PostScript: The power of water

Introduction 

Looking at recent images of water, storms have shown us the power of water to damage and destroy, celebrations of the baptism of Christ in other parts of Christendom show people choosing dangerous immersions, while Brits do something similar and enter the icy waters of the North Sea for fun and for no religious reason whatsoever. Perhaps these pictures can help us understand the baptism of Jesus more deeply, as well as our own baptisms and the way our churches baptise. 

At the same time, the Church of England is trying out possible new texts for use in baptism/christening services, and these have generated controversy this week. 

Context 

The power of water has been much in the news over the last fortnight: storms, wind and rain, high tides, floods, people swept away to their deaths, dramatic rescues in the night. There have been stunning photographs of waves smashing against piers and promenades: the power of water to damage and destroy. 

Over Christmas and New Year, I kept seeing the Water Aid ad about the people who have no choice about the kind of water they drink.  Here we see the power of water to kill and our power to help bring clean water. 

For the Orthodox Church, the baptism of Christ is the foremost story of Epiphany, rather than the visit of the Magi. If you google Orthodox Epiphany images, you see photos of people plunging into icy water in cross-shaped holes in the ice. In some places, Orthodox priests cast crosses and icons into the waters of lake or sea to bless the waters of the earth, and people dive in to retrieve the precious symbols. There is something very elemental about engaging with water in this way – contrast with the rather tame way in which we might recall our baptism by sprinkling or dipping our fingers in a font and making the sign of the cross. 

In Britain, there are Boxing Day and New Year’s Day dips into the sea, often in fancy dress and sponsored for charity, but these events are not connected with faith, least of all with Epiphany and the Baptism of Christ.

Another theme over the last week has been the initial responses to the Church of England’s draft text to make the language of the baptism service more accessible: www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk. This has also been much blogged about, see for example: Archbishop Cranmer; Miranda Threlfall-Homes; and the Bishop of Willesden.

Reflection

Jesus’ baptism was one of the ways in which he was revealed as God’s Son, the Messiah, the anointed one and it shows his relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. It says something very important about who Jesus is. And because Jesus himself was baptised and the church has taken on the scriptural injunction to baptise (Matthew 28.19), baptism is one of the major sacraments of the Christian church, the means by which the grace of God comes upon us. What does our baptism say about who we are?

Most Christian churches (but not Quakers or Salvation Army) use baptism as the means by which someone becomes a member of the church. However, there is a very wide spread of beliefs about and practice of baptism/christening. The introduction of the draft text for making the Anglican service of baptism more accessible has led to much debate about what baptism is, what it does, and how far we should compromise with ‘folk religion’ – the people who want the baby ‘done’ and they really, really do want the water, but don’t necessarily understand what it is all about. Though the question at this time has been raised by Church of England, the questions are pertinent to all denominations. Are the new texts watering down (sorry for the pun) the meaning of baptism? Will they help people feel more welcome and accepted in church?

Contrast the benign, cosy feeling we usually get when we think of the water of baptism, with the force of the waves that have been challenging these islands in recent weeks. These waves have got past our defences, and battered and changed the shape of the edges of our island (for good or ill?). Using the images of the storms as symbols of the power of baptism – how does baptism get past our defences and change the shape of who we are? 

Entering into the water of baptism is a death of the old self (Romans 6.1-5). Those who enter into icy waters to celebrate the Baptism of Christ are putting themselves in danger – it brings the death closer to home and the symbolic death is more than just perfunctory. The popularity of mid-winter ‘dips’ seems to suggest a psychological need in the human psyche to undergo a symbolic death, dying to the old year and rising to the new.

Prayer

This way of praying for others in a group could be incorporated into intercessions of a small church service (but might take too long in a larger group). It brings together two key symbols of baptism, water and light. It is a way of praying for individuals or situations by lighting a candle for them (and thereby praying for God’s light in their lives), and placing them in a bowl of water, to recollect (or pray for) their baptism.

You need: a large bowl of water and floating candles or tea lights – at least enough for everyone in the group.

Share a few minutes in silence to think about the people on your heart at the moment. Slowly and prayerfully, take it in turns to light a candle or tea light and float it in the water, naming the people you have been thinking about, and saying:

‘God says: You, [NAME], are my child. I love you very much and you are very special to me.’

Questions 

Think about the service of baptism/christening used in your church:

• How does your church understand baptism/christening? (e.g. baptism is only for believers; baptism is for everyone who asks for it; an opportunity to show God’s love to local people; the way you become a member of the church, etc.)
• And how does this understanding affect the way baptism/christening is offered in your church?
• How far should the church compromise in the kind of baptism/christening service offered to the local community?

Action

• Look again at the words used in the baptism service at your church. Think about what it says to you about who Jesus is, about who you are, and about what God wants for you.
• Keep an eye out for images of water in the media this week. What do they say to you about baptism?
• Collect a penny (or 2p or 5p or 20p) in a jar every time you use or consume water in any form over the next week. Reflect on how much you use water. Give the money you collect to Water Aid.

Young people 

Movies, intentionally or unintentionally, often use the image of someone coming through water into new life, which reflects what happens in baptism. Sometimes, there are other symbols of baptism in films. Choose one (or more) of these films and watch the relevant clip together. Then discuss what it has to say about baptism.

• Forrest Gump – opening sequence – feather falls from a dove, hovering over a number of people before settling on Forrest Gump; recalls the Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus at his baptism.
• The Truman Show – end of the film – Truman has to go through the water to find real life.
• Titanic – ship and passengers sink into the water; Rose emerges as a new person.
• The Lion King – where the lion cub is dedicated by the baboon priest; and later when the baboon takes him to the lagoon to show him his father.
• Toy Story – where he gets marked with the name of the person he belongs to. 
• Prince of Egypt – the crossing of the Red/Reed Sea.

Textweek offers more suggestions of films.