“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” (Colossians 2:11-12 NLT)
When I was young my grandmother Combs would always get each of the grandchildren an Easter basket. One of those Easter mornings still lingers in my memory because each of us discovered a live colored chick in our basket. I couldn’t believe it. The candy and chocolate bunny were great, but a little chick… all warm and cuddly… well, that was really something! My chick had soft, red down. He was wiggly and made little “peep” sounds. My brother Barry’s was blue and my cousin Larry got a yellow one (Please, no remarks from the peanut gallery on our names… Our parents were poets.).
We put our chicks down on the floor and watched them. We nearly giggled our heads off at their “chicken” behavior. It was hard to go to church that day and leave our chicks behind.
Our joy was short lived however. Both mine and Barry’s chicks died during the first night. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was the dye they injected into the eggs before the chicks hatched to give them their unusual color. Perhaps they got too cold. We found their little, still bodies the next morning.
But Larry’s chick lived on. Although, he didn’t stay yellow for long. He grew up to be a big, white rooster. The fine down of the baby chick was replaced by the white feathers of an adult. I don’t remember what happened to him. We may have had him for dinner one Sunday. If so, I’m sure that grandma Combs didn’t tell us.
That Easter was a confusing mixture of joy and sadness for me. I suppose Easter can be like that for a lot of people today too. Not because they got Easter chicks that died, but because they don’t know how to handle all the confusion that this world holds. They don’t know what to do with all of the suffering and all the death. They don’t see how Easter can change our confusion into understanding, our sorrow into gladness, our dying into life.
This coming Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will sing and worship. We will preach and hear the Word. And we will witness four new Christ followers obey Christ’s command to be baptized.
I think baptism is a better way to celebrate Easter. Better than a basket full of colored chicks. The dye of their down soon wears off and their true colors are seen. But the change that takes place in the one who identifies with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is real and lasting.
The one who is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has made public their commitment to follow Christ. Baptism is an outward sign of their inward commitment.
Baptism and Easter go well together. Both involve dying. Both involve being raised to newness of life. Jesus gives each this meaning.
Jesus defeated death and won the victory. His resurrection changes everything.