Baptism, a family affair

The Christian Church Family, realizing that while an infant or very young child is incapable of personal sin, by virtue of her or his human nature, the child, as part of human nature, is touched by Original Sin. So, infant baptism leading to membership in the Christian Church is appropriate to claim the child for Christ, while she or he remains personally innocent.

By infant baptism, parents, grandparents and other family members in attendance indicate their desire and intent to pass on their faith. Parents acknowledge that their child, like themselves, belongs to God, as well as to them, and the human race.

Parents also give at baptism a formal name to the child, so that the child will have a saint to imitate in life and a good example of one person already in God’s heavenly family.

Jesus is innocent of sin by His divine nature that protects him from original sin. For a good example to all and to identify fully with all of us, sinners asked John the Baptist for baptism. Jesus comes to baptism in solidarity with repentant sinners but the Dove and the Voice from heaven certainly set Him apart.

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is the last day of the Christmas season, and the beginning of Ordinary Time in the Church Family. Now we move forward as a human and church family to daily put into practice what it means to be beloved sons and daughters of God, and brothers and sisters of Jesus, gifted by the Holy Spirit.

We are challenged to take the words spoken from heaven by the Father and Holy Spirit about Jesus, and put them into action by our words and deeds. The importance of this feast is to realize that as Jesus is revealed at this event as fully human and fully divine, so by baptism we are called to work for the divine part!

We renew our baptismal promises this day, as we do on Holy Saturday, so that we are better able to live Christ-like lives as we move through this new year.

On Friday of this week, we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Just as Jesus prayed at His baptism, we are to be people of prayer, who daily pray and work for the unity of faith by our hope and love of God and neighbor.

As all Christians have been marked with the one seal of baptism, we need to aim for fullness of faith in our bond of being beloved brothers and sisters in the one family of Jesus Christ. We need to mentor each other in faith, by encouraging each other to live out the creed as we profess it each Sunday as a family, and to put that faith into daily action with our gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism may seem like a very small step, but it is the most significant first step towards being a Christian. It is how we act on it that makes the difference. Even just sitting and praying each day is acting as a Christ figure.

We might be just like H.C. Booth, sitting on a rocking chair watching the sunset. He lived in the midwest, so he was also watching the dust blow, which led him to wonder: Instead of blowing dust, could he pull dust? Later that year 1901, he invented the vacuum cleaner.