There is a story about the baptism of King Angus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness.

"Why did you suffer this pain in silence?" the Saint wanted to know.

The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."

Today we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. It is a time when parents stand up and publicly declare what they believe and then make promises, promises to the church community, promises to their child and promises to God. Such a commitment is a serious thing and can be accompanied by feelings of wonder, joy and fear.

Today we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. It is a time when this church community stands up and publicly declares what we believe. And then we make promises, promises to the family, promises to the children, and promises to God. Such a commitment is a serious thing and can be accompanied by feelings of wonder, joy and fear.

How shall we live out such promises? Do we think seriously about these promises, these commitments? Do we even know what we are getting ourselves into? Are we like King Angus who thought that blood and pain is all part of the ritual?

I know many Sunday school teachers who are teachers because of the vows at baptism. They take this promise seriously and teach Sunday school in order to live out this promise in a real and concrete way.

Certainly, there are other ways for members of the Christian community to live out our vows. Volunteering in any aspect of the church ensures that the community will be here for the child so that the child can be raised in the Christian community. Certainly, financial support is important. Finances are something we don't talk about much in the church. I don't mention it all that often at all because I'm afraid. I'm chicken. I'm afraid that I will offend people. And I don't know how to talk about money in away that motivates them to give willingly and generously. So usually I don't say anything at all, but it cost $1000/week to run this church.

How shall we live out our promises? Do we know what we are getting ourselves into?

Many people are afraid of promises, of commitment because they are afraid of the unknown or they are afraid that commitment means restrictions. There is a misunderstanding that commitment means loss of freedom or being trapped. Many people are particularly fearful of committing to a church. Often there is a misunderstanding that committing to a church means that one has to give up fun things or suffer the guilt for not. Guilt and restriction is often associated with the church.

Author Philip Yancy tells of a haunting, true story in his book, "What's so Amazing about Grace?"

A man who works with the down and out in Chicago tells of a time when a prostitute came to him in dire straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter. She had a nasty drug habit and because of the addiction she had allowed her daughter to be abused.

The man who listened to her sad story didn't know what to say until finally he asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. She looked at him with pure, naive shock and said, "Church, why would I ever go there? I already feel terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse."

It's a sad story about a life that has no freedom. And yet the idea of coming to church - the only place that offers true freedom, never crossed her mind. Somehow, Christ's message of grace and freedom got lost. For in truth, when we commit to Christ, we are committing to freedom.

Before I was committed to Christ, as an adult, I thought I was free. I thought I was free to pursue all the things that society told me was important. I was free to pursue an unfulfilling career so I could collect things - material things, things that tempt me into thinking that the more things I own, the more fashionable I look, the happier I'll be. I thought I was free but in reality I was a slave to society's expectations. I was a slave to the lie that happiness is out there for the taking and I just have to go out and buy it. Before I was committed to Christ, I thought I was free, but I was a slave and I was miserable.

You see, when you and I commit to Christ, we commit to an empowering, liberating God.

Oh, don't get me wrong, just because I have committed to Christ, doesn't mean I still don't struggle with slavery. It's a difficult thing - to commit to real freedom.

Before the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union, a Russian, Christian exile once said,

"In Russia, Christians are tested by hardship, but in North America you are tested by freedom. And testing by freedom is much harder. Nobody pressures you about your religion. So you relax and are not so concentrated on Christ, on His teaching, how He wants you to live."

Real freedom is to concentrate on Christ and his teaching so that we grow into the people we were always meant to be. Real freedom is discovering, honing and using the gifts that God has given us. Real freedom means that we have the courage to be who God calls us to be.

You see, God is like really fertile soil, in which we grow into the people we are meant to be. Theologian Paul Tillich called God, the Ground of Being and from God grows people who truly love one another, people who seek to be united with one another, who seek to stand up for one another, who seek to live for one another. God is the ground from which we grow into the people we were meant to be.

Each one of us has been given that promise. Not just from our church community but from God. For in our baptism is the sign of God's love. Baptism is the outward sign of the grace that has existed for us from the time we were conceived. We are loved. We are loved by that which is greater than us, by that which created us. We are loved and accepted by the One who is the ground of our being, the fertile soil from which we grow, water with love, we bear fruits of freedom. Amen.

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