Today's a Good Day

Today, my nephew was baptized.  His name is Nicholas Karol--Karol after Karol Wojtyla, that is, John Paul II.  In honor of his baptism, I'm posting a practice homily I gave a year ago.  It was assigned as a homily for a baptism, so I've placed Nicholas' name in place of the fake names I had originally used.  (Actually, the names I used were those of my younger brother and sister!)  So here's the "homily:"

Some people will talk about faith as “looking for God.”  They say that when we all come together on Sundays, we’re coming together as a group to “search for God.”  God is hard to see in our world, so it makes sense on a certain level that we’ve got to look hard, and help each other out.

But, this is a flawed understanding of faith, at least, it’s the flawed understanding of our faith.  If religion is only about us looking for God, then it means God is just sitting around somewhere waiting to be found.

But that’s not the case!  We do look for God, and it’s good that we look for him, but the exciting truth is that God is looking for us!  That is to say, God is the one who saves us, not the other way around.  It’s not our responsibility (nor is it possible) for us to go and find him on our own.  He comes running to us, outpouring His love and His grace.

That’s what today is about.  There are Christians that think that it’s a bad idea for infants to be baptized because as infants, they don’t understand what’s going on—they’re just infants.  They can’t speak for themselves, they can’t even ask for Baptism.  Shouldn’t we wait until they are older?

Well, if Baptism were about what we do, then yes, they would be right.  But Baptism, primarily, is not about what we do.  It's not primarily about what the baptized is able to do or able to say.  Baptism is about what God does for us.

So what’s happening today?  God is about to do something--something huge.  Through the outward sign of water, God is going to cleanse Nicholas Karol of original sin, make him a member of the Body of Christ, make him a child of God.

The Father is, right now, running out to welcome him into his household, just as he ran out rejoicing to each one of us at our Baptism.  Baptism is our re-birth, and God is our Father.  What father is not overjoyed at the birth of His children?

He would do the same things for Nicholas Karol if he were an adult, and it would be just as beautiful. The only difference is that Nicholas' parents and godparents are accepting the responsibility of teaching their child the Faith, rather than leaving it to him.  You see, when adults are baptized they have to go through months of classes and preparation, so that they understand what’s going on and can worthily request it.  But for Nicholas Karol, all of that preparation will take place in the coming years, as his parents and godparents lift him up in prayer and guide his development and understanding as a Christian.

I’ve heard people speak with regret before, saying that they don’t remember their baptism because they were only a baby.  I say to that, how can you possibly regret it!?  Sure, you don’t remember the moment, but you don’t remember the moment of your natural birth either.  Think of the great gift that your parents requested for you from the Church and from God.  Think of how much God loves children.  Think of how happy He, God, was on the day of your Baptism.  Think of the tears that welled up in His eyes as he welcomed you, his precious creation.  Think of the saints and angels rejoicing as the waters cleansed you.

The same thing, all of it, the saints, the angels, the tears, the love, the grace:  that’s all happening right now for Nicholas Karol.  Today’s a good day.

Another unrelated photo:

I'll bet the people that work at this gift shop
really hate having to listen to the patrons
try out the didgeridoo.  Too bad.