Mark 1:4–11
“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Mark 1:4-5)
On this Sunday every year, I recall a parable about soldiers and baptism.
Once there was an emperor who demanded all his soldiers be baptized in a peculiar fashion. The emperor wanted the favor of God, but he also wanted to wage war against his neighbors. Knowing deep down that these desires were incompatible, the emperor told the priests to baptize his soldiers by full immersion—except for their sword hands. In doing so, the soldiers of his great empire could commit the emperor’s misdeeds with the only part of their body not pledged to God.
This story probably doesn’t have any historical grounding, but as a parable it strikes me as painfully true. Despite warnings that we cannot serve two masters and admonishments to cut off our hands if they cause us to sin, many Christians still go about their lives as if their sword hands had not been baptized.
Abolition Lectionary contributors come from a variety of Christian traditions with different theologies and practices of baptism. In my Baptist congregation, we baptize like they do in the parable—but we make sure your sword hand goes under the water, too. Like John’s baptism in today’s Gospel reading, our baptismal rites involve renunciation and repentance. Borrowing from sibling traditions, we have baptismal candidates renounce “the powers of evil and death” before they can be baptized. We emphasize that your life as a Christian demands full loyalty and accountability to God, not just in part but the whole.
In conversations about the abolition of police and prisons, many Christians act as if they believe repentance and a total loyalty to God are unnecessary. Someone must do the work of policing our communities and keeping prisoners away from the rest of us, the line of reasoning goes. Someone must be baptized in all but their sword hand so the rest of us can live peaceably.
That’s not how John the Baptist puts it, though. That’s not how Jesus’ baptism goes. When Jesus undergoes his baptism, the heavens tear apart and a beatific vision occurs. This event launches a ministry that ends in death perpetrated by law enforcement. Nowhere do any of the Gospels endorse a piecemeal approach to our baptisms. Nowhere does it say that our baptismal vows only apply some of the time.
One of the first axioms of conversations about abolition (and any Christian ethic!) is that discussions should take place in terms of our loyalty to God, not in terms of ‘practical’ or utilitarian solutions. When considering abolition in the context of baptism this week, ask yourself: which is more important to you and your community—your baptism or your commitment to prisons and police?
Wesley Spears-Newsome (he/him/his)is a writer and Baptist pastor in North Carolina. You can find more of his work at wespearsnewsome.com.