by George McLaird, Pastor Emeritus, Sausalito Presbyterian Church
Initiation rites are found in every society. Their variety is so vast and they are so natural that we pass through many of them without being consciously aware that a rite or ritual has occurred. Initiation rites are a part of the human desire to feel safe; be accepted, wanted, and nourished by a group. These rites initiate living and working with people of the same mind or, to keep people of different persuasions and experience away from the intimacy of an inner circle.
At their best, initiation rites act out and make grand an emotional and verbal welcome into a community. At their worst, they result in separation, segregation, elitism, judgment, and death for those seeking entrance. We have all read about, or at least we know of, tragedies that have occurred when frivolity overcome common sense and "hazing," intended as a harmless though embarrassing condition of admission, went too far. Anthropologists have found that, in some ancient cultures, initiation rites, especially among young males, were frequently violent. Whenever the capture or killing of animals was required, possible death or injury was assumed.
The requirement of challenging nature's elements and terrain continues to this day. Accomplishment, in the face of fear and danger, continues to be built into the formula that brings acceptance. Fear, danger, and risking one's life continue to be part and parcel of many events that require proof of courage and accomplishment. Success in "passing the test" signals the "coming of age." History reveals that other tests less demanding and not life-threatening were probably more common.
Being less flashy, they, like most things subtle, received less attention. Gentle rites that lacked danger, didn't contain enough excitement to be included in the camp-fire story-teller's repertoire. Private rites, which may have been the most common, are difficult to identify. In between, were the ritualized feats of endurance where public failure resulted in embarrassment and an emotional let down rather than death and maiming. Private failure resulted only in a loss of ¡∫face,¡Ö confidence or a mellowing of the practitioner. In our times hundreds of initiation rites are practiced. Those receiving great attention are rites of admission given by gangs.
The Hell's Angels motorcycle club is known for extensive and crude rites of admission. Criminals, both in and out of prison, also have their rites of admission, some organized and some of the street variety. Military boot camp, designed for the express purpose of teaching and training, also includes elements of initiation and admission. Of those who participate in this transition, it is often said, "He went away a boy and returned a man." With the present practice of admitting women to boot-camp this saying will have to be rewritten. There are more gentle examples of initiation rites found throughout society. Being included and being wanted is experienced in receiving an invitation to party.
Making donations to a charity or cause often purchases acceptance. Graduations and acknowledgments are common to every kind of organization, movement, school, and cause. Rites that are not for the purpose of admission are often intended to celebrate or signify an important event. Every religion has some type of beginning, welcoming, or cleansing rite.
The Hindus are the greatest "baptizers" (cleansers) of all. Daily, the faithful cleanse themselves in waters they consider holy. In other places, the substances I have either seen used or have heard about being used for cleansing or forgiveness rituals, include water, wine, a variety of spirits, herbs, drugs, teas, blood, ash, spit, urine, smoke, fire, and sweat. Throughout Christian history, baptism has been perceived as both an initiation and a cleansing rite.
By choosing baptism for yourself you are placing yourself on the spiritual path. Soon after the ceremony of circumcision, Jesus was taken to the temple for a simple ceremony of giving thanks and receiving prayers of blessing by the rabbi. This ceremony included acts of dedication. The child was dedicated to God and the parents dedicated themselves to teaching the child the way of God (see Luke 1 & 2). When he was about twelve, Jesus was taken to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover meal. It was on this occasion that
"...all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they (his parents) heard him they were astonished..." (Luke 2:46ff.)
Nevertheless, the record takes up as abruptly as it left off, and we see him at about thirty years of age requesting to be baptized by John the Baptist. At his baptism both he and those around him heard a voice, identified as coming from heaven, which declared, "You are my beloved Son..." (Luke 3:22) or "He is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) In modern Christian baptism the pastor makes this declaration. This declaration is spoken on behalf of the entire congregation and Christian community and on behalf of God. The declaration emphasizes what we believe, i.e., that the person who is being baptized is a child of God. The implication is that the person, always has been, and forever will be God's child. In this way, we duplicate, reenact, and "make present" or bring into our time, place, and family the experience that took place at the baptism of Jesus.
While the time and religion are different it is the same event that is occurring. And, it is being done in the same spirit. Whenever we miss this point, we miss a significant moment of understanding; and when missed, it makes this event more like an obligation or party than like the remarkable spiritual event it is. It is reported that sometime following his baptism, Jesus went into the desert to be alone for forty-days. The forty-day period can be explained but probably never fully understood. Perhaps it was forty twenty four-hour periods; or, possibly "forty days" was a literary expression used by the New Testament writers to express religious, spiritual, or mystical meaning. If so, it is easier to understand and duplicate. It is not a Christian custom to require adult Christians to embark on such an experience although some, including myself, have. Some modern, Jewish Cabbalists (Cabbalism ¡Ì sometimes spelled Kabbalism) is Jewish mysticism) suggest that Jesus may have been a Jewish Mystic who participated in the Cabbalist tradition. In that tradition, the number forty (40) is transliterated into the words "loving-kindness."
It may be that Jesus was practicing a form of "loving-kindness meditation" during that time or that the New Testament writers who knew that their immediate readers would understand its significance used the number. Or, perhaps, the forty-day period was symbolic for whatever amount of time was actually involved. Be all of this as it may, what is clear and important is that you will not just be sprinkled with water during a ceremony in the Sausalito Presbyterian Church. Instead, you are now included in the spiritual tradition of Jesus of Nazareth, being have the responsibility to teach yourself to live by the highest principles or values taught by Jesus; truth, justice, and mercy.