Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church


Homily for January 12, 2003
Year B - Cycle I

Baptism of the Lord
by Fr. John Carney
Topic: Our Baptismal Promises
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Why was Jesus baptized? We know what baptism does. It removes original sin and it makes us children of God. Baptism is also, if one is baptized as an adult, removes all the sin of your life. But Jesus was God’s son, begotten and not made, from all eternity, and, of course, was free of sin, so it seems that there was no need for Jesus to be baptized. Indeed, John’s baptism was different from the baptism that we experienced. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance from sin, it was a ritualistic baptism. Jewish rituals included baptisms in Jesus’ day. So even more so, a sinless Jesus didn’t need John’s baptism. As a matter of fact, John even objected. John said, "You should be baptizing me. I should not baptize you." And Jesus said, "Just do this, John. Do it." Well, I think there’s a number of reasons for His baptism. It was, and presaged His passion. Baptism is a symbol of death. The person goes down into the water with his sin, and dies there, the sin dies, and the person is raised free and clean of sin. So what Jesus did in his thirtieth year, when he began his public ministry ritually in baptism, he did for real on the cross three years later. He began his public ministry with this act of baptism. The Gospel ends with, "Go and baptize a nations, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." Jesus was baptized in the waters, not to be made holy by the waters, but to make the waters holy, so that we might be cleansed from sin. So there’s good reason. But today, I’d like to focus on our own baptism, and what that means for us. And also, if you’re a parent or godparent, the great responsibility you have for your children. We celebrate a lot of anniversaries. As a matter of fact, you’d better not forget those anniversaries. We celebrate birthdays, we celebrate retirement, graduation, all these passages in our lives. But we seldom celebrate our baptism, the most important day of our life. St. Vincent Farah, each year on the anniversary of his baptism, sent a small stipend to the church in which he was baptized, to have an anniversary thanksgiving mass celebrated, because he knew how important that day was. And also the great King Louis of France, St. Louis of France, who preferred to be called Louis of Poissy, because that was the city of his baptism. He was crowned King of France in Rome, but he was baptized in Poissy, so he signed his letters as Louis of Poissy. As a matter of fact, one day he was talking to an attendant and he said, "In Poissy I received the greatest honor of my life." And the attendant said, "Your majesty, you mean the city of Rome." And he said, "No, it is true in the city of Rome I was crowned King of France. But in Poissy I was made a Christian. Then I acquired the right to a throne in Heaven." We should celebrate our baptism. I don’t know the date of my baptism. I’m preaching it up here, but I’m not doing it. So I’m going to find out. I’ve got the documents somewhere. And we should celebrate that day.

Secondly, today we are reminded, many of us, I am a godfather, and I am reminded of my responsibilities as a godparent or even more so as a parent. And I’m going to read to you from the ritual of baptism. Most were baptized as children, and these were the promises made on the child’s behalf. So, if you’re a child, these are the promises your mom and dad made, and your godparents made. So when they get on your case, they are just doing what they said they were going to do. The priest or deacon asks the parents and godparents, "You are accepting the responsibility of training your children in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?" It’s an interrogation. "And godparents, are you ready to help these parents in their duty as Christian parents?" And then later on, the parents are instructed, "On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring your children up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life that God gives them today is kept safe from the poison of sin. And if your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your own baptism." And then when the child is presented the lighted candle from the paschal candle, the light of Christ, the instruction is, "Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ." And finally, in the white garments of baptism, which is an outward sign of your Christian dignity, the priest or deacon says, "With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting light of heaven." Parents and godparents have stood here before God and church, and made solemn promises that they must keep at the cost of their own souls. You love your children, and you want the best for them, nothing is more important than faith. Everything else will pass away. The one thing that will last forever is faith in Christ Jesus. And yet you hear many people say, "Well, "I’m going to let my child decide that on his own. Who am I to impose my religious beliefs on him?" Well, you’re the one who stood here at baptism and promised to do your best to pass along, not to impose. Because we teach not by words primarily, but we teach by how we live our lives. That’s how your kids will learn faith in Christ Jesus, first and foremost. It’s not good enough to tell your kid to go figure it out. For most of you, someone passed the faith on to you. And now it’s your chance to pass it on to them.

