Water is the understood symbol...
Illustration
Water is the understood symbol in baptism. From the time of John the Baptizer, the use of water was clearly the symbol of inner cleansing needed for purity of religious motive. But John says, "Jesus' baptism will be greater, it will impart the Holy Spirit and fire."
Fire also is a cleansing element. Whether to remove the useless stubble in a field after the crops have been harvested, or the debris left from a damaging storm, the best way to rid ourselves of these is to burn them. We remove the impurity of metal ore with fire, we sterilize medical instruments with extreme heat. Impure water is only safe to drink after we apply fire (boiling).
Yet fire is not only cleansing, purifying, it is also nurturing. Premature infants, baby chicks, both are nurtured by forms of incubators, where controlled fire keeps them warm and supports their lives for growth. Let us then accept, as a symbol of our baptism, the fire that enables us to warmly relate to our brothers and sisters in the faith, and may put into our souls the fire of conviction to work for justice and peace in the world.
Fire also is a cleansing element. Whether to remove the useless stubble in a field after the crops have been harvested, or the debris left from a damaging storm, the best way to rid ourselves of these is to burn them. We remove the impurity of metal ore with fire, we sterilize medical instruments with extreme heat. Impure water is only safe to drink after we apply fire (boiling).
Yet fire is not only cleansing, purifying, it is also nurturing. Premature infants, baby chicks, both are nurtured by forms of incubators, where controlled fire keeps them warm and supports their lives for growth. Let us then accept, as a symbol of our baptism, the fire that enables us to warmly relate to our brothers and sisters in the faith, and may put into our souls the fire of conviction to work for justice and peace in the world.
