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Baptism - immersion in water or fire?

Baptism - immersion in water or fire?

We went to the origins:

Baptize comes from the Greek word to immerse (it. immergere). It is no coincidence that one of the first images that comes to mind when we think of baptism is the one recounted in the Gospels: Jordan, John the Baptist, crowd of people, a call to conversion and the phrase: «I baptize you with water; but the one who comes (…) will baptize you in (…) fire” (cf. Luke 3:16). Immerse (Italian: immergere)? Immer – from German it means “always, forever“; merge – from English it means to unite. So let’s unite forever, what? An old part of us: that stubborn, conflictual, fossilized with what is given to us at the moment of baptism: the ability to love ourselves and love each other, to hope even in the darkest moments, to believe in the Good even when there is no reason… It is obvious that it is a Made in Loppiano interpretation, but we like to discover these linguistic tricks to find the hidden meaning in our products.

Let's go back to the difference between the baptism of John the Baptist and Jesus.

Why did one immerse in water and the other (still) immerse in fire?

The water cleans, quenches and refreshes.

Fire, by burning and consuming a raw material, heats and gives light.

The baptism of John the Baptist

The baptism of John the Baptist is the moment in which the aridity of us is sustained by the water of faith. We can live it and relive it every time we take a step towards the other by offering him a caress word or / and a gesture of help. It is not obvious to turn to others with kindness. It is not even obvious that the other accepts it. But that is exactly the difference to which at the moment of baptism we are all invited: to do to the other what we would like them to do to us so that others can grasp the good and do it themselves. (cf. Mt 5, 16).

The baptism of Jesus

The baptism of Jesus is that one in which the aridity of us is allowed to catch fire. These are the moments (or periods) in which as if everything lost its meaning. As if one’s strength and will were to fail. But even these moments (or periods), while absurd and apparently useless, are allowed because the fire of suffering, by burning and consuming a small piece of us, warms and gives light. These are precisely the moments in which one loves despite the lack of one’s strength; one hopes in full desperation, one believes despite the absurdity of the circumstances. Without the grace of baptism, it is difficult to get out of it.

Discover various gift ideas for baptism.

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