April 16, 2022 + Introduction to the Baptism and Baptism at the Easter Vigil 2022 + Pr. Craig Mueller

We all have our own phobias, fears. And some of them connect with tonight:

Nyctophobia, fear of the dark. It’s an evening service.

Pyrophobia, fear of fire. We start at a bonfire. We hold candles.

Thalassophobia, fear of deep water. My parents made me take swimming lessons as a kid. And I wasn’t happy. But I could probably save myself, with the side stroke, if I had to. But I still harbor a fear of deep water.

What would it be like to be baptized, immersed in this trough-like font? Naturally, Ben and Kory have some fears as they get plunged into a font that is both like a tomb and a womb. A tomb because in it we die with Christ. We die to sin. We die to the old. We die to the ways we are stuck. We die to hatred and injustice. A womb, because baptism is a new birth. We rise with Christ. We are born anew of water and spirit. We are people of the resurrection.

Along with Mason affirming his baptism, this is a momentous step, a radical commitment in an age where more and more people are spiritual, but not religious. In a time of rampant individualism, you are being baptized into a community of faith. We will face our fears togethers. Knowing God is with us in the fire. Knowing the light of Christ shines in the darkness. And knowing that from these waters God makes all things new.