A misunderstanding of Baptism as the demise of the Christian life

One of the highest joys in a pastor's life (at least my own) is to preside over a Baptism of an infant. Something about the vulnerability and helplessness of a baby captures the theological push behind Baptism, namely that we too must enter the water at the mercy of God ready to be shaped, molded, and oriented toward who God truly created us to be. And as we emerge, we emerge not as someone who has been given a new sword ready to take on all the evils of the world, but rather as an even larger open vessel beckoning God to work through us.

In Baptism we die to ourselves, and become resurrected with Christ in who we truly are. That is immersion is such a significant mode of Baptism because it embodies this theological framework in concrete actions. In the ancient church, prospective Christians were even naked upon entering the water and as they emerged clothed in a white garment which signified their new life in Christ which only made possible through the death of their old life.

This is such a key movement in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The sad part is, that we have often reduce it to sentimentality. We take pictures, get certificates, get candles,get a cake, say all the "official" words, and so forth. We often fail to discern the significance behind this sacrament. We often assume it is the Parent's working by "starting the child's life out right", but in fact, it is God's working. There isn't anything magical about the water or the words or the pastor, but through them all, God is at work in a powerful and unique way in the ritual. And anytime God works, it is neither insignificant or optional.

 Then fast forward a generation when the baby has children of their own. The only memories often shared with them about their baptism is is what kind of cake they had to who was the pastor; nothing about how the sacrament initiated them into the body of Christ where they could be treasured and cared for by the community of faith. (That assumes that those wishing their child to be baptized have a church they attend weekly).

When we reduce such an important sacrament like Baptism to sentimentality, we reduce the very character of God.  Nothing sentimental appears in Noah's ark out to see being tossed about for 40 days, nothing is sentimental about a young boy defeating a giant with a stone, nothing is sentimental about the 10 plagues God used to free the people from Egyptian slavery, nothing is sentimental about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and being resurrected, nothing is sentimental about the day of Pentecost when the Spirit moved and continues to move in amazing and awesome ways. If we can recapture the rawness and authenticity of what Baptism really is (dying to ourselves and rising anew in Christ), then we can begin to reclaim some sense of the Gospel, the good news of God in Jesus Christ.