Baptizing a House

Time is our one, truly unrenewable resource. Times of stress and other factors drastically alter one’s sense of time. In this pandemic, many people have expressed difficulty tracking time and finding meaning and productivity within all of the time they’d like. Days seem to slip by. Weeks sometimes vanish and one wanders what one did with them. 

As a priest, I pay special attention to time. Chief among the ways priests dwell in and work with time is through sacrament (baptism, communion, marriage, reconciliation, etc.). We use sacrament as a way to puncture time. For example, when we celebrate the Eucharist, we are closer to the event of the crucifixion of Christ than we were yesterday. Sacrament imbues time

Baptism is an ancient sacrament by which people are inducted into the cult of Christ worship known broadly as Christianity. We don’t know when the practice started. It seems to be a spin off of ritual bathing and cleansing done for priests in the Hebrew Scriptures. Baptism was taking place before the ministry of Jesus Christ. Quite famously in the story, Jesus is baptized himself, although never baptized anyone. It seems that he instructed his followers to borrow this act to spread their new cult or group. 

People have also ritually washed objects as well as themselves (Num 8:5-7, Exo 19:14). This is especially the case for objects considered used in God’s service such as garments and dishes. Two things change when an object has been ritually washed. The story of the object has been set (this is an object used in the service of the Lord) and it has been functionally prepared to serve that purpose. This can be true with painting a house. 

Baptism historically has involved getting very wet, possibly being held under water for uncomfortable periods of time. Certain promises are made, prayers are prayed, and the soul/mind/body, the full person, is meant to be liberated to embark on a path of divine proportion. In many ways, this is similar to inductions on many life journeys. Much like being circumcised, the inauguration of a president, or becoming a member of the armed forces, these journeys start with a ritualized set of promises to inform and a show of submission to natural elements (water, the edge of a knife, human violence) to ‘seal the deal’.

What changes, though? After the bath that is baptism, or the violence of initiation into the military? Primarily, the story we and others tell about one’s self changes. This change is powerful.

Add to that power when the ritual is something that is also life-giving such as bathing (baptism) or eating/drinking (communion). Now the ritual has the opportunity to infect our consciousness. The military uses violence to train people toward violence. This is on purpose, so that when in a violent situation, one’s mind will recall and enact their training. People of good faith do the same thing on the other side of the divide. We train for peace and reconciliation and we use common healthy symbols like washing and eating so that when we do these things, our training kicks in. Our training is for peace.

We do this for ourselves, why not for the other tasks that help us sustain land, labor, or lodging. Taking the garbage out is like going to confession. Each meal is like communion. Even painting a house can be like baptizing and confirming it.

The pressure washing is like baptism. The repair and reseal of the house like the training and reflection preparing for confirmation. The paint is like being sealed with holy oil. After being ritually painted with this intention, a house and the people associated with it are ready to embark on their sacred adventure of providing physical shelter and spiritual home. 

Some people may say it’s inappropriate to think of a pressure washer discharging a sacrament. I say we have been using human-crafted tools to help us administer the sacraments for some time. Some people may say that I am being too flippant with the sacraments of the Church. I say that, unless sacraments provide observable change and can be applied universally in my life, they are worthless. 

Instead, there is power in allowing sacrament to touch and inform all that we do. A moment filled with curiosity and purpose is an eternal moment. An object with a clear purpose is a tool well used. Sensing ritual in the labor of life also brings us into the present, giving us more agency within our time. 

Each one baptized is inducted into priesthood (1 Peter 2:5-9). Let us find and imbue each task and moment with a sacred purpose, and step into the eternal. 

If we’re going to baptize a baby, why not baptize a house. Neither is able to make any decisions on their own. Both can be initiated into a purpose-directed life. Both are ultimately tools in God’s purpose. 

Some people may think it silly. Others may say this idea is heretical. I say we can approach many tasks in life with a heart of ritual inflecting toward God’s justice, joy, and liberation. Claiming one’s identity as a priest, even painting a house can be a sacrament. Any of us who care about peace in the world must first foster it in our personal lives. One can start today. 

• Remember the baptismal promises when drinking water. 
• Think on and repent from the footprint we leave while taking out the trash.
• Read or call to mind Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet while doing dishes

What can be infused with ritual in your life? Are you baptizing the dishes? Is your cup of morning tea or coffee life communion wine? Let us each make and embrace the tiniest of rituals to find lie-giving Spirit in what we do. There, in that life-giving ritual, is the power of God.