Baptism and Birth (for Mother’s Day)

One of the rituals hospital chaplains can have the opportunity to provide is the baptism of a baby. Typically, a family waits to pursue this sacrament with a faith community, but some situations necessitate baptism while the child is still in the hospital. I've had the chance to baptize a little baby, in the company of parents and many family members. It is a most beautiful moment. It reminds me of the two holiest moments I have experienced- the birth of my children. Baptism is a rebirth, and on this Mother’s Day, I call attention to the sacredness of our initial birth, when we were blessed with life by our laboring mothers.

We come into this world in a wave of water. The sacrament of baptism reaffirms the sacredness of our connection to the divine feminine, which is so often incarnate in the care of our earthly mothers. Mothers bless us with the gift of our physical lives just as the Holy Spirit, ruach in Hebrew, blesses us with our spiritual lives. The two are intertwined, forever linked while we take breath. We are inspirited bodies and embodied spirits.

The moments during and after I baptize a baby, I witness intense emotion in the eyes of the mother and other family members. Grandmas can weep. A sacrament that has been performed billions of times over the last 2,000 years becomes new again for them, and for me. This is just like the billions and billions of births that happen all over the world from year to year. How can so many births continue to be the most sacred events imaginable? They just are. It’s the great mystery of life- it continues to be exquisitely precious regardless of how many people are here.

There is more to the sacrament of motherhood than the initial blessing of childbirth. And not all mothers give birth. Mothers can be, and often are, not biological mothers to the children they care for. Anyone can embody the spirit of motherhood in the hard work, care, and sacrifices they make for little ones. I lift up all who carry the mantle of mother, regardless of how they came to the role. All mothering is holy work.

Birth is an initiation into a world of sacred experiences. Baptism is a living, breathing ceremony that affirms the sanctity of our lives and our connection with the Divine. Today, let us reflect on the sacred gifts our mothers gave us. Let us be still and feel our worthiness. Let us trust that we are here by Divine appointment, blessed and delivered.