Borning Cry
This Sunday we will celebrate Holy Baptism. This one is extra special for me as I will be baptizing my granddaughter, Emerson Louise Johnson – “Emmy”!
But I want to write about another tradition here. If you’ve been coming to St. John’s for some time, you may be familiar with the tradition of using the song “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” with baptism. Typically, it would be sung by the choir or a soloist. This week, the whole congregation will sing it as our opening hymn (there is a link where you can listen to it below m7 signature).
I suspect most of you have enjoyed the pretty song without paying much attention to the lyrics. The song is actually a promise from the church as a body to the one being baptized. It is a promise to be there for the newly baptized through all the phases of life.
“I was there to hear your borning cry” — the first cry of life. “I’ll be there when you are old…” We often forget that baptism is not just a commitment made by a person being baptized (or by the parents of a child), and their godparents or sponsors. In fact, the church as a whole (that means YOU!) is committing to this new child of God.
I will ask, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this person in their life in Christ?” And you are asked to respond with an enthusiastic “We will.”
Your promise will not be as serious or weighty as the parents and godparents. But it’s not nothing! In baptism we become part of the family and we share that commitment.
As Emmy grows, she may live that out in different churches and in different ways, but we are representatives of that larger Body of Christ in making that commitment We will live out that promise in the lives of some whose baptism we did not witness, just as we live in that promise made real by others who were not witness to our baptism.
Together are the family of God. The particular faces change, but the commitment stays! come celebrate on Sunday!
This column appeared in the April 7, 2024 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
