Each time we go around the Sun we celebrate another year of someone’s life, and rightly so. Each person is a blessing from God, a unique individual who is deserving of dignity and respect. We should thank God for them. Yet, a year passes from our Baptismal date, and most of us don’t even think of it. For many, it was as an infant, shortly after their birthday. For some of us as adults or teens. At our Baptism, something amazing happened. It wasn’t just a symbol. It was a Sacrament in which we were named by and for the Lord. Not just named, but becoming a part of God’s family… a part of the body of Christ!
We often take the ease of faith for granted in America. Yesterday I wanted to get to confession. I have been in the hospital and recovery for a while now. I hadn’t had the energy to get out to receive that Sacrament. So I pulled it up on my phone. I drove up to St. Mary’s in Dekalb. Father Russel was on sabbatical so no confession or adoration. I still spent a few minutes doing a divine mercy chaplet with the group there before the tabernacle and drove on. At this point I was late, so I went to see our nieces receive their first communion. It reminded me how often we as adults take that for granted too. Jesus is always there.. and sometimes we treat him like that.. like he’ll be there when I am ready. Later in the afternoon before we had to take our daughter to the airport, I pulled up confession times and chose between the eight or so locations that were available. Eight or more churches with Sacraments available, all within a 20-minute drive of where I was.
With all of that grace pouring out in the world, I was still the only one in line for confession. I am not better than anyone else. I am not trying to be. I am just trying to be better than me. All of this running for a Sacrament, trying to get to watch my nieces receive one of theirs, and getting people where they needed to be got me to thinking about my Baptism. Today’s Gospel hits home when Jesus doesn’t address Peter by the name he gave him, but rather by the name he went by before he began following Jesus. Simon, do you love me? I imagine the sting of being asked three times, one for each time he denied knowing Jesus, wasn’t nearly as hard as the Lord not calling him by his “baptismal name.” Peter had immediately left after the Lord’s death, and instead of living the new, beautiful life plan that Jesus had for him… He went back to fishing… He went back to acting like Simon.
I guess the question I feel that we need to ask ourselves today is, are we living up to those Baptismal promises that come with our new life? Every Easter we renew them with the congregation. How many times since then have we had opportunities to love Him in others, to pray for someone in public, or even to ask grace for our food? How many times have we taken access to the Sacraments for granted and avoided one today because it “will be there tomorrow.” No one is guaranteed tomorrow if we were to die today, God forbid, would we deserve to be called by our Baptismal name? Would Jesus have to ask us if we loved Him? Are we intentional disciples following the will of God? Or our own will?
An even better measure of this is “when others look at us, do they see our old selves? Or the new person we are called to be? Do they see Simon the fisherman, working and toiling in the world? Or Peter, the rock, the man of God?” Each of you is a Child of God, made in His image. Do we look like it?