On Sunday, September 3rd we will witness and partake in what can best be described as a close encounter. On Sunday, God will act upon one of us. God will reach in and touch the flesh of another child. That divine touch will come in the experience of water thrice splashed upon His head and words chanted above Him and for Him; "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." And although my hand will cup the water and my voice speak those words, make no mistake, it is God who is acting upon Nicholas. God is choosing to get in the water, to cleanse, to drown and rescue from drowning, to enter the deep end with this child now and forever.
As a young boy I still rememeber that cold fall day when my younger brother, no more than 6, fell into the pool and under the heavy vinyl cover. I remember my dad diving after him, into the murky, leafy mess--pushing back the cover and pulling him out. I remember the absolute fear and trauma of the event. I remember them standing there in cold, wet clothes. I remember my brother crying and my father wisking us home for further evaluation and warmth. It all happened in a brief moment. No doubt my brother remembers little of the actual experience, if not for the shared memories we employ in the occasional retelling. And yet, that moment of rescue was a holy moment, a parable of Baptism and new life. God plunges in to the murky mess of our lives and pulls us to safety, coughing and cold and wet. That is Baptism. For Nicholas, there will be little or no memory of that moment. But we will be there to witness it and to remember for Him. And perhaps in our collective retelling, he will know and believe that God resuced him on this day and for the rest of His life.
