Theme verses:
Romans 6:3-4 - Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. |
 Meditation:
Do You Not Know?
It's hard to read these texts, assigned to the Vigil of Easter, without placing oneself in the context of those earliest recipients of the Christian faith. They were known as catechumens, literally those having been taught. They had undergone two years of training in the faith, during which time they were allowed participation only in that portion of the Sabbath worship service devoted to the Word; they were dismissed before worship continued with the service of the Table during which Holy Communion was celebrated. After their two-year period of instruction (and of convincing the elders that they were not Roman spies), during the Holy Week they would enter into a time of seclusion, praying and fasting until the Holy Saturday, the Vigil of Easter, at which time they would remain awake all night, praying and preparing for their Baptism at the rising of the sun on Easter morning.
Imagine Paul's words to the Roman church, addressed to those early devotees of the Christian faith: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Imagine those words in your ears as the dawn light slowly illuminates the approach of a completely new day. Imagine those words in your heart as you approach the baptismal pool, as your garments of preparation are removed and you walk, nakedly, down the steps and into the waters of death and chaos. Imagine those words in the depths of your soul, guiding and accompanying you through those waters of death and lifting you out to the steps on the other side of the font. And imagine those words ringing the welcome of the angels as your body is draped with a bright-white garment symbolizing the brand-new, resurrection life into which you have now been reborn from above.
Do you not know? It's pretty easy not to know. The first disciples, Mary and Simon Peter and the mysterious "other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved," did not know. They did not understand. Even when Mary saw the risen Lord, she did not know him until he spoke her name.
Do you not know? Do you not know that Jesus spoke your name at your baptism? Do you not know that you were baptized into his death AND into his resurrection? Do you not know that your baptism into his resurrection is a call to live a resurrected life, even now?
On this Holy day, this Vigil of Easter, try to remember your connection to those earliest Christians, many of whom would later suffer and die for the promulgation of their faith in Christ Jesus. Remember your connection to them in the waters of Baptism, and the promise of our Lord to walk with us into and beyond those waters into a new way of living. |
Prayer:
Holy God, you have ordained life in abundance for all through the resurrection of your Son. Bless and shower us with your Baptismal life as we follow the one Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. |
