Dear Friends,


I would like to say a few words about the Christian rite of baptism. Through baptism a person officially becomes a member of that worldwide community of believers we call the Church. In a spiritual sense, however, baptism is a means of drawing closer to God. Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove at his baptism, so too in our baptism God sends the Holy Spirit upon us. I like to think of this as God’s planting a seed of faith in our hearts. We hope that through the grace of God this seed will grow into a strong and sturdy plant.


There are three symbols used in baptism: oil, water, and light. These three symbols say a lot about what the Christian faith is about. This month I would like to look at the oil. The oil used in baptism is olive oil that has been blessed by a bishop on the Thursday of Holy Week, the week before Easter Sunday. This is because baptism in the early Church usually took place on Easter Eve. Many of you will use the term christening instead of baptism. Although in today’s usage the two words are interchangeable, they actually refer to different parts of the one rite. The word christen originally meant ‘to put oil on someone as a ceremonial action,’ whereas the word baptize originally meant ‘to dip someone in water’ (although in the Church of England we usually pour the water on the person’s head instead of dipping them under the water).


In the Old Testament oil was poured or smeared on priests and kings to signify that they were set apart by God for special leadership roles. As the first Jewish followers of Jesus came to regard him as the great king and high priest sent by God to save them, they called him Messiah or Christ, both of which literally mean ‘the anointed one, the one on whom sacred oil has been poured or smeared.’ Although these terms Messiah and Christ have to do with oil, Jesus himself was not set apart for his work through anointing. The Holy Spirit came upon him symbolically not in the form of oil, but in the descent of a dove. As followers of Jesus we too are set apart by God through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead of using doves to symbolize this setting apart, the Church, for practical reasons, uses oil.


If we think a bit about the nature of oil, I think we can see in it signs of what God is for us. For example, oil is sticky and a bit hard to get off. This symbolizes the way God is always with us, sticking by us every moment of our lives. Others may turn away from us: God never does; he is always faithful, always there for us. Although we may turn away from God, he never turns away from us. Another characteristic of oil is its tendency to spread. If you put a small drop of oil on some paper, it soon spreads out and soaks into the paper over a fairly wide area. This tendency to spread signifies God’s generosity. God gives us far more than we can ever give him. There is also something soothing in the consistency of oil. We can see this as standing for the comfort that God gives us.


God’s faithfulness, his generosity, and his comfort—these are all aspects of God’s love for us. Next month I shall consider how the water of baptism reflects this love.



Yours in Christ,