Baptism: Born To New Life
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Baptism: Born To New Life- by Fr. Anthony Hernandez"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
There are many ceremonies and symbols used in the celebration of holy Baptism, but the most prominent is the actual immersion into the water. To help us get a fuller understanding of what Baptism is all about, we should first reflect on the meaning of water in our daily lives.
WATER: Sign of Life and Death
Although water is a good thing, and necessary for life, it sometimes destroys and kills. To people living in a place where severe drought and famine are occurring, a report that rain is on the way would be received with great enthusiasm. The coming rain clouds would be to them a sign of hope, refreshment and life. On the other hand, for people who just lived through storms and floods that brought great suffering and disaster, the approaching dark rain clouds would be a sign of more destruction and death.
BAPTISM: Death and Life
Since water brings both life and death, Christ chose it as a sign of the graces God gives us in Baptism. As with water, Baptism gives us life (in Christ), and it brings death (to our sins). From the earliest days of the Church, immersion has been the way the Church prefers to celebrate Baptism. The candidate for Baptism is immersed (lowered into) the water three times as the priest says: "The servant of God (Name) is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Rom. 6:3-4)
Baptism by immersion more clearly expresses what happens to us spiritually in Baptism. Being lowered into the water is a sign of our descent (going down) with Christ into death and burial. Coming out of the water is a sign of our rising with Christ from the tomb of death. Baptism is therefore a sign of death and burial, and of resurrection and life.
SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON HOLY BAPTISM:
What the cross and burial were to Christ, Baptism has been to us.
He Himself died and was buried in the flesh, but we have died and been buried to sin. If you have shared in death and burial, much more will you share in the Resurrection and the Life.
Baptism: a Re-Birth
By means of holy Baptism we are raised up to a new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, therefore, we are born again. Jesus said: "No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being horn of water and Spirit." (John 3:5). In our first birth we became the children of our parents, sharing in their life. Through our second birth, holy Baptism, we become the children of God the Father and share in His divine life.
Baptism: A Conversion & Commitment
Baptism is a conversion: a turning away from sin and a turning toward God. Children (of school age) and adults who want to be baptized must first undergo a period of preparation. Those preparing for baptism are called catechumens. The catechumens learn about our holy faith and begin to live it. Often this means that they, with the help of God, will have to make changes in their lifestyles. They must die to their old selves and put on a new life in Christ.
In the ceremony of Baptism, conversion is expressed in a special way when the catechumen is asked to face West. Because the sun goes down in the West, the West is seen as a symbol of darkness. Facing the West, the catechumen renounces (rejects) Satan and sin.Priest: Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his angels, and all bis service, and all his pride?
Then the catechumen is asked to face the East. The sun rises in the East and is therefore seen as the place of light. Since Christ is the Light of the world, the catechumen faces East and declares his faithful commitment to Christ.
Catechumen & Sponsors: I do renounce him!Priest: Do you commit yourself to Christ?
Catechumen & Sponsors: Yes, I commit myself to Him.
Initiation Into the Church
Through Baptism God makes us members of the Church, which is His holy People, His Family. We are joined to all who have been born again in Baptism.
''For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." (1 Corinthians 12:13)
Baptism is an initiation into the life of God and into the life of the Church. By Baptism we become children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. Through the Mystery of Baptism we welcome others into our Family. We are made the heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. In Baptism God give us "citizenship" in His Kingdom of Heaven. God makes us heirs of the glory and eternal life of the Kingdom.
"You are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God ..." (Eph. 2:19)
When time ends, God will gather all His faithful people and bring them into the eternal peace of the Kingdom. As baptized persons, we hope to share in the infinite happiness of the Saints and Angels in the Kingdom of our Father.
Baptism and the Two other Mysteries of Initiation
There is an intimate link between Baptism and the Mystery of Chrismation. In fact, it is not very clear where the Baptismal rites end and the Chrismation rites begin. This is because Chrismation and Baptism, together with Holy Communion, form one great Mystery of Initiation into the life of the Holy Trinity and the life of the Church. In common Eastern Christian practice, all three of these Mysteries of Initiation are received in succession, usually on the same day.