It is possible to go through the motions
with baptism. Like getting overwhelmed
by a raft or unresolved feelings
at an evangelistic rally, (remember them?)
and joining the throng of decision makers
at the front “where a trained counsellor
will come and talk with you.”
It seemed real enough at the time.
Perhaps it was. The Baptiser named John
knew how easy it was, in the drama
of the moment, to make the short journey
down the aisle to that pregnant space
in front of the stage.
Depending only upon the prophet’s power of
persuasion, John never had recourse
to the massed choir softly singing multiple verses
of “Just as I am, without one plea. . .”
At his riverside rallies, the Baptiser
certainly had his share of people
for whom the word “repent”
was suitably vague and imprecise.
Some of the religious leaders, we are told,
were also transported by the moment
and came down the front to sign their decision cards
and to be baptised. There they were met with
the less-than-welcoming epithet, “brood of vipers,”
and a call to a true turnaround.
They were told that their impulse must be genuine,
and that their apparent change of heart
must be evidenced in the real and tangible fruits
of lives transformed by God’s Spirit.
Otherwise, said the prophet, it’s a waste of water,
and no guarantee at all
that the wrath to come will be averted.
© 2010 Ken Rookes
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