Hands up honest question here, have you ever thought why John the Baptist thought “If I immerse these people in this muddy river then they will be forgiven their sins”? ….I have often had my head slightly angled and a quizzical look upon my face…seems a random thing to assume John, random enough to be a God thing, yes, and Jesus went with it so…..I’ve just shrugged and thought Ok then that’s just how it is. Turns out this wasn’t initially a Christian idea. (I should have guessed really) There is a beautiful history behind what John was doing, that like all the Old Testament, underpins our own faith and rituals. Christ’s’ Baptism comes and literally fleshes out the word. Fulfils and clarifies the earlier truths. Back in the day when the sandals of Moses trod the Holy land there is a Jewish tradition of the Mikvah. The word ‘mikveh’, literally means ‘collection’, as in collection of water, but beautifully has the same root as the word ‘hope’. The sea, rivers and streams and lakes are in fact considered Mikvaot, (plural of Mikvah). In Biblical times these were often stone baths that collected rainwater and have now evolved to modern day luxury tiled spas. Full Immersion into the Mikvah was one of the two paths that a convert to Judaism had to take, the other was circumcision. It was considered so important that The Talmud stated that the Mikvah should be built before the Synagogue. (Note how our fonts are mostly positioned at the entrance to our Churches) More than just a initiation ritual though, the Mikvahs purpose was for a full submersion, symbolising a spiritual cleansing. This brought about healing and restoration of the one being immersed. There is an clear marking of before and after. The submerging represents the waters of the womb and a rebirth from that first pure breath as we surface, like a new creation….(who is thinking of Nicodemus here?) We read of this ‘restart’ all through scripture, from the dry land emerging from the waters in creation, to the flood and Noah, to the parting of the Red Sea and on to this new covenant through Christ. In each case the Holy Spirit hovers and wickedness is washed away leaving us renewed and reborn. How amazing that from the moment of creation we are always offered that hope of a new beginning. Unlike baptism, mikvah is not a once in a lifetime event, but an action to be experienced over and over again. Before every Shabbat the men are still expected to wash in the Mikvah. We, however only need one baptism because Christ ‘reset’ for us all in the Mikvah of the Jordan. It has struck me that we are all placing our hope right now in a Vaccine to save us from a deadly plague. Hoping to restart our lives. How much more important is this Spiritual Vaccine against eternal death? A Supernatural vaccine running through our veins with only the best of side effects. We can wait to Spiritually vaccinate our babies when they are old enough to decide, but really why wait in a pandemic of sin and evil ? Why wait to be submerged in Him. Our baptism permanently alters our spiritual DNA, but it still needs regular booster shots of Confession to maintain our level of protection. When we’ve muddied our baptismal purity, it needs refreshing. I’m thinking that when ever you are reading this….today is a great day to restart.
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