FROM DEATH TO NEW LIFE

THE BAPTISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT QUIET AS WE RENEW OUR BAPTISMAL SAINT PROMISES THIS EASTER, IT IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON THE ORIGINS OF KNOCK SHRINE AND THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM THE CENTRAL ROLE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT OF ST JOSEPH BY MARY T. BRIEN PBVM

Easter represents the climax of our celebration of the Paschal Mystery and the high point of the liturgical year. It is also the time when baptisms are celebrated, and when baptismal promises are renewed. It is a good time to reflect on Christian baptism and on its origins in the New Testament.

The first thing that must be said is that the sacrament of baptism is firmly rooted in the New Testament. While there is no evidence that Jesus baptised anyone, at least not during his public life, his disciples did (Jn 4:2). For a theological understanding of baptism in the New Testament we look primarily to St Paul, especially to his Letter to the Romans, but also to his Letters to the Corinthians and other letters too. The Acts of the Apostles, John’s Gospel, as well as writings of the early Church Fathers also provide evidence of the signal importance of baptism in the early church.

It is known that Jews, even before the time of Jesus, practised baptism by immersion “for the forgiveness of sins”. John the Baptist did likewise, and all three Synoptic Gospels record his baptising of Jesus in the Jordan. Jesus did not need a baptism of repentance and it is understandable that John would object, but Jesus insists, saying, “Let it be so. I must fulfil all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). And Jesus, after his immersion in the flowing Jesus baptised by John in the Jordan

waters of the Jordan, is anointed with the Holy Spirit, confirmed in his sacred identity as Messiah and God’s beloved Son. For Jesus, baptism becomes a manifestation of his divinity and the beginning of his public life. It is a confirmation of his identity. The baptism of Jesus, paradigmatic for all Christian baptisms later, differs in essence from that of John. It is accompanied by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

FROM DEATH TO LIFE

St Paul, writing some decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus, speaks of baptism as dying to sin and rising to new life (Rom 6:3-4). It is a radical transformation. Going down into the baptismal waters, almost drowning, being submerged completely, is a strong image of death and tomb. Rising from the waters, being dressed in a clean, white robe signifies resurrection, a real entry into the mystery of the risen Christ.

This image of baptism as a participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus is traceable in several writings of St Paul. In his first Letter to the Corinthians, for example, baptism is portrayed as a participation in the cross of Christ. Paul asks, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptised in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor 1:1). In the anonymous Letter to the Hebrews, answering a query, the author states that a second baptism is impossible because baptism is a definitive participation in the cross of Christ (Heb 6:4-5). It is the blood of Christ which washes sin away (Rev 1:3). Being baptised “into the death of Christ” means a change of allegiance, a movement from the realm of sin to the realm of grace. This change is portrayed as a movement from death to life.

A NEW PERSON

Christian baptism (as distinct from the baptism of John the Baptist), as recorded in the New Testament, is always post-Pentecost. Peter, with the eleven, on Pentecost day after their experience in the upper room in Jerusalem, preaches to a crowd of five thousand. “Cut to the heart” by Peter’s message, the crowd asks, “What must we do?” Peter answers, “You must repent, and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). The Great Commission, associated with Jesus’ post-resurrection instructions to his disciples, includes an instruction on baptism, “Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptise them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…” (Mt 28:19-20).

The Gospel of John and Johannine writings offer interpretations of baptism and its effects in terms of re-birth. To be baptised is to be born again, to enter a new type of existence. Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Unless a person is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, s/he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). Baptism is transformative. The baptised person becomes, as it were, a new person with new vision, capable of ‘seeing’ the Kingdom of God.

STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY

It must be remembered that there are many types of baptism in the New Testament and many of these do not involve water. Examples include “baptism for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 3:6), “baptism in the Holy Spirit” (Lk3:16) and “baptism into Moses” (1 Cor 3:2). Jesus also speaks of his Passion as a baptism (Lk 12:50; Mk 10:38).

Current use of the word ‘immerse’ may help us to grasp something of the depth of meaning presumed in New Testament usage. People can be ‘immersed in their studies’ or ‘immersed in politics’, meaning they are completely absorbed in these activities, or taken over by them. Baptism by immersion acts as a powerful sign of dying to one way of life and being ‘taken over’ by another. It can express sacramentally the inner transformation involved in being “baptised in Christ”.

A striking example from Patristic writings is to be found in the writings of the poettheologian, Ephraim of Syria (306-373). He speaks of baptism as healing and strengthening for the journey, as putting on “the robe of glory” which Adam forfeited, as picking up “the golden threads” of risen life. He is obviously familiar with St Paul’s imagery of tomb and resurrection and makes poetic connections between the life-giving womb of Mary and the life-giving tomb at Calvary (De Ecclesia, 36).

This brief survey has touched on some elements of New Testament and Patristic teaching on Christian baptism. Although foundational, it does not pretend to offer a complete theology of baptism. The church’s theology of sacramental baptism has evolved over centuries, and it merits lengthy treatment, not possible in a brief article like this. However, it is hoped that the above brief survey of New Testament texts may lead readers to a fresh appreciation of some of the fertile and multi-faceted biblical roots of the sacrament of baptism.

MARY T. BRIEN

Mary T. Brien is a Presentation Sister of the South-West Province, Ireland and a native of West Cork. She currently teaches Sacred Scripture at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.