December 15, Advent 3C (Luke 3:7-18)
I am struck by just how different my baptism prep process is from John the Baptist’s.
At the small suburban parish I serve, we don’t offer a formal baptism preparation class. Instead, I sit down with a family or two at a time to discuss and prepare for the sacrament. Typically we meet in the church nursery, so the infant or toddler candidate can play as the parents and I talk.
After some introductory chat—during which I ask the parents to share why they seek baptism for this child, in this church, at this time—I have us open the Book of Common Prayer, and we read through the baptismal covenant together.
The covenant has two primary parts. First come the belief questions (aka, the Apostles’ Creed in Q&A form); then follow the behavior questions: “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship? . . . Will you persevere in resisting evil? . . . Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” And so on.
