When you were baptised you were buried with Christ.  St Paul affirms this in his letter to the Colossians [2:12-14].  It seems a harsh statement but one we dare not overlook.

Burial presupposes death and there is a real “dying” in being baptised.  We die to a life without Christ. We die to all the negatives that threaten happiness, that tempt us away from gifting ourselves, that appeal to selfishness: don’t bother about anyone else; don’t feel sorry for anyone; don’t get side-tracked  from your own pursuit of riches, success.

Traditionally, the baptismal font is shaped to represent a tomb, and the water into which we plunge, a symbolic drowning.  We die, as Jesus did, to whatever is incompatible to his way of life. But, the font also represents a womb, and the waters carry the baptised person into life – into life, and to live, with Jesus.

Appreciating this two-fold imagery is an important step to grasping the full reality of what it means to be baptised a Christian.  We die and we come to life in the same celebration, opting for life with Jesus and all that option implies.