First Baptism Homily, 2nd Lent

Jn 7:37b-39a

My mother said "You won’t amount to anything because you always procrastinate." I simply said "Just you wait."

I have to confess that there was a time when I believed that infants should not be baptized, but rather parents should wait until their child has grown to an age where they can make their own profession of the faith, to make their own choices, and their own decisions. The lady with who I was speaking quickly retorted, “Would you deny a child food or water for that long?” The obvious answer was, “No of course not!” Whereas before I regarded baptism as merely a symbol, a confirmation of the faith that one has accepted; the Catholic faith believes that baptism indeed wipes away sin, but more importantly one dies with Christ and is reborn with Him in order to have a new relationship with Him.

And so that’s why we are baptizing little Cecelia Irene today, because we want her relationship with Our Lord and Savior begin as soon as possible. That is a no-brainer. We would never deny food, water, medicine, or something that is obviously good in our life, why would we ever deny the One that has come to save us? Raleigh and Kim have come forward today, desiring baptism with the promise and the desire to raise Cecelia in the faith.

I had the blessed privilege to be at their wedding when they made their vows to each other and their willingness to be open to children. Now God has blessed them with Cecelia and now they are fulfilling the other end in their marriage… to raise their child in the faith and that is where our scripture today becomes most relevant: “Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’”

Raleigh and Kim and Molly: The way you live your life, the way you carry yourself in every action, what you say and do whether in public or in private, what you watch on television, how you use the computer, what music you listen to, what books you read, must have the “living water” of Jesus Christ flowing from you. Little CiCi will be looking to you as the primary examples of the faith and little children as you well know are little sponges. The faith is not simply instructed or injected to children, but it is imitated and acquired in the very environment in which one lives. Every little habit and nuance that you have about you, CiCi will pick up whether you tell her to do so or not, whether you notice it yourself or not. You will be surprised and ask each other, “Where did she learn that?!” And you will at least in these next few years have only to look at each other for the answer. As primary teachers of the faith, the primary way for CiCi to learn is to first ask yourselves: How much of my life flows out like living water? Do I live my life as if Christ lived in me? I cannot think of a better time to reevaluate your relationship with Our Lord than during this season of Lent where the unnecessary is stripped away and you are left with Christ alone with you.

There is a Chinese saying: “一代不如一代”: which means the following generation is never greater than the previous. Typically this expression is said as the older generation looks down on the younger generation and all their foibles. However, today I want to say it as a challenge! If your Christian life is weak, then Cici’s Christian life is going to be weaker. If you work hard in the faith and grow in it, then CiCi’s will also. As an infant is baptized without delay, so too must our faith be lived out without delay. Now is the time to accept the challenge. Because the best things in life, cannot be delayed! My Mother says (not said!!) I procrastinate, well I told her just you wait… the next generation will be better and stronger than the next!!