In the church where I grew up, we were baptized by being completely submerged in a baptismal pool located above and behind the choir. My friends and I decided to get baptized together because none of us wanted to be up there by ourselves. We all wondered how Brother Hudson could baptize someone in the water in a white robe with his shirt and tie on, the curtain closes as he disappears, and then he enters the sanctuary in just a few minutes wearing a dry suit. When we got baptized, the magic was revealed: Brother Hudson wore chest waders and rubber boots under that white robe! Looking back, I remember walking down the steps into the water, the robe, the waders, and feeling different. But those aren't really the important things. Baptism has always been about much more than water.
Throughout the Bible, water shows up as a sign of cleansing, new beginnings, and God doing something new in a person's life. John baptized people who were turning toward God, and Jesus stepped into those same waters. Jesus didn't need to be cleansed, but Jesus chose to enter the water and identify with us. As Jesus came out of the water, a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” Those words remind us that baptism is about identity—knowing who we are and knowing that we belong to God. Paul later described baptism as dying to an old way of living and rising to a new life with Christ. In Galatians, Paul put it simply: “put on Christ.” We don't suddenly become perfect. We still mess up, lose our way, and have bad days. But baptism reminds us that none of that changes the fact that we belong to Christ.
Reflection: Remember your baptism today—not just the water, the robe, or whatever details you remember, but what it means: I belong to Christ. Let that reminder shape one thing you do today—offer forgiveness, show grace, lend a hand, or treat someone with a little more kindness. Sometimes remembering who we are helps us remember how we're called to live.