For the Sake of the Gospel #16 The Mystery of Faith: Baptized into Christ’s Death
October22,2012
by Father Frank Matera
For the Sake of the Gospel #16 The Mystery of Faith: Baptized into Christ’s Death
In last week’s column I discussed the mystery of faith that we proclaim each time we celebrate the Eucharist. I noted that this “mystery” is not a mystery to be solved but a mystery into which we enter by our participation in the sacraments. Through the Church’s liturgy and sacraments, we enter into the mystery of Christ’s saving death and resurrection.
We first entered into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection when we were baptized. At that moment, we were associated with Christ’s saving death and life-giving resurrection. Saint Paul highlights this aspect of baptism when he writes in his letter to the Romans:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too might live in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4).
Notice what the apostle says. Though our baptism we entered into the mystery of Christ’s death on the cross. When we were baptized, we died with Christ on Calvary. As a result of our sharing in Christ’s death, we died to the power of Sin and Death over our lives. Thus we are no longer enslaved to Sin and Death because we have died with Christ. This means that we are free not to sin. We are free to live apart from the fear of dying. Having died with Christ, we live in what Paul calls “newness of life,” by which he means the life of God’s own Spirit.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul describes our baptism into Christ in this way: “You were buried with Christ in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2: 12). Once more, St. Paul highlights the mystery of baptism as dying with Christ. But he also notes that when were baptized into Christ we were raised with Christ through faith in the power of God.
To be sure, we have not yet been physically raised from the dead, but we have been raised to new life inasmuch as our baptism has associated us with Christ’s resurrection. Having died with Christ in baptism, we can be confident that we will rise with Christ on the Last Day.
The mystery of our faith is a mystery of dying and rising with Christ that begins at baptism and continues our whole life long. Every day we associate ourselves with Christ’s death and resurrection by dying to the power of sin over our lives. Christ’s death and resurrection, then, is the pattern of the Christian life.
The mystery of faith that we proclaim each week is the mystery that we must live each day. It is a mystery of dying in order to rise with Christ. It is a mystery of participating in Christ’s death so that we may share in his resurrection. It is this mystery that gives meaning and purpose to our lives.
Next week, I will discuss this mystery in light of the Eucharist that we receive each week.
Father Matera