"Pour out" vs. "sustain" [Holy Baptism] (p. 231)

In the Lutheran Book of Worship, the prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit reads, "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks for freeing your sons and daughters from the power of sin and for raising them up to a new life through this holy sacrament. Pour out your Holy Spirit up on {name}: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence" (LBW, p. 124, emphasis mine).

Evangelical Lutheran Worship softens this language: "We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your daughters and sons new birth, cleanse them from sin, and raise them to eternal life. Sustain {name} with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever" (ELW, p. 231).

Thus the baptismal prayer for the Holy Spirit becomes, in practice, actually less robust than the one used for confirmation/affirmation of Baptism, where at least we pray: stir up the same Holy Spirit.

Of course, both hymnals have the explicit "pour out" language during the Flood Prayer over the water. But what is at stake in this movement from the particular to the general? If the Holy Spirit is not poured out in a definitive and concrete way in Holy Baptism, then when? Are we to assume that the act of the laying on of hands, without the words "pour out" transmit the gift of the Holy Spirit?

In our sacramental tradition, Lutherans are committed to the particularity of Christ. Look in these places: the Word and the Holy Sacraments, these particular places, and there you will find Christ our God. To be sure, the Spirit's movement in the life of the baptized is prior to Baptism (cf. Luther's explanation of the Third Article of the Creed), but the Holy Spirit is in a concrete and definitive way poured out on the baptized in Holy Baptism.

Perhaps the reason for this change is located in a liturgical minimalism that suggests that the Holy Spirit is given at the precise moment of the water baptism. That is a topic for another day.

At least the ELW maintained the rubric for the laying on of hands.