Drive Thru Baptism = Selfish

Clergy are asked to perform the ritual of baptism. These are high holy moments that most, if not all clergy, embrace and love. I do not pass up the opportunity to participate in a baptism of any kind except one. The Drive Thru Baptism.

The Drive Thru Baptism usually beings as a phone call to the church asking if the clergy will "baptize my child sometime. Having never met this person calling and this person having never entered into the community of the church we engage in a conversation about what baptism means. Frankly I am not one that believes baptism is "fire insurance" or that you have to be baptized to be "saved". (Because I think we are saved by Grace not by baptism, but that is another post.) What I do affirm is that in baptism the person being baptized is making promises/vows to be in relationship with God and with God's people. To serve God through the mission and ministry of a local church and that to make these vows without any intention to live them out in a faith community (to join a church) cheapens the ritual and promotes that baptism is less a religious act and more of a social rite of passage (like the wedding ceremony has become).

Ultimately, I see the Drive Thru Baptism - having a person baptized but never seeing that person again - is selfish. It is selfish to ask a community of faith for guidance, courage, support, help and grace but at the same time not provide any of those same things for any other in the community. It is like getting married and promising to love your spouse but as time goes by you don't show acts of love but expect your spouse to do so. 

So, no I will no baptize you or your child unless you are serious in living out your vows that you are making to live in community: to die to self, to live for others and to follow Christ. If you are more interested in getting your family together to have a party for a rite of passage, then might I suggest this is why we have birthdays, graduations, girl/boy scouts, and other social markers. 

Apparently I am not alone in my thoughts...

Trivia Crack the American Dream and the Gospel

Trivia Crack is a game that is like words with friends but with trivia questions. You answer questions to get "crowns" and the first to get six crowns is the winner of the game. The game gives you a sense that the smartest ones among us will win and that, theoretically, if you study you will win the games you play. This game is, in many ways, the American Dream in game-form. Those who work harder than others will win and those who lose are less deserving of the top prizes. Underlying the game, and the Dream, is that there is mobility that can be achieved. 

What is less obvious is the inherent advantages some people have in both Trivia Crack and the American Dream that make it easier to "win". In the game, you can use coins to increase the odds you can answer the question correctly and thus gain crowns faster. The way to get coins is by winning games (or by using real money to purchase them!). You see the feedback look that is created. Those with coins tip the game in their favor to win and those who win get coins to tip future games in their favor to win more coins, ad nauseum.

This should sound similar to those who see the feedback loop that America has. Those who are successful get advantages, but in order to get those advantages you have to be successful. For instance, a college education can boost lifetime income by a lot. But to get a college education these days also costs a lot, outpacing all other sectors. Additionally, the average college graduate has about $30,000 of debt which, by the most estimates takes 15-20 years to pay off. That is 15-20 years of potential savings growth that is lost. Those born into money, who can graduate debt free, have a massive advantage in wealth accumulation over time to their peers. And the gap between rich and poor widens exponentially faster with each generation.

We are surrounded by images, stories, and even games that feed into the notion that we live in a meritocracy and that social mobility possible and that we are all playing by the same fair rules. The Gospel of Christ confronts this narrative in a way that say it is all an illusion. In fact, in the Kingdom of God the first will be last and the last will be first (Mark 10:28-31). Those who have little will be given more and those with enough will be given less (Luke 6:24–26) . Those who worked all day will get the same pay as those who worked an hour (Matthew 20:1-15).

Retributive Justice is not Restorative Justice

I was reminded in Richard Rohr's book Breathing Underwater: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps there is a difference between retributive and restorative justice. Retributive justice is something that most of us most of the time think of when we think of "justice". It looks something like this:

sin -- punishment -- repentance -- transformation 

We see this pattern in the American Justice system. There is a crime and then there is a punishment (prison) and we will let you out if you show remorse (repentance) and once one has "paid their debt" or "served their time" we hope they are transformed. While this system may bring about a sense of satisfaction to those who have been wronged, it does not lead to reconciliation or wholeness. This is why we see so many repeat offenders in the system. On some level we know this pattern does not work because we have become suspicious of anyone in prison who has "found Jesus". Even if the offender has been transformed, the offended and society wit large has not. 

Restorative Justice looks a bit different and it is the way God deals with creation:

sin -- unconditional love -- transformation -- repentance 

Notice that with every infraction, the response from God is always grace and love - not punishment as we often were told and/or treat one another. If you are given grace after an infraction, then there is a chance for transformation. It is not guaranteed that love will transform a person in just an instant. The person has to receive that grace/love and see that it really is grace and love - not a trap for manipulation. If transformation happens, then there is repentance. The person realizes that they cannot go back to being the way they were and they live a new life. 

This may be why, in part, the musical Les Miserables has had such staying power. One of the main characters was caught stealing from a priest and when the police apprehend the thief, the priest does not press charges and thus send the thief back to prison, but instead says, that there was no way the man could have stolen the silver because the silver did not belong to the priest. Additionally, the priest said, "you left in such a hurry that you forgot these candlesticks." The priest was working for restoration while the police were working for retribution. And it was the restorative work of the priest that changed Jean Valjean forever.