Dying and Rising From Above By Rev. Mark Buetow
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 6
T
he purpose of a vaccine is to inoculate you against a disease. By putting some of the disease into your body (usually an “inert” version of the illness) your body reacts and builds antibodies against that disease. Then later on, when you are exposed to that particular germ, your body is ready with its defenses to fight off the disease. Baptism is just such an inoculation against death. When you are baptized—born “from above”— you are given the death and resurrection of Jesus as your own. That means the death He died for your sins you have died: at the font! And the life He lives, you now live, having risen to that new life through the waters of Baptism. And since you have His death and resurrection in Baptism, that means that when you die, death cannot keep you down; you will be raised up and live forever. You’re inoculated against death!
Science and medicine continue to overcome illness and disease. Many sicknesses that would have surely caused death just decades ago are treatable or perhaps even curable. But the one thing we have found no physical pill for or vaccine against is death. You can cure a disease and treat some symptoms, but in the end, death will have its way. We might be able to use biology and chemistry to extend our lives, but we can’t keep death away forever. Plus, any kind of tragedy could strike at any time, ending someone’s
