• The Sacrament of Baptism was foreshadowed from the very beginning of Creation and throughout the Old Testament.

• Through Jesus Christ, these prefigurations come to fulfillment.

• Our Lord calls us to share in the mission He gave the apostles - to make disciples of all nations, through Baptism.

• Each symbol and sign in the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism has a deep and profound meaning, helping us to discover the deeper realities of the sacrament.

• God bound salvation to Baptism; however, God can work outside of the Sacrament of Baptism.

• Through Baptism we receive freedom from sin, become an adopted child of God, are called to serve the Church, and are given the mission to help make disciples for Jesus Christ.

SCRIPTURE
Genesis 1:1-2, 7:1-5; Exodus 14:10-31; Joshua 3:14-17; Matthew 3:13-17, 28:19-20
Matthew 6:5-15; John 3:5; Romans 8:14-17

CATECHISM
535-537, 1212-1225
1229-1274, 2767-2772

GOD’S GREATEST GIFT

God is the giver of so many good things, however, the most beautiful and magnificent gift He has given us is the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism is the foundation for our life as Christians and gives us us access to the other sacraments. (CCC 1213-1216)

“To baptize” means “to plunge” or “to immerse.” At our Baptism, we were immersed into water, which symbolizes our dying with Christ and rising with Him into new life, as sons and daughters of the Most High God. (CCC 1214)

Scattered throughout the Old Testament are events, which all involve water, that are like Baptism; these events help us to understand the importance of this great sacrament. (CCC 1217)

THE OLD TESTAMENT
From the very beginning of creation, God used water as “the source of life and fruitfulness” (CCC 1218). We read in Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon
the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).

The Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit, moved over the waters making them holy, signifying life and fruitfulness. (CCC 1218)

This water that God makes holy in the story of Creation is a great symbol of the Holy Spirit making us holy through the waters of Baptism.

Project a slide of the Great Flood and have a Core Member dress up like Noah and give this portion of the talk.

In the story of Noah’s Ark, we read about Noah and his family who were righteous people in the eyes of God. God warned Noah about an impending flood which was going to wipe away all the evil and unrighteous people in the world. When the flood
came, Noah and his family were saved because they followed the commands given by God. (Genesis 6:5-13)

Through the flood waters, evil was conquered, which gave way to new beginnings of goodness. When someone is baptized their sins are washed away in the water and they, in a sense, die to their old life and start a new life of holiness as a son or
daughter of God. (CCC 1219)

Project a slide of the Crossing of the Red Sea and have a Core Member dressed up like Moses and give this portion of the talk.

Later on in Scripture, God’s people, the Israelites, find themselves in slavery to the Pharaoh in Egypt. God desires their freedom and He sends Moses to set them free. One of final moments of their journey to freedom is when Moses parts the Red Sea
and the people are freed once and for all from Egypt. Through the crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites found freedom - the freedom to worship God and follow His mission. (Exodus 14:1-25)

Just like the Israelites were freed from slavery by the waters of the Red Sea, we also find freedom from the chains of sin and death through the waters of Baptism. It makes us free to worship God and carry out His mission (CCC 1220-1221).

Project a slide of the Promised Land and have a Core Member dressed up with items that represent milk and honey give this portion of the talk.

Although the Israelites were free from the Egyptians, they now needed land to call their own. God promised to lead them up to a “land flowing with milk and honey,” which is an expression that referred to a perfect and very fruitful place to live (Exodus
3:17).

The Israelites did not find this land right away. They wandered through the desert and, after many decades, the Israelites entered into the Promised Land by crossing through the waters of the Jordan River. It is through the crossing of these waters,
that the Israelites were able to receive God’s gift of land. This story of entering the Promised Land is an image of the eternal life, the land that is our own, that we receive through the waters of Baptism. (Joshua 1:1-5, CCC 1222)

BAPTISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

When we look at all these events together - creation, the Great Flood, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the entering of the Promised Land through the Jordan River - we are able to see a wonderful and mysterious story that God uses to build up to and foreshadow the Sacrament of Baptism.

In order to fully understand and see the beauty of Baptism, we must move from the Old Testament into the New Testament. It is in the New Testament that we are able to see how all these stories prepared the way for the Sacrament of Baptism, which
gives us spiritual freedom and new life (CCC 1223).

Jesus humbly asks John the Baptist to baptize Him in the waters of the Jordan River. This is significant because Jesus was born without sin and never sinned, so technically He did not need to be baptized. However, it is through this great act of meekness that Jesus is accepting God’s mission for Him.

In being baptized Jesus is not only revealed as the Son of God, but He also becomes our example. He shows us the way to eternal life and ties it to His death and new life on the Cross which we participate in through our own Baptisms. (CCC 536, 1224 - 1225)
Baptism and the Good News of freedom of death and sin are not meant for just a few people to experience. Jesus commissions us to share this news and to bring others to be baptized.

In the moments before Christ ascended into heaven, He gave the apostles this mission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). (CCC 1223)

THE MISSION

Before God ever spoke creation into existence, He had a plan to free us from sin, make us adopted sons and daughters, and offer us the gift of everlasting life. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we are able to see that God’s plan was always to give us “the most beautiful and magnificent gift” of Baptism (CCC 1216).

Christ gave His Church the mission to baptize, which she is still carrying out today. In every nation, people are coming to the waters of Baptism and are receiving the sanctifying grace of the sacrament.

For many of us, we are already baptized (and probably have been for most of our lives), but that doesn’t mean God is done with you. Through your Baptism, you are an adopted son or daughter of the Most High God; you are loved and cherished and
called to greatness.

 

• Do you remember anything from your Baptism or have you seen a video of it? What
stood out to you? If not, have you ever witnessed a Baptism? What do you remember
about it?
• When you think of a father, what virtues or qualities do you think of?
• Do you see God as your Heavenly Father? How?
• What are some practical ways that you are able to serve the Church?
• What can you do in your daily life to show God’s love to those you know who don’t have
a relationship with Him?