Daily Prayer - Baptism

Good Monday morning, my friends.

 

I though I would share an observation I had on baptism in the early church.

 

What was it about John the Baptist, and indeed even Jesus, that so upset the leaders of their day that those leaders had them killed?  Well, baptism was a big one.  At the time baptism was a rite reserved for those who wanted to join the Jewish faith, not for those who were born Jews.  But John called all – Jews and Gentiles – to repent and be baptised.  This meant that being Jewish wasn't enough to be saved.  It meant being a gentile wasn't enough to be condemned.  It turned the whole world upside down for the religious leaders of the day.

But just how effective was the preaching of John the Baptist?  Did anyone listen to him?  Well Mark tells us they came in droves (emphasis added):

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.  (Mark 1:4-5)

So what about Jesus?  Well, if they came in droves to be baptized by John, they came in hordes (assuming a horde is bigger than a drove; maybe it was in throngs?) to be baptized by Jesus and His disciples:

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—  although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. (John 4:1-2)

What can we take away from this?  Well one thing is to ponder just how big an uproar these events caused in early Palestine.  I think we sometimes overlook just how much Jesus and his followers shook up the world in their time.  What else?  Well it appears quite certain that baptism was important to Jesus.  And so it should be to us.  All of those who were baptized in the New Testament did so by choice – as adults.  If you haven't done so, perhaps it is time to consider it.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Bruce

  

Almighty God,

as your Spirit did hover over the waters of creation

    so hover over us now.

You delivered your people from slavery

    through the Red Sea

and brought them into the Promised Land

    through the waters of the Jordan.

 

With the mantle of Elijah,

    Elisha parted the waters.

Dipped in the Jordan

    Naaman was cleansed of his leprosy.

Lord, may we be dipped into the

    baptismal waters of your salvation story

    flooded with the memories of

        your loving grace at work

        in our ancestors before us.

 

Help us to remember that we are not "no people"

    but we are your people.

Through baptismal waters you have made us

    a Kingdom of Priests

anointed to do good works that bring glory and praise

    to your name.

Through baptismal waters you have made us

    your Ambassadors of Reconciliation

        with a precious call

        to invite others into your cleansing waters

where in the midst of death

    we offer your gift of life.

 

In the midst of sickness

    we offer your gift of wholeness.

In the midst of loneliness and despair

    we offer your gifts of encouragement and hope.

All of these things we are able to do in the Name

    of our Lord Jesus who called upon us to do

        even greater things

        in faith and prayer.

 

Amen.

 

(http://hermeneutic.org/2011/01/prayer-for-baptism-of-lord-sunday.html)

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

 

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