Baptism – Divine Gift and Challenge
The sacrament of baptism is the core action of church and key factor of faith. It demands a careful study from our part to keep the spiritual benefit of the sacrament vigil. This article is an introductory note to initiate such studies.

Preparation for Baptism
The key text for the study of sacraments in the Eastern tradition is the work titled as on Sacrament by Cyril of Jerusalem .The text gives pivotal importance for the preparation of the sacrament of baptism. The Lents are developed as preparatory time for baptism. During the six weeks of lent, converts had undergone an intensive period of preparation. They had to fast, attend vigil, pray and receive instructions about the kerygma, the basic, and the factual message of the gospel. They would   be instructed in the deeper truths of Christianity only after the initiation of baptism, because these teachings would make sense only after the transformative experience of the ritual. Karen Armstrong prolifically denotes that only after they had been through the transformative practice that the new Christians were asked to recite the creed, as a proclamation not of ‘belief’, but of commitment to the God, who had become a reality in their lives as a result of this rite of passage. Hence we can derive that the preparation for the sacrament is formative and the sacrament is transformative.

Baptism as commencing of discipleship.
The Mathean 28: 18.19 verse impart that the baptism is for discipleship. Every sacrament is related to the discipleship, life in the kingdom of God. But baptism is the commencement of discipleship. Hence the commencement of discipleship becomes the reed, the spectacle to look at the act and liturgy of Baptism. Every image and metaphor used in the baptismal liturgy and the symbolic actions are of endorsing the dimension of discipleship. The sacrament of baptism is not done as proclamation of content of faith, rather it is initiating to the way of life of discipleship.

Baptism for New Birth and Resurrection  
Discipleship becomes a possibility through new birth and resurrection. The Pauline thought on baptism goes more on line with the resurrection. But the Johannine tradition gives focus on the new birth. Our liturgy of baptism combines both. Or else we can say both the new birth and the resurrection are not separate rather they are part of life of the discipleship. Hence baptismal pond is both Eden and Golgotha. This is the reason why the Pauline and Johannine readings found special place in the baptismal liturgy. The epistle and the gospel portion are affirmation of the new birth and resurrection. The gospel is read then only the person is named, or otherwise a person is named in the gospel tradition. Every baptism service is a kind of burial service. The self of the individual is buried, the new self is given. It is the putting on of a new nature. The new nature is that of light, new Adam.
The wording of the baptism can be reflected in this sense…..
   so and  so is baptized in the hope of redemption and eternal life.
The dimension of new birth and resurrection is otherwise portrayed as the redemption and eternal life. The usage “in the hope” is very important. This is a call, a potential and a challenge. The holy baptism is the sacrament of hope. This is realized and yet not completed. Here baptism is a gift from God and is a challenge to live out.

God-parent  God parents symbolize the mentoring of the Christian way of living/ discipleship. Mentoring is a biblical activity. Samuel was mentored by Eli. Moses was mentored by Jethro. Elijah by Elisha,  and the par excellence disciples by Jesus. It is not a denominational activity .It is an activity of the church. The baptized ones become corporate ones. Both old and the new, senior and junior all of them need God parents. God parents are not for kids. It is rather accepting the corporate identity. John Zizoulas comments that the baptism is giving us the ecclesial identity. Therefore what the black theologian John Mbiti’s saying “because we are, I am” is very baptismal. So the saintly and sinful state of the baptized one has got a corporate dimension and responsibility. God parents represent the corporeality of the disciples.

Baptismal  Acts
There are three significant acts in the sacrament of baptism. These three acts constitute the vision of the sacrament.

• The naming. The baptismal naming is the act of accepting the tradition of the forefathers and mothers. The name of the grand mother is added to some biblical names. The naming is done at the church, during the first part of the baptism service. Baptism is not conviction or confession; rather it is confirmation to a way of living. When we take one name from the bible, we dedicate the boy/girl to order their lives in biblical genealogy. We never take any name like Pharaoh or BAL, rather we take the names of those who led themselves and other dignified before God.

• The sealing. The sealing is the second act done in every baptism. The priest lays hand on the forehead and signs the sign of the cross. This action is for the whole body, the whole person. This becomes our identity. In all the worship and sacrament this sealing is our right, privilege and responsibility .In every Eucharist service , in the second part of the last russma, the community is saluted as ‘sealed by the seal of holy baptism’. This is the every time affirmation. God is in charge of our lives. God takes possession of us. We are possessed by God. The sealing with oil is peculiar to the kingly ownership. Each Christian is God embraced. The sealing has got a dual function. It is a command to us– a reminder, and it is a declaration to the world – a signifier. It is the apostolic commission to be a disciple.

• The anointing In the baptism there are three levels of anointing blessed oil, sanctified water, holy Myron. The prayers done at the three occasions are of appointing for special tasks. The sacraments are the occasion of imparting responsibilities. The baptism is the highest among them. The baptism is being done as the hope of the anointment. The holy Myron blankets the kid all over the body with blessing. After which, there is a prayer that indicates that the baptized persons are expected to rule the world for God. The ruling is in taking up initiatives and to pray before God for the world. As they share the throne with Jesus, they are to lead, to take responsibilities, to be accountable and there by to rule the world (Rev. 3.21). The person is called to live according to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is for the kings. The baptized ones are anointed to live with Christ in the world, to dine with Christ at the Eucharist, to rule with Christ in leading the world. These are the three levels of discipleship.

