Baptism is a Ritual Drowning

One of the best theological insights that I ever received is that Baptism is not a ritual re-birth unless there is a ritual death.  So, Baptism is a ritual drowning.

A Baptism in the early church was described by a theologian this way; the person to be Baptized walked into the water up to his or her shoulders.  The minister said the words, "I Baptize you in the name of the Father." The person's head was held under water as the bubbles came to the surface, and the person struggled to lift up.  As the person's head broke the water, he or she gasped for air.  The minister pushed the person's head under a second time after saying, "And the Son."  The person came up gasping for air again, only long enough to hear the words, "And the Holy Spirit."  The third time the person came up, he or she really appreciated air, and really felt a birth to new life.

In Baptism, we are plunged into the death of Jesus.  I like to pause and ponder that before moving on to the new birth.  Imagine a person who has a near drowning and has to be resuscitated by the old mouth-to-mouth breathing method.  The rescuer breaths life into the person.  Now imagine that our sins are the water that we are immersed in.  We struggle, and go under.  Jesus rescues us, and breaths life into us.  We learn in Genesis that God breathed life into the lump of clay that became human.  Jesus, truly God, and truly human, breaths life into us who were nearly drowned by sin.

Lots of jokes come to mind about Baptism.  One involves a notorious liar who reforms his life and insists on being baptized on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and not only that, but in a river, just like Jesus.  The priest and deacon break the ice on the river, and flip a coin to see who will go into the water with the reformed sinner.  The priest loses, and goes in with the man to Baptize him.  Right after the third dunk, the Deacon says, "Is the water too cold?"
The newly baptized man says, through chattering teeth, "No!"
To which the deacon replies, "Do it again Father, I don't think that he is done lying!"

Great joke, because it is true for all of us.  Unfortunately after baptism, we are not done sinning.  But because we have died with Christ in a ritual drowning, we rise with him to new life.