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Why we continue the silly practice of adult baptism is one of the most common questions I deal with as a pastor.
“Gather ’round we are going celebrate getting this individual wet, and I mean all wet.” It would be a semi-tragedy to immerse a fully clothed individual pool-side in the depths of summer. How about January 3rd, 23 degrees Fahrenheit?
I have been told by more than one person that being a follower of Jesus is just fine but there is no way that baptism is going to be part of that “followship.” After all, whose idea was this anyway?
It appears the practice of baptism originates sometime near the day when humans discovered that water washes dirt off. Practical cleansing soon became metaphorical and adherents of many different religious constructs incorporated some type of baptismal practice into their orthodoxy. Washing with water became a symbol for inner cleansing of all sort of ills.
Such was the case during Jesus’ life. His cousin, John (“the Baptist”), preached the need for repentance; a turning from self-will and submission to the rule of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When the hearts of the hearers were convinced of the need to make a change, they publicly “cleansed themselves” using whatever body of water John preached near. The action was an outward confession of an inward resolution.
Jesus was baptized. The Bible says that he had nothing to repent, but he did have righteousness to fulfill. Jesus publicly identified himself not only as a follower of the God his cousin preached but also identified himself with the sinners who came to confess. Powerful!
To his followers Jesus said to continue this baptism practice. As with everything else, Jesus infused a deeper meaning to the experience. Rather than be a confession of a desire to repent or to change, baptism now is a testimony of death to a person’s self-will, burial of all the world holds dear and the resurrection of a new person created anew by the resurrected Christ. It is an outward confession of an inward reality.
My friends at Main Street will be considering this idea this upcoming Sunday.
TheNarrowRoadPursued 