Baptism
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[d] with you I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:4-11 (NRSV)
STORY
Constantine the Great became the emperor of the Roman Empire in 306. At this time the fortunes of Rome were not as favorable as they once were. The empire was in decline and it was being threatened by many opposing military rulers. Constantine, formerly a pagan, was converted to Christianity in 312 and his new religion played a prominent role in his life.
One of Constantine’s chief rivals was his brother-in-law Maxentius. The night preceding the conflict against Maxentius, a battle of uncertain outcome, Constantine had a dream. In that dream he had a vison. In that vision he saw a chi (X) rho (P) in the sky. The cho rho spells the first two Greek letters of the word “Christos,” or Christ. Prior to going into battle all the soldiers were mandated to put the emblem of the chi rho on their shields. In the Battle of Milvian Bridge the soldiers of Constantine prevailed. Constantine always maintained that the battle was fought in the name of the Christian God.
Following this victory Constantine required that all of his soldiers to be baptized. It mattered not if the men were believers, it only mattered that it was ordered. During the baptismal ceremony some of the soldiers continued to demonstrate their allegiance to Rome and their emperor. They demonstrated this allegiance through a symbolic act. While being immersed into the baptismal water a soldier held his right hand, the hand that held the sword for the emperor, up out of the water and thus keeping it dry. By keeping his right hand out of the baptismal waters and dry, the soldier was affirming that his right hand, the hand that held the sword of the Roman Empire, still belonged to the emperor and not to God.
With the conversion of Constantine the persecution of Christians ceased. It wasn’t until Charlemagne became a Christian in in the ninth century that Christianity became the official religion of the state and we have what is known today as the Holy Roman Empire.
DEVOTION
In our scripture reading this morning we have a recounting of the baptism of Jesus. In his thirtieth year of life, by being baptized by John, Jesus was making a public declaration of his obedience to the mission to which he was called. We read the account of Jesus’ baptism from the Gospel of Mark, “And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water…” Coming up out of the water implies that Jesus was totally immersed. We can be assured that Jesus had both his hands in the baptismal water because his allegiance was to God and to God alone.
Many decades later, in the same years that the citizens of Rome were being baptized for political expediency, the rite of baptism remained a very sacred ritual for the church. In the same years that the chi rho appeared on soldiers’ shields and the masses were led to the waters to be baptized, Justo Gonzalez shares what the church was doing despite the dictates of Rome. Gonzalez wrote a three-volume work titled The Story of Christianity, with the first volume being published in 1984. Gonzalez is a Cuban-American historical theologian and a United Methodist pastor. He is a professor at Columbia Theological Seminary.
In order to be baptized catechumens had to go through three years of intense study and character evaluation. It was only then, after being baptized, that a convert could become a member of the church and receive the Holy Eucharist. Gonzalez describes the baptism ritual as follows:
Usually baptism was administered once a year, on Easter Sunday. Early in the third century it was customary for those about to be baptized to fast on Friday and Saturday, and to be baptized very early on Sunday morning, which was the time of the Resurrection of Jesus. The candidates were completely naked, the men separated from the women. On emerging from the waters, the neophytes were given white robes, as a sign of their new life in Christ (see Col. 3:9-12 and Rev. 3:4). They were also given water to drink, as a sign that they were thoroughly cleansed, both outside and inside. Then they were anointed, thus making them a part of the royal priesthood: and were given milk and honey, as a sign of the Promised Land into which they were now entering. After all the candidates were baptized, the entire congregation went in procession to the meeting place, where the neophytes partook of communion for the first time.
Until the third century entire families were baptized, which means there was infant baptism. When the church became more structured in the third century, adult baptism – believers’ baptism – became the norm.
Let us be sure, that as we live out our baptism, we don’t do so with one hand raised out of the water. Let our service to Jesus be a total and complete and uncompromising commitment.