I turned, and
deep within
a divine spark
began its work,
waking,
warming and wooing
my heart, calling
and drawing my true
self into being,
into life,
joining the dots,
connecting
the broken fragments
of my identity
and my shattered
self esteem,
deep within,
a work of love
is taking place,
and I'll journey
towards wholeness,
step by step,
day by day,
I will be,
I will become
whole...
This picture was drawn by Tim in response to a sermon you can follow the link to read more about it and to a poem I wrote at the time. I have returned to it today following a couple of conversations recently with members of the LGBT community I work with and amongst. One of those conversations was about baptism, and a request for a re-baptism following a sex change, and while I understand the request at a surface pastoral level I think there is some deeper theology to be done here, theology that will hopefully be more useful than a knee jerk response of affirmation. In a sense I hope that it will speak to the brokenness in all of us.
When we are baptised we mark the reception of an inward grace of God; the Methodist Worship Book (my tradition) speaks of the saving work of Christ, and how his work is effective and sufficient even before we know of it. If that is true then it seems to me that we are all recipients of that inward grace whether we know it or not, and that through baptism we mark the beginnings of our awakening to that. The life of faith that follows ( though it did not necessarily start there) is a growing into a deeper wholeness both within or without. That life may take twists and turns, and even dives into the darkness, it will probably be marked by anguish and struggles as well as joys as we begin to grapple with who we are before God , with God and in God in Christ.
While I understand the request for baptism I know that I cannot, nor would I want to re-baptise, and while Methodism does allow for a re-dedication using water as a symbol I wonder if we need more creative liturgies and ways of responding to our growth towards wholeness particularly when that means marking significant transformations or milestones. Celebration is an important part of any life, and in our walk of faith I believe that we need to be able to celebrate with one another along the way, it will be an encouragement for all concerned. My step towards wholeness may be about the conquering of a bad habit, someone else's might be a revelation and acceptance of who and where they are, however large or small the steps taken when there is a request for celebration voiced then we must be prepared to celebrate, for we are all in the process of being made whole!
