Fr Alex Swain

Beloved in Christ,

Yesterday we welcomed two new Christians into the household of God through Baptism at the 10:00am service.

Baptism is always one of those services which never fails to bring some tears to my eyes! It’s such a profound and glorious thing—and when I find myself particularly focused, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, one can almost feel the proximity of the Kingdom of God pressing in.

Indeed, it does so at every Eucharist and every Baptism, but to experience that holy pressure is a blessed thing which happens infrequently for me (often my mind is flitting about, alas!)

Even so, baptism is a wonderful gift to the Church!

The passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea (today’s Old Testament reading) was interpreted early on in Christian history as a sign for the future of baptism, wherein we pass through the waters to be liberated from sin and death.

The early church theologians did not deny the account of Exodus, but understood it as multivalent—that is, having multiple understandings simultaneously (indeed, read any Christian theologian for the first millennia at least and most of them understand the scriptures to have multiple meanings held at the same time—much to the chagrin of biblical literalists in the modern day).

Indeed, one of the earliest models atonement (of which there are many, and all of them have their strengths and weaknesses in terms of theological and scriptural support) is Christus Victor. That is, the salvation offered by Christ is salvation from and victory over death itself. And a key feature of that was to be baptized.

The theological developments over the millennia are fascinating to study, and they deepen my trust and faith in God—even as they succeed and fail in various aspects, and rise and fall over time along with human understanding.

But one aspect which is stable within our tradition is the wonder and amazement of Baptism, and the joy to be had in human lives being grafted into the Body of Christ, and being made full followers of Jesus and a full member of Christ’s Church.

May we rejoice in the passing through waters into the life which God calls us towards!

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Alex