The baby never cries, except when she is hungry or would like someone to rid her of a dirty diaper. Perhaps one, perhaps the other, but she cried. Just as the pastor poured the water of baptism into the font, prayed over it and took the baby, the baby cried.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit...and the baby cried. See what love has done!...and the baby cried. Jesus loves me, this I know...and the crying paused as she was walked around the congregation...but as soon as she was back in the arms of her parents, the baby cried.
We listened in Sunday school this morning to Rob Bell tell a story of his son, a lie, and a moment of reconciliation. Thinking he was totally lost, the child heard his father say, "You can never do anything to stop me from loving you." The child....cried.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, these waters of baptism are a sign of our belonging to One who says "You can never do anything to stop me from loving you." We who are dirty, have been cleansed. We who are hungry, have been fed. We who imperfectly recognize that overwhelming love on most days because we are "grown up"--thinking we can feed and cleanse ourselves--see in baptism the truth that we so deeply long for. But when we really hear through the power of the sacrament "you can never do anything to stop me from loving you"---we cry...just like the baby.
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