Joel Boot Reflects on Baptism at Ceremony in Texas

Rev. Joel Boot, executive director of the Christian Reformed Church, reflected on the theological and personal nature of baptism on Tuesday night at a ceremony marking a historic agreement on baptism between various Reformed churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

Boot was among the Reformed church leaders who signed the Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism during a service at a cathedral in downtown Austin, Texas.

After signing it, he had a chance, as did others, to comment on the significance of the document that had been many years in the making.

Here is some of what he said, starting out with a quote from Ephesians 4: 4-6.

“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Then he talked a little about his own background.

“I was born and raised in a subculture within the broader Christian Church that not only believed that (being one body and one Spirit), but said, at least, it was willing to defend that to the death!

“That subculture into which I was born, which vehemently declared and defended the oneness of God and the consequent oneness of His Body, also chose to define itself – ourselves in terms of what we were not, who we were not, and with whom we did not agree and could not fellowship.”

And still, he said, his subculture defended the belief in unity.

“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is over all and through all and in all...”

There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . .”

Reluctance to join in communion with others has remained in some fashion, but it has also diminished over time.

“I have come a long way from my upbringing to be here. We, who were and still are a part of the subculture in which I grew up, have come a long way.

“Together we affirm, as a sign of our unity and as a witness to ecumenical commitment, the practice of inviting the presence and, where appropriate, the participation of members of our respective communions in the celebration of Baptism.

“At the same time, we affirm our responsibility to respect the integrity of the distinct baptismal practices of the communions in which the rite of Baptism is administered . . .

So, with all of that in mind, he and the others came to Texas committed to unity, despite the differences, and made clear their intentions by signing their names on the baptism agreement.

“Now we do not accentuate our differences, we affirm what we hold in common – by faith. We talk with each other, not simply about each other. We dialogue, we do not divide.

“We are most eager to witness, not to war. We indeed “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

For “there is one body and one Spirit . . . one hope . . .one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, . . . over all and through all and in all.”

Tonight we move closer to being the answer to our Lord’s fervent prayer: “. . . that all of them may be one, Father, Just as you are in me and I am in you.

“May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me . . . and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:21, 23)