Baptism and the Water Metaphor
Baptism of our Lord, Cycle B
When we hear the word “water” in our modern world we generally think of nice things–a thirst-quenching drink, a nice shower or bath, fun in a swimming pool, or perhaps a fine ocean cruse. Thus when we think about baptism we tend to think mostly about cleansing or even refreshment.
This week’s lectionary texts are all about baptism, which is fitting, consider it is the Sunday to commemorate the baptism of Jesus. Considering that the texts are Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7, and Mark 1:4-11, you might wonder that I say that all the texts deal with baptism. But that’s my point here. These texts provide a very good way to help us understand what “water” and “baptism” might have meant to those in the ancient world.
First, we have the waters that are the chaos prior to creation. The people of the ancient world didn’t think of the ocean as a nice place. Even the seagoing ancients were very careful and very conscious of the dangers. Shipping tended to be coastal. The sea represented the chaotiic and unknown. It was only the working of God’s spirit over the water that made any sort of order possible.
Second we have the waters of judgment as seen in the flood, which are closely related to the pre-creation chaos. Sin in scripture separates us from God’s creative power, and the results of sin can be represented in the same way with water, in this case floodwaters. Genesis 1:2 and 7:11 share the Hebrew term “tehom” which is the “deep” of Genesis 1, while Genesis 7:6 and Psalm 29:10 share the term “mabbul” meaning flood. The key element is that God is in control even of the flood.
In our passages in Mark and Acts, however, we extend this metaphor to the action of the Holy Spirit on those who receive baptism. Baptism is more of a symbol–it is a sacrament. It represents something that truly takes place in the person.
This brings us to waters of cleansing and also empowerment. Note how the metaphor changes as we see the action of the Spirit illustrated through the action of water. God’s creative power is the key in all these passages.
If in teaching or preaching you get across the idea that water has a much broader range of meaning than we would normally think.