Celebration of the Baptism
of
Ethan Thomas
The Stone Church
Cragsmoor, New York


Opening colloquy and prayer –
Fr. Rich – What name do you give your child?

Cassie and Chris: Ethan Thomas

Fr. Rich: What do you ask the Lord Jesus for Ethan Thomas?

Cassie and Chris: We ask the Lord to bless our child in abundance, and to give him new life through water and the Spirit.

 Fr. Rich: Cassie and Chris, the Lord taught that we must keep the commandments by loving God and our neighbor. Do you understand this commitment?

Cassie and Chris: We do.

Fr. Rich (to the godparents): Are you, Ethan Thomas’s godparents, ready to help this child on his spiritual journey, a journey that will last a lifetime?

Godparents: We are.

Fr. Rich: Ethan Thomas, on behalf of all of God’s people, I welcome you to this sacred space, and to your spiritual journey. I promise you that we will be your community of faith, will do everything in our power to help your parents bring you up knowing the compassionate love of the Lord, and searching for the spark of God’s life within your heart. As a sign of our commitment to you, I trace the sign of the cross on your forehead, and invite all who would like to do the same.

Gathering Prayer

Fr. Rich: Heavenly father, hear the prayers we pray today for your child Ethan Thomas, whom you have called into this life. He has been marked with the sign of the Cross of the Lord Jesus. Protect him through his life’s journey. Bless his home with love, and give his parents the wisdom they will need to help him grow strong in body and spirit. Through Christ our Lord, Amen

Liturgy of the Word

Reading: I Ezechial 36: 22-30

Thus says the Lord GOD…I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.

I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.

You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

 This is the word of the Lord


Reading II Acts 10 34-43

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name”

Alleluia
Alleluia
Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it
Alleluia

Gospel Reading Mark 1: 4-11
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'"

John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." This is the Gospel of the Lord

Reflection - Fr. Rich

Liturgy of Baptism

Blessing of Water
 Fr. Rich: O God, you give us grace through the things of the earth, which you have made symbols of your presence and your action in our lives. Through these symbols, you show us the wonders of your unseen power.

In the beginning, your spirit hovered above the waters in an act of creative love.

We praise you Lord, for you have created water to cleanse, refresh, and give life.

You made the waters of the great flood a sign of these waters of Baptism, which make an end to the old ways, and bring a new beginning of goodness.

Through the waters of the Red Sea, You led Israel out of slavery to be an image of all God’s holy people set free from bondage.

At his baptism, you anointed the Lord Jesus and then led him to the desert to be tempted and to pray.

Thorough the water that flowed from Jesus side on Calvary, you save us and call us to yourself.

Father, send your Holy Spirit upon this water. + May the mystery of this blessed water give Ethan Thomas life in all its fullness.

Reaffirmation of our Commitment to the Journey

 Fr. Rich: Cassie and Chris, you have brought Ethan Thomas here to be blessed through water and the Holy Spirit so that he might receive the gift of new life from God, who is Love. Make it your constant care that the divine life, which God has given him, continues to grow stronger in his heart. If you are ready to accept this responsibility, I call on you, and all present here, to renew your own promise to walk in faith and honestly search for God…

Do you reject evil and its empty promises? R/ I do

Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s love? R/ I do

Do you believe in the creative love of God, through which all things have their being and are made? R/ I do

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus, who was like us in all things but sin, and saved us by being faithful to his Father’s will? R/ I do

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who dwells within our hearts, luring us to the Father? R/ I do

This is the faith which we proudly profess, and which we share, today, with Ethan Thomas.
Baptism

Fr. Rich: Is it your wish that Ethan Thomas be blessed with water and the Spirit, as Jesus was when John baptized him in the Jordan?

Cassie and Chris: It is

Fr. Rich: Ethan Thomas, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Anointing with Oil

Fr. Rich: Oil is a sign of strength. Athletes were anointed with oil before contests; priests and kings are anointed to strengthen them for their work.

 Fr. Rich: Ethan Thomas, I anoint you + with the oil of salvation. May you be strengthened by it for your journey through life, and may it remind you of your special dignity in the eyes of God. You are unique among all God’s creatures, lovingly formed, and never again to be repeated. Have courage to find your way, and be guided by the Spirit of God’s love

White garment

Fr. Rich: Ethan Thomas, you have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ Jesus. The white garment in which you have bee dressed is a sign of your dignity as a child of God. With the good example of your family and friends, bring that dignity unstained into everlasting life.

Candle

Fr. Rich: Ethan Thomas, receive the light of Christ. Since Christ has enlightened you may you keep the light of faith in God’s love burning brightly in your heart.

Fr. Rich (to all): May I present to you Ethan Thomas – let us warmly welcome this child who walks, with us, in faith.

Concluding Rite

Our Father
Fr. Rich: Now, trusting that we are all God’s children, let us pray together the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; 1
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Blessing
 Almighty and eternal God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look with favor upon your servant Ethan Thomas, whom you have called to take his first steps in faith. Take from him all blindness of heart, Free him from all evil, Open his eyes, Lord, to your Goodness and beauty in the whole created universe. May he always find pleasure in kindness, and may he have the discernment to know where you call him and follow that call with courage. And may you bless him today and always, and may the lord bless each of us
Concluding prayer

Fr. Rich: O God, the giver of all that is true and lovely and gracious, we give you thanks for Ethan Thomas – and we thank you too for the love of his parents for each other, which brought him into the world. We ask you to give Ethan Thomas strength and wisdom for his journey through life. Show him your presence along the way. Bless his parents and their home, bless his struggles to grow into adulthood. On whatever road he travels, may he seek to know you and always trust in your love. May he journey long through life in faithfulness and peace, and in the company of good friends, and may he come, at last, to the kingdom you have prepared for those who love you – where you live and reign forever and ever.
Amen

 peace.