Sumgmu’s Monthly Message, January 2026

Happy New Year! As we begin another year, I think of the beginning of Christian life through baptism, Christian Initiation. “Remember your baptism and be thankful,” we say in our times of baptismal renewal. Yet, I have no memory of my baptism which was done when I was an infant. That is why we have confirmation. If the infant baptism was the decision of our parents, the confirmation is our own decision. We do not remember our infant baptism, but we will remember that we are confirming our baptism.

There are five chief metaphors of baptism in the New Testament. The first metaphor of baptism is the union with Jesus Christ. Baptism conveys to each baptized both the death of Jesus and the possibility of resurrection through him. The ancient practice included a going down into and rising from a watery grave. This was a way to make literal this sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection.
The second is the incorporation into the church, Christ’s body. Baptism is the sign-act of entrance into the church no matter at what age it is practiced. That is why in some churches, fonts are placed near the entrance to church buildings, and some rites involve an entrance procession into the midst of the building and people.

The third is the new birth. This is closely tied to union with Christ in death and resurrection and to joining a new body, the church. The image of new birth appears in Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus: “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from water and spirit” (John 3:5b). New birth is the most feminine of images, and some fonts have been designed to suggest a pregnant woman.

The fourth is the forgiveness of sin. The most obvious thing about baptism is the cleansing action of water representing the forgiveness of sin. Both 1Peter and Hebrews compare baptism with an outward washing and the inward cleansing of a good conscience. The fifth is the reception of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ own baptism has a theophany of the Holy Spirit visible as a dove. Sometimes, the coming of the Spirit seems manifested most clearly by the laying on of hands.

When I baptize anyone at the church, I invite you, the congregation, to join in the vows because as the baptized, these are your vows. When you renew your baptismal vows, you are invited to remind yourselves of the 5 meanings of baptism which have been mentioned above. You have promised, or it has been promised in your behalf, to submit to the righteousness of God in your life.

“Remember your baptism and be thankful!” Our life is not ours but God’s. Thus, let us live our lives as the children of God in the year of 2026. Amen.

Sungmu Lee