• Start Here
    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Blog
    • Prayer
    • Spiritual Disciplines
    • Trusting God
  • Prayer for the Week
  • Store
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Prayer and Possibilities | Prayer - Discipleship - Spiritual Disciplines - Discernment - Trusting God

Prayer & Possibilities

  • Deepen Your Prayers
  • Develop Your Faith
  • Step Into God’s Possibilities
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Living Our Baptism as an Easter Moment

August 24, 2014 ·

Living Our Baptism as an Easter Moment

Uncategorized

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

baptism

Mommy, did you know there are three kinds of dying? (Where is this conversation going, I wondered?)

One is the kind where you’re really dead, but we’re not going to talk about that one right now. (Whew! OK, what’s next?)

One is the kind where you paint your hair. (Yes… that one’s important, especially for Mommy’s gray hairs… So, what’s the third one?)

The other is when you’re a baby and you get water sprinkled on your head. (Hmm… well, actually, yes, getting baptized IS a form of dying.)

Sometimes my kids really surprise me. I mean, how did my six year old daughter just utter such a truth?

Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ Jesus when we were baptized? In our baptism we shared in his death. So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death. And just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father, so we can now live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4 ERV)

Dying to Sin and Living as People of the Resurrection

As I’ve reflected on this idea that we die to sin as part of our baptism and are rebirthed to life in Christ, I was reminded of an illustration I heard in a sermon recently. Below is an excerpt from the June 29, 2014 sermon preached by the Rev. Shannon Kershner at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago:

The Episcopal priest and author John Westerhoff, in his book Bringing Up Children in the Christian Faith, writes about a jarring baptism he witnessed in a small church in a Latin American village.

The congregation had gathered; they had recalled God’s gracious acts, just as Paul did in chapter 5. And now it was time for them to respond to God’s Living Word with a baptism.

But where we might play “Jesus Loves Me” or “Baptized in Water,” at this small church the congregation began the baptism with the mournful sounds of a funeral hymn.

“Every baptism becomes becomes an Easter moment.”

Westerhoff watched a solemn procession move down the center aisle. A father carried a child’s coffin he had made from wood; a mother carried a bucket of water from the family well; and a priest carried their sleeping infant wrapped only in a native blanket.

As they all reached the chancel, the father placed the coffin on the altar, the mother poured the water in the coffin, and the priest covered the wakening baby’s skin with the embalming oil. The congregational singing softened to a whisper.

The priest slowly lowered the infant into the coffin and immersed the child’s head in the water. And as he did so, he exclaimed, “I kill you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

“Amen,” everyone shouted. Then, quickly lifting the child into the air for all to see, the priest then declared, “And I resurrect you that you might love and serve the Lord.”

And with those words of rebirth and resurrection, the congregation immediately broke into a joyous Easter hymn (quoted in an article by William Fogleman in “Romans 6:3–14: Between Text and Sermon,” Interpretation, 1993, p. 295).

“Maybe their constant rehearsing of letting go into God, of trusting that in their baptism they have already died, keeps their focus on living as on body in Christ Jesus?”

I would love to know how their liturgy of regularly remembering their death to sin and their rebirth in grace has affected their life together and the way they live their faith in the world. Maybe the reality that every baptism becomes an Easter moment keeps them grounded in what it means to be fully alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Maybe their constant rehearsing of letting go into God, of trusting that in their baptism they have already died—maybe that constant reminder renders the occasional church fight mundane and any grumblings pale in comparison. Perhaps it helps them keep their focus on living as one body in Christ Jesus and not on thinking they had to agree or even like each other all the time. Perhaps.

Click here for the full text of this sermon (audio is also available). Rev. Kershner is one of my favorite preachers to listen to (so maybe I’m a bit biased as I grew up with her and her father was my pastor).

How can we live differently by remembering that our baptism was a death to life in this world and a resurrection into life in Christ?

Other Posts You May Like

Previous Post: « The Best Time Spent
Next Post: Prayer for a New School Year »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara Shippey says

    August 25, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    This is a beautiful way to look at it! And what wise words from both your daughter and Shannon Kershner!

    • Kathryn says

      August 25, 2014 at 3:00 pm

      Yes, two very wise women! That illustration in Shannon’s sermon really stuck with me. Can you imagine that in one of our churches here? What a sight! Sure would be memorable, though!

  2. Holly Barrett says

    August 26, 2014 at 5:38 am

    I love to remember the day of my baptism. So much joy and peace. Thanks for linking up to Testimony Tuesday.

    • Kathryn says

      August 31, 2014 at 5:54 pm

      I was baptized as an infant, and while I love the idea that we’re sealed as Christ’s own from such an early age, I also love the idea of choosing to be baptized and to have that memory. Someday I think I’d love to renew my baptismal vows in actual water – a river, lake – and really have that experience. So beautiful that you have that memory!

  3. sarahgirl3 says

    August 28, 2014 at 8:45 am

    Wow that is very memorable!
    I love the profound truths our children innocently give us. 🙂

    • Kathryn says

      August 31, 2014 at 5:56 pm

      I never cease to be amazed at how God speaks through these kids! I continue to learn so much about God through them – and I’m sure they don’t even realize what they’re saying.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hi, I'm Kathryn! I'm glad you're here to journey with me! I'm just an ordinary girl following an extraordinary God, learning to seek God's possible in this world of impossible. Fueled by loads of coffee, I'm passionate about helping and encouraging you along this journey, too! Let's step forward together and learn practical ways to live into God's possible! Read More…

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible


BibleGateway.com

Footer

Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Start Here
  • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact

Copyright © 2022 · beloved theme by Restored 316

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT