Baptism
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series II Cycle B
"Oh, Mom, don't be silly. I don't need Erin baptized. I don't go to church and I would be two-faced if I only came to have her baptized."
Judy's eyes welled up with tears. Caroline's words stung. She may as well have been slapped. She couldn't force her daughter to bring her baby to church to be baptized; it was Caroline's decision to make. She never brought up the issue again.
Erin grew up to be a beautiful girl: gentle, smart, and caring. She was strong-willed and beyond her years in maturity. At twenty, she spent more hours at the mission feeding the homeless than studying. But her top grades seemed to come to her without much effort. She was compassionate. And unbaptized. It broke Judy's heart that her only grandchild was not baptized, but it was not her place to bring it up again.
The day came when Erin married a charismatic professor who loved nature and the outdoors more than anything else. And he was a Christian. Erin and Tom had many discussions about children, wanting to start their family as soon as they were able. Erin and Tom had three children in five years. And none was baptized.
They had many arguments over baptism. Erin didn't subscribe to putting on appearances; Tom didn't want to force his convictions on Erin. They agreed to disagree. They dropped the subject of baptism.
Then Judy became terminally ill. She gathered her daughter and granddaughter around her and explained her illness to them. They cried together as they considered the injustice of it: they were the only family they had. But Judy made them laugh, recalling how Caroline would steal her mother's broom so she could play horsy. How Erin would toddle up to her gramma and ask her for just one more bedtime story long after she should have been asleep.
The three of them spent many long hours together until Judy's death. Caroline found a set of Judy's journals. Eighteen books told of Judy's heartaches, joys, triumphs, and trials. The last held letters telling Caroline about Judy's belief in God, Judy's absolute assurance of being a child of God.
Caroline read of her own baptism, the day Judy had brought her to the church in front of family and friends. That day Caroline was assured that she was a child of God too.
"God came to you that day, Caroline. No matter what you have done, no matter what you have thought, no matter what you have not done, God has been with you. That day of your baptism opened the door to heaven for you. It was the day the Holy Spirit entered your life, never to leave. It was the first day you took a step toward heaven in your journey in life. It was the happiest day of my life."
It took several weeks for Caroline to gather the courage to share the diaries with Erin. She felt she had a reawakening, another beginning, a baptism of sorts. And suddenly it was too important to ignore. Too important not to share it with her daughter and grandchildren. Caroline and Erin and Tom spent days talking about life, about God, and about faith.
Life was too precious not to include God. Erin and her children were baptized five months later.
Judy's eyes welled up with tears. Caroline's words stung. She may as well have been slapped. She couldn't force her daughter to bring her baby to church to be baptized; it was Caroline's decision to make. She never brought up the issue again.
Erin grew up to be a beautiful girl: gentle, smart, and caring. She was strong-willed and beyond her years in maturity. At twenty, she spent more hours at the mission feeding the homeless than studying. But her top grades seemed to come to her without much effort. She was compassionate. And unbaptized. It broke Judy's heart that her only grandchild was not baptized, but it was not her place to bring it up again.
The day came when Erin married a charismatic professor who loved nature and the outdoors more than anything else. And he was a Christian. Erin and Tom had many discussions about children, wanting to start their family as soon as they were able. Erin and Tom had three children in five years. And none was baptized.
They had many arguments over baptism. Erin didn't subscribe to putting on appearances; Tom didn't want to force his convictions on Erin. They agreed to disagree. They dropped the subject of baptism.
Then Judy became terminally ill. She gathered her daughter and granddaughter around her and explained her illness to them. They cried together as they considered the injustice of it: they were the only family they had. But Judy made them laugh, recalling how Caroline would steal her mother's broom so she could play horsy. How Erin would toddle up to her gramma and ask her for just one more bedtime story long after she should have been asleep.
The three of them spent many long hours together until Judy's death. Caroline found a set of Judy's journals. Eighteen books told of Judy's heartaches, joys, triumphs, and trials. The last held letters telling Caroline about Judy's belief in God, Judy's absolute assurance of being a child of God.
Caroline read of her own baptism, the day Judy had brought her to the church in front of family and friends. That day Caroline was assured that she was a child of God too.
"God came to you that day, Caroline. No matter what you have done, no matter what you have thought, no matter what you have not done, God has been with you. That day of your baptism opened the door to heaven for you. It was the day the Holy Spirit entered your life, never to leave. It was the first day you took a step toward heaven in your journey in life. It was the happiest day of my life."
It took several weeks for Caroline to gather the courage to share the diaries with Erin. She felt she had a reawakening, another beginning, a baptism of sorts. And suddenly it was too important to ignore. Too important not to share it with her daughter and grandchildren. Caroline and Erin and Tom spent days talking about life, about God, and about faith.
Life was too precious not to include God. Erin and her children were baptized five months later.
