Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD 13 The Abbott commentary to this passage refers to Lk 12:48: “Much will be expected from the one who has been given much.” For me, working in the catechumenate, Matthew 25 with the parables of the ten girls, the three servants and the judgment was of basic relevance. The catechumens were challenged with those parables of Jesus. Baptism was not a magical rite, but a commitment to work, to work with Christ for the Kingdom. We already looked at the teaching of the Church on Baptism while talking about the laity. In Baptism, the symbol we came to adopt, the washing of the head, led us to stress the washing from sin, and St Augustine, with his teaching on original sin, did not help the full understanding of Baptism. The present symbol stresses only one aspect. The biblical idea of rebirth, of dying and rising again, (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12) of the new life in Christ (Gal 2:20) is not called to mind – signified – by the present symbol. The new life in and for Christ, however, should be at the centre of the sacrament. If it is not I but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20), the one who lived and died for the Kingdom, my life ought to be for the Kingdom. Christ’s mission ought to be my mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you (Jn 20:21).” It is not an option one might choose; this is integral to the Christian identity. We are branches of the vine;we are needed by the vine to bear fruit. Seen from the ‘missionary nature of the Church’ perspective, Baptism is the response to the call by Christ to follow him, to continue his work. The world is in need of salvation, a salvation that is holistic, comprising the whole human existence in the present world. The vine – Christ – needs branches to bring the fruit of salvation. God wants to need co-workers for God’s plan for the world. From this point of view, there can be no baptism without solid preparation. For adults there is the catechumenate and for the children there is the preparation of the parents and godparents. During the catechumenate one is confronted by the challenge: do you want to give your life to witness to God’s plan for the world, a plan of peace and justice? Do you want to be a witness through your life of the presence of God’s kingdom, of the new life in your society? Do you want to be co-worker with Christ in changing this world? The catechumenate helps to reflect on the situation of the world where the catechumen lives, of what it means to radically change one’s way of thinking and one’s life in that concrete situation; of the behaviour and actions that express that metánoia demanded by Christ. For the infant, without the faith and commitment of the parents and godparents, baptism is an empty, cultural ritual. If baptism is seen as the taking away of the original sin and opening the way to personal salvation, then one could be a minimalist and invoke the ecclesia supplet principle: do not worry, the Church will see to it that everything is all right. The Church, that Platonic idea of a heavenly reality, forgetting that we - the baptised - are the church. What matters is the eternal salvation of the child and, hence, let us baptise him or her. If, on the other hand, mission is at the centre, the work for the Kingdom of God here on earth, then the active commitment to the mission of the Church must be present in those who present the child for baptism. God has a plan for the world, a cosmic plan of salvation, but it will not be numbers that will help that process but quality and commitment. It will be the little flock that is salt, leaven, and light showing the way to the many. If it is not I but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20), the one who lived and died for the Kingdom, my life ought to be for the Kingdom. Christ’s mission ought to be my mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you (Jn 20:21).” It is not an option one might choose; this is integral to the Christian identity. We are branches of the vine;we are needed by the vine to bear fruit.
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