Full Immersion

John 12:20-33

Fr. Mark uses a humorous story about a woman trying to avoid full immersion baptism to illustrate how we often try to protect our vulnerable inner selves by staying on the surface of life, preoccupied with the external world. He says we need to die to our false surface self in order to find our true self in God.

Jesus himself felt the human fear of losing his individual self, but knew that fruitful, abundant life is found in union with God and others, not in individualism. His death and resurrection shows that dying to self leads to new life, just as a seed must die to produce a harvest. This applies not just to individuals but to communities and the church - we must die to our own needs and agendas to truly serve others.

Ultimately, we need to shed the "flotation devices" that keep us on the surface and let the waters of baptism do their transformative work in us. This means dying to our disconnection, tribalism and obsession with externals in order to build a new, connected world in Christ.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.