Washed and Renewed: The Power of Baptism
November 13, 2024 - Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Titus 3:1-7
In the middle of September 2024, unusual weather conditions caused heavy rain in Europe. Certain cities in the south of Poland were flooded. The images showed the destruction of houses, roads, and railways by water. But when the waters subsided, the process of rebuilding and reconstruction began. Such events remind us of the biblical flood. Water is life, but water can also bring destruction. Today, Paul reminds us of the power of baptismal waters that destroy sin and bring new life (see 1 Peter 3:20).
It is worth realizing that baptism is not just a ritual, but a profound sacrament that signifies the beginning of a new life in Christ. Through this sacrament, every Christian is united to Christ and, together with Christ, dies, is buried, and rises to a new life (see Rom. 6:3-4). For the first Christians, this sacrament marked a definitive break from the old way of life. In our excerpt from Paul's letter to Titus, the apostle testifies that before coming to faith and baptism, he, Titus, and other Christians were "foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another" (Titus 3:3).
Paul teaches us that God saves us through baptism, which he calls "the bath of rebirth" (Titus 3:5). The first Christians used rivers, lakes, and later on, specially designated places known as baptisteries, where catechumens were baptized through triple immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 28:19). After emerging from the baptismal waters, the new Christian was anointed with holy oil, which signified "the renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). The gift of the Holy Spirit, like the grace of salvation, is the work of Christ. Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit after returning to the Father (see John 14:16, 26). This took place on the day of Pentecost, and it takes place each time during the sacrament of baptism.
Paul writes that the Holy Spirit was "richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:6). It is not a "trickle" but an outpouring. The Holy Spirit fulfills God's promise: "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:25-26). After baptism, Paul, Titus, and other Christians were no longer "foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). They began a new life in Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
On Monday, June 11, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a profound reflection on the sacrament of baptism. In it, he addressed questions regarding the baptism of children that many have recently begun to ask: "Can we impose on an infant the religion he should or should not live? Shouldn’t we leave this decision to the child?" His answer is twofold. First, do we ask a similar question regarding life? Do we ask someone, "Do you want to be born or not?" "Life itself necessarily comes to us without our previous consent; it is thus given to us, and we cannot decide in advance ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ I want or I do not want to live" (Benedict XVI). Second, in the sacrament of baptism, we receive the gift of eternal life. The catechumens long for it; they want to be "immersed in God," they want to enter "the indestructible life of God" (Benedict XVI). As Christians, we want the same gift for our children: that they also be "saved through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5) and enter into "the indestructible life of God."