A Christian Bath: Baptism as Washing by Water and the Word
In 2005, a bell was hung in the bell tower at Christ the King Church. That bell bears an inscription: “To the bath and the table, the prayers and the word, I call every seeking soul.” It is not uncommon for bells to have such inscriptions. By its ringing, the bell calls out with its own voice, in first-person address, inviting all to a bath, a table, prayers, and the word. For Christians, the inscription, and therefore the voice of the bell calls all of those seeking to come to familiar things – a table of the Lord’s supper, the word of God heard in the reading and preaching of the scriptures, prayers for the needs of the world, and a bath of washing in the word by baptism. These events or things might be called the central matters of Christian worship – word and sacrament at the heart of life together in faith.
It is perhaps a surprise to many to speak of baptism as a “bath.” It is worth noting that Martin Luther, in his writings and preaching, often referred to baptism as a bath, relating the washing by water and the word to an actual cleansing and rebirth. In his Small Catechism, to the question “How can water do such great things?” Luther wrote:
Clearly the water does not do it, but the word of God, which is with and alongside the water, and faith, which trusts this word of God in the water. For without the word of God the water is plain water and not a baptism, but with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a grace-filled water of life and a “bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit,” as St.. Paul says to Titus in chapter 3, “Through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is sure.”
Further, the inscription on the bell at Christ the King Church is a translation of the same inscription in Danish on a bell that hung in the tower of West Denmark Lutheran Church of Luck, Wisconsin. This church, founded in 1873, was a primary North American center for the renewal inspired by Nicolai Grundtvig, a prominent Danish Lutheran theologian of the nineteenth century. While we don’t have proof, it is highly likely that the phrase is from Grundtvig’s own pen.
We know from art created at the time when Martin Luther lived that baptisms were held at larger fonts than we often encounter in churches today. Large fonts, big enough to actually bathe infants, and in some cases, pools large enough for even adults to enter, were commonplace. Over time, the size of fonts and the amount of water used at baptism diminished, such that the ways baptism might be viewed as a washing or a bath have been obscured. As has happened with the sacrament of Holy Communion and the use of recognizable bread to signify that the Lord’s Supper is a meal, so too has the church considered that the placement and use of abundant water at baptism might help the sign of baptism as a washing, or a “heavenly bath” be more visibly understood.
One might wish that the inscription read, “to the font and the altar, to the book of worship and the scriptures, I call every seeking soul,” so as to draw attention to the places, sites, or locus of these events of God’s grace. But the means of grace come to us in the events of the liturgy – the eating and drinking of the bread and wine, and not by the furniture used at Holy Communion. Also, the word is heard by the reading and preaching of the scriptures, and prayers are spoken or sung as we gather to recite the rites of the church. The use of words such as “bath, word, meal, gathering, sending” invite us to the actions of the liturgy – both our own actions and God’s action on our behalf. Speaking of the sacraments of baptism and eucharist as “bath” and “meal” remind us that God chooses to come to us under the guise of human and earthly means – under signs as everyday and common as eating, drinking, and bathing.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship, commended for use in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, presents the patterns for worship using these titles of “word, meal, bath, gathering, sending.” These labels help worshippers to identify the pattern or shape of worship, noting both the grand scheme, and then also the specific ways in which those schemes may be enacted. One can best see such outlines on pages 92-93 in the front of ELW. In the worship bulletins at Christ the King Church, we make use of these titles to echo the published rites of our worship book.
When the sacrament of Holy Baptism is inserted into the pattern of Sunday worship, we have now begun using the label “bath” to indicate the washing by water and the word and to hearken to the bell in the tower. Also, when other rites that relate to baptism occur, such as affirmation of baptism (reception of new members), confirmation, and other consecrations – these rites will also come under the heading of “bath,” since they all derive from our common baptismal identity. For some, using these titles may seem like a radical change in practice. Instead, these titles may invite us to see the origins and meanings of the practice anew, and invite us to a renewed practice -- rooted in the confessions of the church, and alive to the word of God provoking the church to rediscover its center.
Last updated:
2009-12-08