Yesterday there was a story by Jeff Jacoby, a syndicated columnist from the Boston Globe. And it reminded me of a column he had written some years back. I went and found it. You remember the character who has been in the news recently, John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban. Jacoby wrote a column called "The Road to Treason," about how John Walker Lindh was brought up. His parents were Catholic, though I’m not sure they ever seriously practiced their faith. I suspect, though, he may have been baptized. There’s usually a grandmother out there somewhere, who makes them. "When is it? When is the baptism?" So its quite possible, even likely, that Walker and Lindh made the promises you just heard, in front of God and country, regarding their son. But they didn’t keep their promises, and there were consequences. They never told their son anything. He had to figure out everything for himself. When he was 14, he got in to hip-hop music, the nastier and filthier the better. Almost to the point of addiction, according to Jacoby’s column. They said, "Well, that’s OK." It’s not OK for your kids to listen to this garbage. What goes in their heads comes out their mouths. What goes into their heads influences their feelings and their actions. It’s not OK. It’s very dangerous. At 16, he decided on his own to leave high school to attend an alternative high school, where he met with your teacher once a week and determined your own courses of study. I had the privilege a few months ago to give some lectures at our wonderful high school. Those kids need their teacher every day, every hour of every day. Teachers do important work. If there’s no discipline in the learning environment, there’s no learning. But, they permitted their son to do that. Later, he read the autobiography of Malcolm X, and he became a Moslem and began to hang out at the local mosque, again to the point of addiction. Whatever he got into, he got into totally. Even after he was captured in Afghanistan, concerning this period in his life when he became a Moslem, his mother said, "Its good for a child to find a passion." And his dad said, "I’m proud of John for pursuing an alternative course." Later, when he went off to Yemen to learn Arabic and terrorism, they didn’t object. Of course, he landed up in Afghanistan, and was trained as a Taliban. To fight for what? To fight Christians and others who don’t agree with the Sharia, the law of Islam. They supported him throughout. The only time they objected was when he changed his name to Suliman. They wanted him to keep the name of John because he had been named after John Lennon. I’m not making this up, and I don’t think Jacoby is either. But here’s Jacoby’s quote, "That the family was devout practitioners of self-obsessed non-judgementalism." Let me say that again. "Devout practitioners of self-obsessed non-judgementalism, Lindh and Walker appear never to have rebuked their son or criticized his choices. In their world, there are no absolutes, no fixed truths, no mandatory behavior, no ‘thou shalt not’s’. If they had one conviction, it was that all convictions are worthy, that nothing is intolerable except intolerance." His parents didn’t get it, and even after he was captured they didn’t get it. When his mother learned that he had become a Taliban, she made this amazing statement. She said, "Well, when you’re young and impressionable, its easy to be lead by charismatic people." Well, he was young and impressionable and your son, living in your home. You were supposed to be that charismatic person that lead your son. He found no limits and expectations in his home, so he sought them elsewhere. So Jacoby concludes his column, "He craved standards and discipline, his mom and dad didn’t offer any. The Taliban did." So, this is obviously an extreme example. And, by the way, my only emotion for this family is pity. I have no anger or hatred towards them at all. I am amazed, and it’s so sad what happened to this family. And they continue to suffer for their own choices.

But I think we can learn a lesson. I think this notion that, somehow a parent doesn’t have responsibility to pass on tradition and values to children is just not right. Because kids crave, and they won’t admit it, but they crave discipline. They crave order. They crave a sense of belonging and of tradition and values. And they want those to be taught to them. And they expect to live according to those standards.

Have you ever lost your child? For four or five hours? Be honest. I know a lot of you have. Is anyone honest enough to admit that they were in a shopping mall … How about two hours? There we go! Thank you! I asked this question several years ago, at my former parish, and after the last mass someone came over to the Rectory and said, "Father, there’s a baby in the Hall." And it was a little boy, a perfect baby. Happy and he was getting all of this attention. And he had been left there. There had been a baptism, and mom thought dad had him, and dad thought mom had him. And they were at the party for an hour. "Where’s the kid?" So here comes this van, screeching around the corner, mom flies out, "Oh, thank God he’s safe!" And I looked at her and I knew. I said, "When I said that, did you say to yourself, ‘No parent could ever lose their kid’?" And she said, "Yes, Father." So, watch yourself. I was in Germany some years ago, at a Sunday dinner. The couple I was with lost their son for five hours. He was in the woods and he got lost. Thank God they found him. But I never saw such fear. By the way, then they did find him, they hugged him and kissed him and they smothered him, then they beat him to a pulp. I never could figure that out. A lot of you just now, in imagining, experienced the real fear. Don’t ever lose your kid for an eternity. Pass on the faith that will get that kid to heaven. That’s your job, your responsibility. We believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. We don’t impose that on anyone, but we believe it. And that’s the basis of our family life.

I’d ask you to please stand now, as we renew our baptism promises.

Do you reject Satan? (I do.) And all his works? (I do.) And all his empty promises? (I do.)

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth? (I do.)

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? (I do.)

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? (I do.)

This is our faith, the faith of our church. We are proud and blessed to profess it.

In Christ our Lord, Amen.