New life for all (17 August)

This week we have the joy of a baptism at All Saints. What a welcome relief from the sadness of recent days. New life and encounter with the Holy Spirit are gifts to be celebrated and enjoyed. Hearing the pledges of the Baptism service provides a wonderful encouragement for each of us to look back on our journey into God recognising its dynamic nature. The baptism rite can only be entered once, but it holds the potential for us to continue to grow in the way that we understand it each and every day.

Quite unexpectedly, last week’s All Saints service turned into a teaching Mass. I talked about the rich symbolism in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Baptism service is also full of rich symbols. The water, even where there is no full immersion, recalls the death and resurrection where water closes over the old self and parts as a new person emerges. There is signing with the cross in holy Chrism oil, and the light of Christ represented by the lighted candle. Each of these symbols reaches back into the good news of Jesus Christ.

Blessings,
Linda