were not baptized. Adults were the only ones baptized—and they were not baptized until they had gone through three years of vigorous catechism. These un-baptized people could come to the worship service, to hear readings, sermons and prayers. Yet they had to leave before communion was distributed. If you wanted to be baptized in the early Church, you had to prove yourself. First, you had to attend three years of vigorous teachings of the faith. Second, you had to prove, through your actions over that period of time, that you were not just infiltrating the ranks so you could betray Christians to an emperor who persecuted the group. Remember Nero was already putting Christians to death by the year 67 CE. People in certain professions were suspect. You can guess some of them—those whose way of living was considered to be outside the boundaries of good society. Yet there were others: people like soldiers, tax collectors, sculptors, painters (those folks made “idols” with their artwork, you see), charioteers or gladiators, actors in the theatre, and of course, anyone who was a “priest of idols.”[3] So if you fell into any of those categories, you had to quit your job and figure out some way to make a living.If you made this radical commitment to follow Jesus as a disciple, then you could be baptized.“On the Thursday before Easter (what we now call Maundy Thursday), the person being baptized began a period of fasting, praying, confessing sin, and attending Scripture readings and instructions. Exorcisms were also performed, in order to banish demons from the person.”[4] After three days of these disciplines, you were baptized on the one night a year when baptisms were done: at the Easter Vigil, or the night before Easter. It was a full immersion.
The Church preferred living, or running, water. So in the beginning, if not near a river, they often used structures that had been used for a Jewish mikvah—a cleansing bath—with three steps on one side and three on the other. You entered from one direction, you left from the other.Women, men and children were all baptized separately, because you had to remove your clothing before being baptized. You would have renounced Satan and evil, been anointed with oil—for exorcism—then you made a triple confession of faith—in Father, Son and Holy Spirit—before you were totally immersed three times in water. Then you were anointed with oil again—this time as a symbol of gratitude and thanksgiving.[5] Then you would have “dried off, put on clothes [note: a white robe], and entered the congregation to pray and take the Eucharist. For the newly baptized, the Eucharist included a cup of water, symbolizing the washing that had occurred, and a cup of milk and honey, symbolizing the food of infants and entrance into the Promised Land.”I now invite you to get out a Book of Common Prayer, and turn to page 302. Here, you will see how closely our baptismal rite resembles the ancient rites—although on pages 312 and 313, you’ll see that we added three additional feast days other than Easter Vigil on which we can baptize, and we now baptize infants and toddlers. We also no longer require three years of intense instruction. Maybe we should. We modern human beings value something so much more if it costs us something, or if it is difficult to achieve. So this begs the question of how committed our lives become if baptism is not understood as a deeply radical, life-transformng sacrament.
In thinking about the radical nature and risk involved in Holy Baptism, I would like to reflect on two references to baptism in J.K. Rowling’s work. The first reference is in Goblet of Fire. Remember that Cedric Diggory and Harry are competing for the Triwizard Cup. Harry saves Cedric twice during that competition. When they both reach the Cup, they argue, because each want the other to take it. Finally, they decide they’ll do it together, so they grab the handles. They didn’t know this, but the Cup is a Portkey. In Harry Potter, a Portkey is any object that can be transformed “to whisk witches and wizards away to a prearranged destination the instant they touch it.”[6]The next thing the boys know, they are in a cemetery, near a “towering marble headstone.” A mysterious, short figure—cloaked and hooded--is carrying a bundle. Suddenly, he cruelly puts the killing curse (Avada Kedavra) on Cedric, and Harry is left alone. Quickly, the short figure conjures “tight cords around Harry, tying him from neck to ankles to the headstone.”[7] Wormtail (for that is who the short, hooded figure is) then pushes a huge stone cauldron to the foot of the grave of this headstone. He sets a fire under the cauldron, and after the water is steaming, Wormtail—the servant-priest—lowers down into this dark water the pathetic creature he has been carrying.
However, unlike the waters of Holy Baptism, this dark, simmering concoction has three unholy elements. Wormtail raises his wand and says “‘Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son.’A fine trickle of dust [rises] into the air and falls into the cauldron. ‘Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master.’” Then after Wormtail has severed his own right hand and thrown this into the brew, he takes his dagger, cuts Harry’s arm, and collects that blood in a glass vial. When he throws Harry’s blood into the cauldron—“unwillingly given”— Lord Voldemort rises out of the white steam.[8] The Dark Lord is back. This baptism has been radical and transformative—yet in an evil way.
