On Easter, Pastor Josh did not only teach. He officiated an ancient, mysterious ceremony that, with common water and simple words, has transformed lives for thousands of years.
That ceremony is called baptism.
BECOMING LIKE A CHILD
Before he began, Josh explained what it means to be baptized into the church. It's not becoming a member of a club. It's putting your lot in with the mission of the church. It's renouncing the evil power of the world to have a stake in the ongoing work of Jesus Christ.
At Avondale, it involves stepping into a plastic kiddie pool.
There may be no more fitting way to do it. In Matthew 18:2-4, Jesus called a little child to him and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Next, Josh spoke the words that have been repeated countless times throughout the centuries:
"I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Then, he spoke the words of life to, and into, the one who stood as a child before God.
"God is your father. Jesus is your friend. The Spirit is your guide. You are enough," Josh said. "He loves you and he will lead you and finish you. He will take you from the beginning to the end, and you have nothing to worry about.
"God has given you strength and courage, and you have a special relationship with him. Receive new life, grace, mercy, justice, and love."
Standing above the new member of the Body of Christ, Josh poured water from a pitcher over their head. This symbolized the immersion of the body into the earth in death. Then they emerged from the pool, as Jesus did from death.
WHAT HAPPENS TO US IN BAPTISM?
As Rev. Mark Trotter explained in his book A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism, something truly astounding happens in baptism. We become a new person.
'We receive our identity from others, from the expectations of friends and colleagues, from the labels society puts upon us, and from the influence of family.
'To become Christian is to receive a new identity. You no longer allow others to tell you who you are. Christ now claims you and instructs you. A Christian is one who has “put on Christ.”
'Baptism celebrates becoming that new person. That is why the church’s ritual begins with putting off the old, renouncing sin and the evil powers of the world, and pledging our loyalty to Christ.'
HOW DOES IT WORK?
This is what we as Christians believe, but belief is not the same as understanding. Baptism is a mystery. Even Rev. Trotter would be hard-pressed to explain how it works.
At first glance, those who were baptized at Avondale on Easter don't look any different. They don't sound any different. They may or may not have anything new to say about their relationship with God.
Yet, they have new identities.
Life teaches us we have so many reasons to be hopeless. It seems no matter what we do, we can't change anything for the better. We can't even change ourselves for the better. All we can do is worry about the next round of trouble coming around the corner.
Baptism puts that troubled soul to death. A new person comes to life, one who has hope that comes from beyond human experience.
This new person will continue to struggle in life. They will continue to make mistakes, hurt others, and suffer through bouts of depression, relapses into old self-harming behaviors, and physical pain. This new person is still human.
But the new person has reason to hope through all of it. Despite all of it. The new person has, at their core, something stronger than all human suffering.
They have nothing less than the power of the Creator. Their father is God himself. Their friend is the Lord Jesus Christ. Their life's guide is the Holy Spirit.
Amazingly, mysteriously, they now have nothing to worry about.