Opening question: What do you do understand by the word ritual?
A repeated act with symbolic significance
What rituals do we have?
Bible study John’s baptism
Why was John the Baptist immersing people in the River Jordan?
It was public symbol of incorporation into John’s appeal for religious revival. He was making his appeal
through preaching and persuasion and those who assented submitted to a very commonly practiced Jewish ritual, Mikveh which was symbolic bathing. According to the Jewish Virtual Library: ,) ִמ ְקוֶה,Mikveh (Hebrew literally translated as a “collection” or “gathering”, is a pool or bath of clear water in which immersion renders ritually clean a person who has become ritually unclean. Today the chief use of themikveh is for women, prior to marriage, following a return
from exclusion for the community and following the birth of a child. Mikveh immersion is also obligatory for converts to Judaism and as an aid to spirituality, particularly on the eve of the Sabbath and festivals, especially the Day of Atonement. It is essentially a ritual of return and new beginnings or restoration in the life of the believer.
John was calling the people to a change of heart and in
token of this fresh start they were baptised.
Does this explain why Jesus submitted Himself to Mikveh at the start of His ministry?
We can appreciate why Jews take part in ritual bathing, but why do we?
1. Baptism is a Dominical command
Matt 28: 16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
2. Baptism is the Christian ritual of Initiation – A Sacrament (Sign)
a. A symbolic journey
Loving Father,
we thank you for your servant
Moses,
who led your people through
the waters of the Red Sea
to freedom in the Promised Land.
b. A symbol of passing from death to new life
We thank you for your Son Jesus,
who has passed through the deep waters of death
and opened for all the way of salvation.
c. A symbol of spiritual renewal
Now send your Spirit,
that those who are washed in
this water
may die with Christ and rise
with him,
to find true freedom as your
children,
alive in Christ for ever.
BUT Initiation is only a beginning. Faith needs nurturing. Baptism incorporates the candidate into the Church, it does not make them a Christian.
Making sense of our baptism
Baptism is a ritual – but rituals only have value if they are transformative.
How can we make our baptism, something which may have happened a long time ago, transformative?
Return to it regularly in prayer
Return to the River Jordan.
Ask, why am I here? Who else’s here and why have they come?
Hang on. Why is Jesus here and what does that mean for me?
God is all about fresh chances and new beginnings. Take the opportunity to remember your own baptism and reflect on the progress made on that journey. Don’t be disheartened. Take heart
and know that you are not alone.
Remember that through baptism the Old nature has been ‘drowned’ don’t give it CPR.
We die to sin and are raised to new life. What does that mean? We have seen films where the anger filled father rejects their wayward son with the words, “I have no son. He is dead to me.” Remember that you are no long a child of the Father of Lies. Be “dead”
to satan and have no further part in his schemes. The Water of baptism is a sign of the fact you are a new Creation born again by water and the Spirit.
Finally, remember that through your baptism the resources of heaven are opened to you too and God is well pleased. Remember that you are beloved child of God too
Every step you take, however, small delights God. Make
your faith less about ritual and more about making God pleased by following His Son.
Faith is the gift of God to his people. In baptism the Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling and so
remember that you are not alone.
Through baptism we are drawn into the community of faith. Baptism is not a private matter, but aa public declaration that we are called to walk the way of Christ and to take our place within the life and worship of Christ’s Church.
In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light. We are called to walk in the light of
Christ and His Word. Let us walk in the light all the days of our life.
Let us try not to make our baptism a notional meaningless ritual, but let us be the real deal.
Amen