Cold Icy Plunges

In your righteousness, deliver and set me free; incline your ear to me and save me.  Psalm 71:2

From myself. 

I hear that becoming a Christian means that the old creature dies. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. That’s what baptism is about.  I think. 

However the Jewish Mikveh, the “gathering of waters” was often a daily immersion.  “The building of mikveh (baptismal pool) was so important in ancient times it was said to take precedence over the construction of a synagogue. Immersion was so important that it occurred before the high Priest conducted the service on the Day of Atonement, before the regular priests participated in the Temple service, before each person entered the Temple complex, before a scribe wrote the name of God, as well as several other occasions.”

Ezra decreed that each male should immerse himself before praying or studying.  There were several Jewish groups that observed ritual immersion every day to assure readiness for the coming of the Messiah.  The Essenes also used regular immersion, and were called “dawn bathers.”

Immersion is required for both men and women when converting to Judaism. There were three prerequisites for a proselyte coming into Judaism: Circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice (Maimonides, Hilkh. Iss. Biah xiii. 5). Immersion is required after a woman has her monthly period (Lev. 15:28). Immersion is required for pots and eating utensils manufactured by a non-Jew (Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion p-263).

Besides these, there are other times when it is customary to be immersed in the mikveh such as the occasion before Yom Kippur as a sign of purity and repentance and before the Sabbath in order to sensitize oneself to the holiness of the day. 

The command to be baptized fell under the category of laws known as Chukim and are literally translated as decrees.  There is no explicit reason given for their existence except for identification as God’s chosen people to other nations. 

According to a number of Jewish sages, mayim, which is the Hebrew word for water, shares the same root as the word "mah", meaning "what." This teaching points out that when a person immerses in water, he is nullifying the fleshly ego and is asking, "What am I?"

The baptismal water (Mikveh) in rabbinic literature was referred to as the womb of the world, and as a convert came out of the water it was considered a new birth separating him from the pagan world. As the convert came out of these waters his status was changed and he was referred to as "a little child just born" or "a child of one day" (Yeb. 22a; 48b; 97b). We see the New Testament using similar Jewish terms as "born anew," "new creation," and "born from above."

The point of all of this being: In Jewish teachings, the blood sacrifice was necessary for the cleansing of sins for the atonement of the soul, but and the mikveh was a process of spiritual purification and cleansing. 

This connects pretty closely with Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.  Not only was it a model of loving servanthood, but He also articulates the need for continual cleansing of our dusty selves, making the pilgrimage through a broken world.  And tied up with all of this is our need to forgive one another. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Thus, part of our regular cleansing, our regular purification involves us forgiving one another, “seven times seventy times.”

And thus, we will be set free.  From our self.  We can only receive God’s mercy to the extent that we offer mercy.  Unforgiveness binds our hearts and minds like heavy chains.  His righteousness pled, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

I am reminded of Marco’s ritual plunge into the chilly pool next door.  Stripping down, deep breath, dive.  And then bursting upward like a shot, refreshed to the core. Absolutely nothing holding him down.  Born anew.  Ancient sages teach that the word mikveh has the same letters as Ko(v)Meh, the Hebrew word for "rising" or "standing tall," therefore we see the idea of being baptized "straightway."

Jesus concludes His teaching, “If you know these things, blessed (happy) are you if you do them.” We WILL be happy if we put this teaching into practice. He knew that grudges, hate, anger, and lack of forgiveness do nothing but shackle us and keep us bound in a desert. If we let them hook in, they will eventually destroy us. Forgiving even those who have done things spitefully against us unlocks our shackles and releases us. When we on a daily basis allow God to wash away our sin, our entanglements, our grudges, we can find inner peace and His happiness.  Straightway.