Baptism as Illumination
Illumination is a core theme in the bible. The face of Moses was illumined on his return from the Mount Sinai. Illumination of the intellect is also a key term for the Syriac tradition. The church is neither a collective of holy fools nor a pathological pedantry. Rather it is a group of people with illumined intellect, meaning that they can discern the futility of the world (prayer before promeon and sedra.)
May he/she rejects the works of death , may he/she glorify you as father son and holy spirit , May their consciousness be illumined that they may discern the futility of the world .
The gospel of St. John considers the discipleship as witnessing to the illumination through Jesus Christ (John 1). The baptized ones are illumined ones.

Baptism as ordination
Through baptism we are joined to Christ, the head and the church, the body. We share in the priestly, kingly and prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ. Hence through baptism we have become the royal priest. The act of anointing, commissioning are all part of this royal priesthood. Hence the baptized ones are given white dress, symbolizing victory over the forces of death. And the white dress becomes the dress code to worship God. This is the reason that even bishops are expected to wear white dress during the Eucharist.
It is very important to note that in any other ordination service Sythu and Myron is not used. The reason is that the baptism is the highest ordination. And all other ordinations are subsidiary to this. All other ordinations are within the royal priesthood of the church.

Baptism for relations of Serenity.
In the writings of Cyril of Jerusalem it is commented that the persons for baptism is turned to the west out side the church symbolizing the evil relations of Egypt, then turned them to the east symbolizing life in new relation. Romans 6 explicate that the organs are baptized for the acts of justice.

Then no longer present your organs to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life , and present your organs to God as instruments of righteousness(Rom 6. 13) .

Baptism is the elevation of the organs into a higher order of living. Col.3.4 endorses that the baptized ones are risen. Every Kauma (the standing posture) is affirmation of resurrected existence, the standing symbolizes the same.  This is profoundly seen in the sedra prayer of the fourth section  of the  Kahanaitha order  quote the prayer .

We  believe that the tongues that sung your divine songs will not be silenced , the hands that distributed your holy body will not be chained,  the foot that touched your Madbaha will not be flamed but will be brought to  new life.

In a sense this can be altered to every baptized one  , as we can try to reread it as

We believe that the tongues that sung your divine songs will not be silenced , the hands that glorified you  will not be chained,  the foot that touched your Madbaha will not  flamed; but will be brought to  new life.

Baptism is for a new order of relations, a new way of relating to the self and others. It is interesting to note that, in the earliest traditions the persons to be baptized were positioned as turning to the Egypt, symbolizing the relations of oppression and death, and then they are turned to the east- the thronos symbolizing the relation of justice and life. Baptism is for the relations of life, love and justice.

Baptism as identity constituting  
The fourth affirmation of the Nicene Creed declares that the baptismal identity of the church. “We”, is a collective by baptism. “We” are dedicated to the hope of new birth and resurrection. The eagerly waiting is an act of committing oneself to the cause. That is why Nicene Creed endorses it is done only once. But the “once” was with due preparation. It is clear from the patristic material that both the celebrant and the persons and related ones of the baptized used to observe prayer and fasting for three days prior to the baptism. It is also obvious from the Syriac tradition that the baptisms were conducted on the Easter Sundays. In every Holy Communion service in the second part of the last blessing the liturgy of the Holy Qurbana endorse the baptismal identity of the worshippers. In the first prayer of the funeral service, this baptismal identity is invoked.

Through the baptism, biological identity is transformed into ecclesial identity .That is why water of baptism is thicker than the blood. It is the commencement of relations which is more than the biological and cultural, transforming both. That is the call of the community in Acts. 2 .41

As the conception of human, constitute his or her biological hypostasis( being) , so baptism leads to a new mode of existence , to a regeneration ( 1 Pet.1:3,23), and consequently to a new hypostasis. Jesus Christ is the basis for this new existence not as he brings the world a beautiful revelation, a sublime teaching about the person, but because he realizes in history the very reality of the person and makes it the basis and hypostasis (being) of the person of every human.

Baptism as Sacrament of Metaphors
In distinction to other traditions of faith, the Syriac tradition works through metaphors. Metaphors are way of narrating the higher order of life and history. Metaphors do not limit reality to concepts; rather they sketch on the shadows of the unfathomable mystery of God and life.

The metaphor of light.
The metaphor of clothing.
The metaphor of crowning.
These three metaphors are to symbolize life with Christ. We called from darkness to light by the true light of Jesus Christ. As Col 3.10 the clothing imagery is very central to the Syriac tradition, it denotes the new person in Christ. The ruling imagery is from the book of revelation. The ruling is not the one that of Herod or Nero .We are called to rule through just relations. We are commissioned to take initiatives for Acts 2.47 verse gives the purpose of the baptism devoted to apostolic teaching, fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and prayers

Conclusion
Baptism is the sacrament of commencing the life in discipleship. The sacrament of baptism is the life of new birth and resurrection. It clothes us with new identity, we become royal priesthood. It is a hope, a call and a realisation.