Do you remember your birthday? Of course, your life really began the moment when those two cells, one from your father and one from your mother, came together in your mother’s womb. At that instant an individual unique in all eternity came into being – you. But do you remember the date of your birth?
You reply, “Yes, of course I know!” Well, OK, but there is more. I know you know the date your mother gave birth to you. That was your earthly birth, which was wonderful, but our earthly life is destined to have a finite end in time.
I am referring to an even more glorious birthday into a life that will never end. Do you remember the date of your other birthday? That was the day you were born into eternal life: the day of your baptism. It is an even more important date for you to remember.
Over my years as a family physician, I helped nearly 600 women deliver their babies into the world. I can truly say that I looked on each baby I delivered in total amazement at the miracle he or she is.
As a medical scientist, I can’t fully explain God’s miraculous gift of life any more than, as a deacon, I can fully explain the Trinity.
I do know that, for each of those 600 unique human beings I delivered, their earthly life will eventually end. But through baptism, Our Lord gave us the opportunity for a life that will never end. “The Rite of Baptism for Children” proclaims this: “Baptism, the door to life and to the Kingdom of God … which Christ offered to all, that they might have eternal life.”
The reading at baptisms about Jesus and Nicodemus from John’s Gospel is my favorite. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus replies, “How can a man once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answers, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus gave us the example by having Himself baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Then Christ left us the grace of the sacrament of baptism with its formula at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
As a deacon who now performs baptisms, it is a distinct privilege and joy to again be assisting in the “delivery” of children – children of God.
In writing this, a young girl of about 5 years old I baptized comes to mind. The parents had missed having her baptized as an infant. She was afraid of her head being in water, so they were reluctant of her having a potentially bad faith experience with water poured on her head by the deacon or priest during baptism.
However, they brought her to me, and I talked with her and felt she would do fine. She was a trooper during the baptism, which was a blessed event.
Then, the following week at Mass, I saw her in my Communion line with her father. As they approached, she came forward all by herself, dropped down on her knees in front of me, folded her hands in prayer, and bowed her head for a blessing. I became so choked up with emotion that I had trouble verbalizing a blessing for her, but somehow managed it. Through her reverence for the Eucharist, she understood what baptism meant for her: she was now a child of God, part of the
Mystical Body of Christ, and sharer in the inheritance of heaven.
So be sure you know the date of your other important birthday: your birth into eternal life through baptism. If you already know the date – or when you do – take a moment to reflect on what that profound moment in your life means for you. At the vigil Mass at Easter we renew our baptismal promises. It is an opportunity to give thanks for the miraculous gift of our earthly life. It is also a very special time to be thankful for our other gift of life, our birth through baptism into life with Christ. With our baptism came His incredible offer to live forever with Him, in the eternal Kingdom. Thanks be to God.
Rev. Dr. David M. Ramsey III serves as deacon at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin.