The most useful way to talk about this is to name what we believe is happening in baptism. For ELCA Lutherans, we proclaim that baptism is not our work, it is God’s work. We can’t do anything to earn it. This is why we practice infant baptism. It is a continuation of the work God is already doing in and through us. Promises are made by parents and sponsors, or by the one being baptized if they are older. But the greatest promises are the ones God makes to us. Offering new, resurrected life as a pure gift. I think about what my theology says about God’s power revealed in Jesus. In this understanding, Jesus is powerful enough to come to us in the waters of baptism, even if we can’t speak. We can affirm or renew our baptismal promises as many times as we want throughout our life, reminding us of God’s faithfulness to us. – Pastor Trudy Stoffel
