There I was with tears rolling down my cheeks, moved by the awesomeness of creation and filled with joy and hope. I had just witnessed newborn Sam being plunged, full-body, into the baptismal waters, raised for a quick shiver and a small shriek, only to return to the water two more times. There he was, dripping wet, this beautiful human being held up high for the entire community to behold. And what a moment it was. Applause erupted and more tears flowed as the newest member of the Catholic family had been indelibly marked as belonging to Christ!
I sat there stunned with the beauty and immense significance of the moment, and I couldn't help but ponder the implications of Baptism for ourselves, for the life of the Church, and for the life of the world. I realized that I had, at times, lost sight of the incredible nature of being a baptized member of the Church and didn't always respond to or celebrate well what and who my Baptism called me to be. That was it. I decided on the spot, from then on, to live more fully my baptismal call.
Having been in ministry for some years now, I remain convinced that one of the greatest gifts we can offer those we minister to is a renewed vision of what it means to be baptized children of God, members of the Body of Christ called to witness and serve both God and others as Jesus did. But the question remains. How does one best do this? A great teacher once suggested that one of the keys lies in the formation of the religious imagination.
Religious imagination in its simplest terms refers to what our greatest vision
is for ourselves as Christians and for our Church. In order to inform and form
this imagination, we must be offered stories and experiences that stretch our
understanding of who we are and who we might become. In addition to the great
moments found in Scripture that we are being exposed to each Sunday, these stories and experiences are also
found in the incredible number of ways our Church continues to make
a difference in the world. We also have countless stories
of faith-filled
people who, by their very lives, often
move us to respond more deeply to a life of faith. As we help ourselves and others
develop the religious imagination in this way, we open up new possibilities for
responding to our baptismal call. Our world, our Church, and we will never be
the same!
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