John 3:5
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God…”
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The Philippines is surrounded by water. The earth is 70% water and so our body. Water cleanses; water drowns; water refreshes. Water surrounds us in the womb; water is the main ingredient of the human body, and especially in the blood which carries the stuff our cells need for life.
Water makes plant and animal life grow. Yet, without God's powerful, creative Word, water can do nothing to your spirit.
At baptism, we accept Christ as our Savior, gained his friendship, the guidance of the Spirit, and the protection of the Father, acknowledging God’s presence in our life. We have Jesus who loved us so much to die for us, we have the Father who encloses us with his arms of mercy and safety, and we have the Spirit who lives inside of us.
So, when you are baptized, the Spirit acts through that Word and the water to cleanse you and drown the “old you”, surround and cushion you as your faith gestates, and carry Christ's presence into you.
Baptism is a promise with a sign; a covenant of grace given to us in a way that we can see, hear, feel, and grasp. It is the promise of God's forgiveness, applied personally. It is also the gift of the Spirit's presence.
When you're baptized, you're putting your life down a different road, getting off of the road of surrender to evil's power, and onto the road of the faith journey of surrender to the Spirit.
Let us pray +
Almighty Father, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching. Amen +
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
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