In the Backpack - Baptism

I was baptized as a baby. I think I was probably 2 weeks old and obviously didn't have much say in the matter. But it's not something that I would reverse. It's part of what has made me into the person that I am today, so why would I reverse or alter that? What is baptism for me... immersion into the life, death and resurrection of Christ... immersion into the life of the divine. It is our uniquely Christian way of bringing a child into the fold of Christ. There are other ways of immersing oneself into the life of the divine... but for Christians... baptism is it.

I know that some people want to erase their baptism, seeing it as a way of removing themselves from the Church. It doesn't work that way. And for me, baptism isn't so much related to the "church" community, as it is to the divine community. That's not something that I want to leave...

One thing that has perplexed me around baptism is the giving of the baptismal candle. I know what it signifies... I know why we give it but... what happens to the candle afterwards? It is lit at the baptism, handed to the parents or godparents and they are enjoined to keep the light of Christ burning in the life of the child. But then, it is blown out. Kind of a mixed up symbolism. "here's a candle... keep it burning... now blow it out".

My baptismal candle had "1966" on it... along with a red cross. It has traveled with me in my trunk for the last few decades. I wondered about it... what does one do with a baptismal candle? Well, I burned mine. I lit it and let it burn down. That was a couple of weeks ago. The world didn't end. I didn't die. Lightening didn't strike. The light is still burning bright in my soul... and I feel lighter.