The second subtle baptism reference is in the Deathly Hallows. In the forest, Harry’s Doe Patronus appears and leads Harry to a frozen-over pond. What is a Patronus? “As Professor Lupin tells Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban, the Patronus is ‘a kind of Anti-Dementor – a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.’ It’s also ‘a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon –hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it.’ The Patronus has two forms. It can look like a silvery mist, or it can have a form that is clearly defined .”[9] Like Harry’s doe.Now Harry sees Gryffindor’s Sword at the bottom of the pond. Despite the winter cold and ice, Harry dives in to retrieve it. You may remember that Harry wears a locket around his neck. He, Hermione and Ron have taken turns wearing it, even though they realize it has some strange and negative effect on the mood of whichever one is wearing it. It turns out that this locket is a real Horcrux.“A Horcrux is an object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Horcruxes can only be created after committing murder, the supreme act of evil.[10]We never really know why Harry continues to wear it—even when he suspects it is a symbol of evil. We just know that he does.Yet this is almost a fatal error, because as Harry dives for Gryffindor’s sword, the Horcruz around his neck tries to strangle him. Only when Ron—who has been estranged from Harry—shows up, dives in and helps, does Harry survive. “By diving into the pool (immersion), Ron [reestablishes] himself as Harry’s friend after his betrayal (the redemption). Indeed, in this case, we actually see a turning away from the hero, just as an unbaptized Christian is out of tune with God. [In the following scene] Ron even faces temptation when he tries to destroy the Horcrux, just as Christians are tempted to sin.”[11]One can argue, then, that this icy “baptism” of both Harry and Ron leads to new awareness.Harry now knows the ultimate power of this locket.It contains destruction and evil. Harry is also re-connected to his friend Ron, so we see renewal (of love and friendship), and new life. Furthermore, when Ron finally summons the courage to destroy the locket, on some level, he renounces evil and says yes to the good.If you have read Deathly Hallows, or watched the movie, you know that this “baptism” is dangerous. Water is life-giving. Water is also dangerous. Like Harry, who decided to dive into icy, deep water, you run the risk of drowning. Full immersion in water has the potential to drown you. Water has the potential to give life, and take it.
As Christians, we see living water, in this sacrament of Holy Baptism, that can give us new life. Whether we choose to be baptized as an adult, or speak these vows on behalf of an innocent child—which then commits us to helping that child along her Christian journey—we first must confess our sin, repent, turn to God. In other words, we acknowledge that God is God and we are not. We acknowledge that because of our broken and sinful nature, and because of our deliberate, bad choices, we are separated. Separated from God who invites us into an amazing, loving relationship that can make us whole.So when a priest stands with either the adult who is being baptized, or the parents and godparents of a baby, she asks three questions. “Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?”. . . “Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?”. . . “Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?”[12] Three times, evil is rejected, with “I renounce them.”Then come three other questions, and in the ancient Church, you would have literally turned in the opposite direction for these affirmations: “Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?”. . . “Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?”. . . “Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?”[13] Three questions about love, acceptance of your full heritage, and fullness of life. The answer? “I do.”Your Christian journey may not seem as epic as the journey Harry Potter takes as he claims the fullness of who he really is. Yet your journey is unique. God has created you. God sustains you. God has put you on this earth to achieve something—even if that something is to live fully into the knowledge that you are God’s beloved child, and with you God is well pleased. Your purpose is to live fully into how you love God and show God’s love to others.Today, we might imagine that your Patronus has led you to this moment, and has revealed something precious that helps you to live more fully into who you are, and your heritage. Are you willing to follow Jesus as his disciple and claim that heritage? Perhaps Jesus—the ultimate “Patronus”—waits at the edge of the water for your answer. Amen.© The Rev. Dr. Sheila N. McJilton[1] https://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/fun-stuff/glossary/[2] https://sites.duke.edu/harrypotterchristianthought/2016/11/16/baptism-and-rebirth/[3] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/missionwork/2014/08/jobs-you-couldnt-do-in-the-early-church-really/[4] https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/early-church-infant-baptism-or-full-immersion/[5] Ibid.[6]Idem, https://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/fun-stuff/glossary/[7] J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, (New York: Scholastic Press, 2000), 638.[8] Ibid., 641-643.[9] https://www.pottermore.com/features/what-is-a-patronus[10] http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Horcrux[11] https://sites.duke.edu/harrypotterchristianthought/2016/11/16/baptism-and-rebirth/[12] From the service of Holy Baptism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 302.[13] Ibid., 302-303.