Easter is Coming

Lent is traditionally a season of preparing new converts for their baptism.  In its earlier days it was also a season when those who had through their sin separated themselves from the church could be restored.  Easter was and still is a traditional time for baptisms in the church.  In many places the baptisms have been moved to Palm Sunday or another Sunday since Easter is such a busy Sunday.  Folks still want to be in worship on Easter which is a good thing, but when the lunch bell at noon rings they also want to be set free to get to the eatery of choice.  Baptisms and the ritual that goes with them gets in the way of that process.   

Even at there is something unique and special about the ashes of Ash Wednesday, so is it true that there is something special about the water of baptism on Easter.  For the church to baptize new converts into faith in Jesus Christ on Easter is to step into a stream of new life that has touched and overwhelmed new believers for centuries.  In a era when old is defined as yesterday, it is good to be able to share in a spiritual ritual which has given life to the church since the days of its beginning.  When today's contemporary church culture shuns the rituals of faith that have had sustaining power for centuries, something of spiritual value is lost which cannot be replaced by some trendy substitution that will be used today and changed again tomorrow.   

Baptism is a singularly important important moment in the spiritual life of the believer.  It is also a singularly important moment in the life of the church.  In days gone by the congregation would gather at the river to share in the moment when some soul symbolically had their sins washed away.  Whether at the river or at the baptismal font, it is a serious and sacred moment which calls for celebration, but not frivolity.