Baptism Of The Lord

2. A second illustration of being buried with Christ in baptism in order to rise with Him--

Margaret Burks, a retired missionary from Tanzania, told of a baptism she'd watched in East Africa. Some new believers followed the missionary into a river that had nearly dried up in the summer drought. The water was so shallow, the missionary had to scoop out a place with his hands in the deepest portion of the river. There, if the converts sat in the sand, there was just enough water to lower them below the water. The ceremony continued, and Margaret watched from a distance.

When the missionary baptized a boy in the shallow water, the child came up out of the ceremony shouting, "I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive!"

When the missionary asked the boy what he was doing, he explained that when the missionary said people were "buried with Christ in the waters of baptism," he thought people were actually killed through the process.

Those of us listening to the story chuckled at the child's misunderstanding – until she asked us a haunting question. "That child thought that baptism would kill him, and yet he was willing to go through the process. Would you have done the same?"

I once heard a preacher who said something like, “My old man has died with Christ in baptism but sometimes the devil does CPR and manages to resuscitate him.”

Jesus did not need baptism. He did it to show us the attitude of obedience, faith and willingness that God desires for us.

Jesus got baptized to identify with us whom he came to save.

As Catholic we believe that baptism is necessary for salvation (Catechism 1257). Protestants do not believe this.

In John 3:5: "Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."

Don’t be tricked. Jesus does NOT say that you must be born of water THEN born of the spirit. He simply says you must be born again of water and the spirit.

As Catholics we believe that the born-again experience IS baptism.

The first Christians, as the historical record makes very clear, baptized babies when they were eight days old or even sooner.

There is no Bible verse that says “baptize infants” just as there is no Bible verse that says “do not baptize infants.” The baptizing of infants comes from early Authoritative Catholic Christian Tradition.

The real question of “Are you born-again” is really “Have you had a personal affective experience” of having spiritually met Jesus?

Be able to dunk all of yourself when temptations or traps come your way so that all of you gets buried with Christ and you can rise up and live victoriously in the Risen Lord Jesus.

Amen.