The Shape of Water
Whenever I go to the gym for a splash in the pool, I can always pinpoint the real swimmers. Their torsos form a perfect T, wide in the shoulders and narrow down to the waist. Their abs are firm and there are no “love handles.” Their sculpted arms and legs form an artistic silhouette. This is what happens to a body after years of movement in the water. These swimmers have allowed the water to reshape them.
All of us were initially shaped by water. Surrounded by water in our mother’s womb, water helped to form and fashion us. Water was our first embrace. When I ponder the glorious and breathtaking sights of nature such as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls that have been carved and molded by water, I marvel at the power of water to reshape and reform.
Water has other properties too. Water cleanses and renews. Water is part of our daily routines: bathing in the morning or evening or having a cup of tea or coffee at certain times of the day. Water gathers us. Think of the number of people who gather in a Jacuzzi, in the pool, or at the beach. Water also scatters us. Consider those who flee from approaching storms, hurricanes or tsunamis. Water can cause death.
Water is powerful. If you’ve ever swum in the ocean, ridden the waves, or surfed a crest to the shore, you understand the power of water. You cannot fight water and win. If you want to survive water’s power, you must surrender. Water also gives life. Plants, animals, and humans depend on water. We can’t live without it.
All of this helps us to see why water is the primary symbol for baptism. Baptism also reshapes and refashions us into the children of God. Baptism cleanses us from sin. Baptism renews us and calls us to live as new people. Baptism gathers us into one body—the body of Christ. Baptism scatters us by sending us into our homes, our schools, and our workplaces to live as God’s own people. The power of Baptism prompts us to surrender our will to God’s will time and time again. Baptism causes death by helping us to die to ourselves, to our egos, and to our pride over and over. Baptism gives us new life and assures us of the promise of living with God forever.
May we immerse ourselves into the call of baptism so that like swimmers, we might be reshaped into the image of God.