Family and friends are gathering at the local church for the Celebration of the Baptism of the latest – and most precious – arrival. Amy! Invisibly, they stand in two circles, the inner circle being made up of the parents and godparents and then the wider circle of their community. It’s snowing, and Granddad is trying to teach the children how to catch the snowflakes that are falling from the sky with their tongues. They think they have to chase them and create a very funny scene. One day they will learn that it is best to be still. But even so, it is never easy to drink from the sky.
For the brief time that John the Baptist and Jesus were together they were a team. John prepares human hearts to welcome the One who is to come by bringing them to forgiveness. His Baptism distances them from their sin and any mistaken notion they might have had that this is who they are. But this is only a first step. Turning away from sin creates the freedom to turn towards God. As John’s disciples turn, the only person they can see is Jesus. And Jesus has just come up from the dark river, filled with the Spirit and certain that he is ‘The Beloved Son of God’. Now, the heavens are open never to be closed and the Dove, symbol of Love, moves towards Jesus.
In the Gospels the Father only speaks twice. In Mark and Luke it is a direct address “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased”. In Matthew the address begins with “This is my Beloved Son…”. Where Mark and Luke seek to establish intimacy, Matthew is more concerned with identity. Both are needed.
Back to the family we met at the beginning. The priest arrives with the key which will unlock many gifts for this little one. The rituals will illuminate exactly what these are. What name have you given your child? Her name is spoken with reverence. The reverence that accepts that we know her but that she is also wrapped in mystery. The parents are then asked if they will open what otherwise would have remained closed by being faithful witnesses. They say yes but they hardly know what they mean. Still, they are willing to begin the journey. Support will be needed. That’s what Godparents are there for. They will need support, that’s what family and friends are for. Now that the inner circle is complete, everyone is invited to make the sign of the cross on Amy’s forehead. This is the call to the third eye, the eye of the heart and the soul which looks in two directions. It gazes on the world and on eternity at
the same time. With the water of Baptism the eye is awoken from sleep. The priest is reading the Gospel about Jesus challenging his bodyguard not to push the little ones away. He does this by embracing, blessing and laying hands of love upon them. This is
how we open the third eye. This is how to babysit a child of God.
So, family, friends and community must renew themselves for this work. This is done by a renunciation of Satan – the accuser and the divider – by refusing the strategies of accusation and division to increase our own power. Instead we commit ourselves to the strategies of the Beloved Son – forgiveness and reconciliation. By freeing ourselves and opening ourselves we have created the right conditions for the water to be poured.
In our beautiful catholic tradition, nothing is ever what it seems. This is the font of the sacramental life of the church. The water, which is not water is poured. Oil, which is not oil, will follow the water and Amy will join the line of priests, prophets and queens who belong to Jesus. A candle, which is not a candle, will be lit. A white garment, which is not a white garment, will enfold her. The Risen One is here, they sing. The Spirit is here, they sing. And they are right.
Back at the house there is a party. Everyone toasts the new baby and asks that she will find true friends and live in a world of justice and peace. They move towards the buffet, and for a moment I am left alone with her. She begins to cry. I offer a finger to her
outstretched hand and she grasps and holds it tightly. I wait until her distress, like all distress, passes away. It is a moment to ponder. That our Catholic Faith does not celebrate the individual seeker, the lonely exile. It begins and unfolds in a relationship where the old give the young the gift of the truth. As I ponder what we have just done I remember that the touch of love is a revelation of the spirit. I will continue to bless the little ones because their day is dawning. I will continue to enjoy every
Baptism because it helps me understand myself and my own Baptism more.
There is an explosion of laughter from the sitting room and grandad is, as usual, at the centre of it. I hope she will have time to get close to him. I think he will teach her how to drink from the sky.
