WALKING WET
“I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old. I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.” WOV 770
NRS Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Water is the basis of life here on planet Earth. The rain falls and waters the earth, collects in rivers, streams, oceans, and wells, and is processed into drinking water that is delivered to our homes. This water is also cycled through living things: plants, animals, and humans. We drink it, cook with it, play in it, and sweat it back out of our systems. The water we use today might be the water that is re-used by others tomorrow. We are all dependent upon and connected by water in some way. For Christians, water is also the essence of new life in Christ, a life that joins us with the community of faith. Water and Word make this possible.
I pondered this while walking in the rain this summer along a side street in a neighborhood in Shanghai, China. I began to think about baptism and wondered about all those who claim to have no religion or devotion to a higher power. While Christianity is allowed and growing somewhat in this part of the world it is very much in the minority among the various belief systems in Asia. In the “Great Commission” or “Commissioning of the Disciples” Matthew tells us to go and baptize others in all nations, however, that is not practical advice if you are in a country that will expel you for such activities. The tight limitation on the proclamation of the Gospel in any form makes it difficult to fulfill the equation of Water + Word = Baptism. So you will understand my surprise when I walked into a Sunday morning service at a Chinese Christian church to find it completely filled with several hundred people. Evidently some of that baptismal water leaked out.
In baptism, we are splashed with water that leaves us wet, and we continue to walk in that water in all that we do. As Ylvisaker’s hymn indicates, baptismal water remains with us throughout life’s journey. That water is mixed with the Word and it too runs through the cycle of our lives. In living out our baptismal calling, we get others wet just by association and help to draw them nearer to the Gospel. It just can’t be helped. This is not to say that we are “anonymous Christians” or baptize others through osmosis, but rather we serve as living examples of life in Christ that draws others to the baptismal waters.
So, as you walk out into the world, don’t bother to wipe your feet. Instead, feel free to leave a trail of baptismal water where ever you go; you never know who might follow behind you.