Baptism
marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our
lives, the first step in response to God’s love. For all involved, particularly
the candidates but also parents, godparents and sponsors, it is a joyful moment
when we rejoice in what God has done for us in Christ, making serious promises
and declaring the faith. The wider community of the local church and friends
welcome the new Christian, promising support and prayer for the future. Hearing
and doing those things provides an opportunity to remember our own baptism and
reflect on the progress made on that journey, which is now to be shared with
this new member of the Church. The service paints many vivid ‘pictures’ of what happens on the Christian way. There is the sign of the cross, the badge of faith in the Christian journey, which reminds us of Christ’s death for us. Our ‘drowning’ in the water of baptism, where we believe we die to sin and are raised to new life, unites us to Christ’s dying and rising, a picture that can be brought home vividly by the way the baptism is administered. Water is also a sign of new life, as we are born again by water and the Spirit, as Jesus was at his baptism. And as a sign of that new life, there is a lighted candle, a ‘picture’ of the light of Christ conquering the darkness of evil. Everyone who is baptised walks in that light for the rest of their life