Beyond Baptism-

In January we talked about baptism. It is in Baptism where we are all united in the mission of Christ as priest, prophet and King. But it is also in baptism where each of us is cleansed of all sin.

In the earliest days of the church Baptism was a one-time deal. The cleansing of sin was meant to be a life-long purification that prepares the baptized for eternal life. But it only took a few hundred years for them to discover what each of us knows from our daily lives. The freedom from sin that comes from baptism needs constant renewal of commitment on the part of the individual Christian.

This renewal comes to us in the sacraments of ‘Reconciliation’ and ‘Anointing of the Sick.’

The first of these historically was the anointing of the sick, or what came to be known as ‘last rites.’ Members of the early Christian community would often put off Baptism so that they could enter heaven in a pure state. Often these people- while believing in the message of Christ- would wait until moments before impending death to be baptized in order to achieve this perfection.
Anointing was developed so that a believer could be baptized and receive the fullness of the sacraments and life in the church. Once baptized, the repentant sinner could receive a one-time anointing some time prior to death. This association with death gave the sacrament its original name and context.
Over time, the church came to recognize that this one-time solution did not meet the needs of most people. This created an historical context for the development of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession). This will be the topic of my next article.