What a celebration we're
having: the baptism of Caitlin Marie and the birthday of the Christian Church!
So what! Isn't baptism a
routine ceremony for babies? Isn't Pentecost just one more Sunday connected to
an unbelievable story? For some people, that IS all there is to it.
But there is so much more
meaning to baptism and Pentecost, when we open our hearts and minds to what
they both can be to you and me.
Did you ever have someone say
to you "What are you going to be when you grow up?" That's an awful
question to ask anyone; it's often irritating to create a reply. The question
seems to imply that you're a nobody until you've grown up (whenever
that is). It suggests that you're only a somebody when you've got
a job (preferably one with status).
Are all the children,
unemployed and retired people a collection of relatively worthless nobodies?
There's another problem with
asking "What are you going to be when you grow up?" Disappointing answers are
often given; questioners don't receive answers they'd really prefer to have!
When I was in nursery school, the first job I ever wanted was to be the man who
cranked the gates up and down at train crossings; I'm sure my family would have
preferred more prestigious inclinations. Early in a Roman Catholic elementary
school, when the Dominican nuns wore clothes that showed only their faces, I
though it would be wonderful to be a nun! I can't recall my parents' reaction.
How many of us try to become
somebody of worth and significance through our occupations! It's as if
individuals are their jobs! We might even associate only with people
whose jobs have sufficient prestige to impress us.
When adults gather as strangers
at social events, what is it they want to know right after names are exchanged?
Yes, what you do! I dread those moments; with my composite career, what
should I answer? I'm not ashamed of what I do, but people try to relate to me
according to their values and pictures of what I do. If I answer "teacher,"
they want to know what kind; I say “college professor,” and I become
more worth talking to; pressed further, I say in a community college, and
they're clearly disappointed, and in their eyes I am somewhat of a lesser human
being than if I could have said "a professor at Harvard." Does my part-time
position at Berkeley Divinity School at YALE make me more acceptable?
Do I say a “writer”
and then probably disappoint them that my writing is only philosophy textbooks?
Should I say "priest" and conjure up images from Jimmy Swaggart to St. Francis?
Should I mention Christ Church Cathedral, which suggests I might have more on
the ball than when I was vicar of a rural church. Or should I say President of
The Litchfield Institute, Inc., which does sound classy!?
And, how will I be identified
and evaluated, if I become incapacitated, unemployed, or when I retire? Who am
I then?
I am grateful to serve in these
various ways, but none of them is who I am, now that I'm somewhat grown
up. I do NOT look in the mirror and see a priest, a teacher, or any other of
the responsibilities I have. I do not look at you and see a collection of
roles, functions, and occupations. I don't even see Episcopalians.
I understand us all as
individually named and unique children of God, male and female, young and old.
This morning through the ancient rite of baptism, Caitlin Marie is being named
and received into the worldwide fellowship of children of God, the Christian
Church. This is who she is; this is who I am; and this is who you
are.
Everything that you and I
do, all the family roles we have, all of our responsibilities, are given
perspective, are put in their proper place, by our common baptism as unique
children of God. This is who I see in a mirror; this is who I see gathered here
today.
There is little outside of this
building which will support such an identity. That "you are what you do," that
your worth as a human being depends upon the prestige of what you do, is simply
taken for granted.
Consequently, we need strength
to really believe and feel that we are indeed primarily
children of God. We need that something else to remind us and
nurture us in this identity. The gift of God's Holy Spirit provides us with
that needed fire, power, and spirit as we gather and when we're dispersed.
We've heard in today's reading
a poetic, richly symbolic account of the Holy Spirit's activity at the first
Pentecost. The gathered disciples experienced what only could be described as a
"noise like that of a strong, driving wind," "fire," and “power." They
became enthusiastic! They not only knew who they were: they found power to live
truly as children of God. The Christian Church was born!
They were not made into perfect
human beings. They continued to make mistakes. But their lives had a new
exciting meaning and strength.
What we're doing here today is
NOT a routine ceremony for babies! We are not supposed to be victims of
one more unbelievable story from the Bible. We are celebrating the deepest
meaning of life, our baptism (who we are), and the renewing power from
God to live this life. As Caitlin Marie is baptized, we receive her into the
Christian life; you and I renew our own baptismal promises; we celebrate
the Church's birthday as we remember and experience here the powerful,
nurturing Spirit of Pentecost ...all in the Name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit! AMEN.