September 4, 2009
The Christian Journey
The way to life: Through the waters of Baptism
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
Somewhere and somehow, a wonderful little book of 119 pages entered my life about two months ago and I have been unable to quiet its content and questions. The book is entitled “Living Baptism Daily” by Lawrence E. Mick, published by Liturgical Press in Collegeville, Minn.
Chapter one opens with an all-too-true anecdote: “One Easter Sunday after church services, the minister stood at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. As one man shook his hand, the minister pulled him aside. “You need to join the Army of the Lord,” the minister said emphatically. The man looked surprised. “I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor,” he said. “How come I don’t see you except for Christmas and Easter?” asked the minister. The man leaned toward the minister’s ear and whispered, “I’m in the secret service.”
A humorous, though heart-breaking story for the many parents who raised their children in the practice of the Catholic faith only to see them in that same situation or having abandoned their faith for a popular non-denominational congregation today. A frustrating reality also for pastors, staffs and laity who spend countless hours working with parents wanting their infants to be baptized in the Church’s faith only to discover that once the water has dried, they are no longer seen anywhere near the Church community again — at least, until the next birth, First Communion or Confirmation.
When was the last time you thought about your baptism? When was the last time you were aware that you are a baptized person? What effect did this awareness have on you? What does it mean to be a baptized person? What implications does baptism have for our daily life? What distinguishes the baptized from the unbaptized? How are we to live as baptized persons? Does baptism place any demands upon us? What rights and privileges does baptism convey to us? Spend time with these questions. Allow them to knock hard at the door of your soul. They can unleash a fountain of life-giving waters.
Nothing other than our baptism into Jesus Christ brings us together Sunday after Sunday to celebrate his dying and rising and our communion with him and each other. We are not a social club of the rich and famous. We are the ones God has chosen to be his adopted sons and daughters through the waters of baptism and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to live the new life of the Risen Lord Jesus. What an awesome gift! What an overwhelming responsibility! In the first preface for Sundays, we praise God, “Through his death and resurrection, you have called us to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we proclaim your mighty works for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light.”
The baptized live in God’s wonderful light. We are no longer blinded regarding the way to live — we know the way leading to everlasting life. His name is Jesus, the Christ, in whom we have become God’s beloved sons and daughters through the waters of baptism.
Can you personally, your parish or religious community do something to help remind your people of their baptism into Christ? What visible reminder of baptism can you place before them each week that professes your faith that baptism is the foundational sacrament of our life in Christ by which God builds us into a holy temple in his Spirit? How can we, the Church, remind us, the Church, that our baptism into Christ makes all the difference in and for the world?