Today we find ourselves keeping Septuagesima – a word which means seventy days. The name refers to the number of days until Easter. It is not an exact accounting understanding of seventy days, but today is more or less seventy days from Easter. Today is the first of the three ‘gesima’ Sundays.
The whole point of Gesimatide is to prepare us, to ready us, for the great journey to Easter which we call Lent. Lent itself reminds us of how often we fail to live up to that newness of life that our Lord granted us in our Baptism. Lent calls us to return to that life of death to sin and resurrection with our victorious Saviour. Repentance is not merely about "feeling sorry" but about "getting a new mind." It is learning to see things from the Lord's perspective and living according to those new insights.
The starting point for us is our Baptism. That was the time when we were adopted into the household of God. God made us his children. We come to baptism in faith. We believe in Jesus. When we baptise infants we do so in the understanding that the parents of the child are believers, and are likely to bring the child up in the faith.
Sadly all too often people do not see baptism as the entry point to eternal life with God. They have all sorts of sentimental notions about why they should, as they often call it, ‘christen’ the baby. One is that if we baptise the child it will not die. Another is that if the baby dies as a baptised member of the church it will not go to Limbo. This word Limbo comes from the Latin word limbus, which means edge or boundary and refers to the "edge" of Hell. In Catholic theology Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin – which sin is removed at Baptism - without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other church. Through the ages the speculative nature of the idea of Limbo has caused theologians to comment on the idea. Saint Augustine of Hippo, in the early 400’s, held that because of original sin, "such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all.”
In the later medieval period, some theologians continued to hold Augustine's view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard, who lived from 1079 to 1142, said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, just the pain of loss at being denied the beatific vision, in other words seeing God. Others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all: as they were unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, but not supernatural happiness.
in 1992, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, while affirming that "the Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude", also stated that "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments". The catechism states: "As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,' allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism."
It is interesting to note that the Protestant reformer John Calvin agreed with St Augustine and developed his doctrine even further. Calvin posited the doctrine of the total depravity of humankind. Without the grace of God, humans are totally incapable of good.
The position in the Anglican Church is not as far reaching as the Calvinist, or Reformed, doctrine. The original formularies of the Church of England continue in the Reformation understanding of Original Sin. In the Thirty-Nine Articles, Article IX "Of Original or Birth-sin" states – and here I am using a modern translation of the article: “Original sin is not found merely in the following of Adam's example (as the Pelagians foolishly say). It is rather to be seen in the fault and corruption which is found in the nature of every person who is naturally descended from Adam. The consequence of this is that man is far gone from his original state of righteousness. In his own nature he is predisposed to evil, the sinful nature in man always desiring to behave in a manner contrary to the Spirit. In every person born into this world there is found this predisposition which rightly deserves God's anger and condemnation. This infection within man's nature persists even within those who are regenerate. This desire of the sinful nature, which in Greek is called Φρονεμα σαρκος (phronema sarkos) and is variously translated the wisdom or sensuality or affection or desire of the sinful nature, is not under the control of God's law. Although there is no condemnation for those that believe and are baptized, nevertheless the apostle states that any such desire is sinful.”
What does this term ‘original sin’ mean? In Catholic theology original sin is regarded as the general condition of sinfulness, or the absence of holiness and perfect charity, into which humans are born, distinct from the actual sins that a person commits. Original sin is as a result of the sin of Adam. It is important to note that although we were born in original sin as a result of Adam’s sin, this does not mean that we have what we could term ‘original guilt’. We are not guilty of that sin, but just have to live with the results of it. Original sin is removed at Baptism. In the rite of Baptism we pray, “We call upon thee for these persons, that they, coming to thy Holy Baptism, may be spiritually born again and receive remission of their sins.” In a later part of the rite the following is said, “ ... you have heard how the congregation has prayed, that our Lord Jesus Christ may receive you, release you of your sins, and give you the kingdom of heaven.”
So, at Baptism, this original sin is removed. We live, through faith, a life of grace as our knowledge of Jesus increases. How does this happen? In a number of ways. We need to learn what Jesus expects of us in our lives. This we do through prayer and study and the celebration of the Sacraments. As we spend time with our Lord, we learn what it is he expects of us. The church provides us with opportunities for doing these things. The gesima Sundays are just such an opportunity. As we grow in our lives of faith, there are many occasions on which we sin. This is sin for which we bear the guilt, and which we need to confess. In the next two ‘gesima’ Sundays we will spend some time reflecting on the different types of sin we have in our lives. As we learn to identify sin, let us pray that we will be given grace to confess that sin and be freed from its consequences.
Let us take hold of the means Jesus provides so that we may grow into his likeness.
May God bless you as you prepare for the keeping of Lent.
