Wednesday, May 29
“But now you have
arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ, you are in direct relationship
with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start.
It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the
fulfillment of God’s original promise.” (Galatians 3:25 -27, The Message Bible)
The evil one certainly used Covid to do a lot of damage to Jesus’ Church
but the Church has always had to resist the storms of forces rising against it
from without and sometimes, sadly, from within. But it has always had remarkable
resilience even in the face of challenges.
On Sunday, we watched on-line as
five youth were baptised during the service at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
in Toronto. Imagine that, five young people eagerly and willingly embracing
Jesus Christ and his Church. Shout out to the faith nurturing abilities of our
church. Five young people have publicly proclaimed Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Saviour. Wow!!!
I remember once in my church in
Pointe Claire, Quebec, hosting a group of high school students from a nearby
high school. It was as “school trip” during their religious studies period.
When I showed them the baptismal tank in the sanctuary, there were several
reactions – shock, amusement, curiosity, fascination, incredulity to name a
few. The baptismal event represented an unfamiliar world to most of them. It
was strange.
And that’s okay. It is a
symbolic act which makes us different as we pass through the waters. It’s not
meant to be just ordinary or “normal”. We are imitating the death and
resurrections of Jesus in a symbolic form. It causes a disruption in the ways
we were living and sets out new and fresh guidelines for our future ways of
living. It represents a new road map. A baptized individual has “put on
Christ, like putting on new clothes.” (New Living Translation) It is a show
of faith and self-understanding. It is both proclamation and profession. It
comes with new expectations and fresh responsibilities. It should ascribe to a
growing maturity and a resolve to follow Christ under whatever life has in
store for us. “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a
child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians
13:11, NLT)
Baptism doesn’t make us any
better than any one else. It doesn’t mean that life will be all honey and
roses. It doesn’t mean that we are experts on faith and belief. I see baptism
as more of a doorway, one with a huge welcome sign over the top of the door.
Jesus has knocked and we have dared answer. Once we step through that door, we
are committed to walking in a new life. We are taking the first steps of a
life’s journey. Baptism is but the beginning, our first steps of faith and
practice.
I have encountered a few people
who wanted to be baptized but were shy of making such a public show of faith.
They asked for a private ceremony. I tried to persuade them that part of the
awesome experience is to do so in a public way. I have baptized youth who saw
it as a ticket not to go to church any longer as teens. But maybe something has
stuck that will do them well in adulthood. I have baptized a person in her nineties. That
was a thrill. I have baptized someone with a physical handicap. We adapted the
tank. I have baptized someone in a back yard swimming pool. I have baptized one
or two who were way bigger than I was. Every baptism is a unique, small miracle
of sorts. Especially, once you know that I am terrified of deep water. For a
while I had to suck up my courage to just get in the tank even though the water
was only up to my waist. It sounds silly but it did get better the longer that
I was in pastoral ministry.
Baptism is not then for the
faint-hearted. It is an action which defies worldly standards and secular
norms. Just as the minister takes the candidate by the hands to lower the
person into the water, so Jesus takes us by our hearts and raises us up to
walks with him. We are making a bold statement – that we belong to Jesus
Christ.
Hallelujah!
Dale
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