This family, Bailey's family, gave me the gift of being able to do two of the things that most move and delight the heart of a priest, that touch on the heart of his priesthood. On my own, I can do nothing that I regard of any real religious meaning or deep spiritual significance. But as a man ordained by the Church, and entrusted with a sacramental ministry, the priest, not the person, can do extraordinary things, breathtaking things - on your behalf, and on behalf of the eternal Church. And with this dear family, Bailey's family, I have gotten the chance and been given the grace to do two of the most remarkable things our Lord allows me to do. On June third of last year, I presided at the funeral of Pauline Creswell, Cheri (and Leroy's) mother, Paula and surely Bryan's grandmother, Bailey's great-grandmother. And today with you and on your behalf, I baptize Bailey. On the day Pauline was buried, now nearly 18 months ago, I said to our Lord - Into your hands, O Lord, I commend the soul of your servant, Pauline. And now today, on the day Bailey is baptized, I can and will and must say to Bailey, as I trace a cross on her forehead after pouring water on her head, I will say, “Bailey you are marked as Christ's own forever”. Imagine! We humans are permitted, authorized, to say to Christ - “into your hands we commend this soul, now departed”. Moreover, we can say that all us together have marked a child as Christ's own, forever. What amazing, glorious, redemptive things to do and say! We will never share anything as important as these two things, at the beginning and ending of life on this earth, in this Church - commend a soul into the hands of God and mark a soul as Christ's own, Christ's own, forever. Nothing else like it. Nothing. Pauline had a long life, a long, rich, varied life, and because it was long and rich and varied and full, it must have had times of joy and sadness, times when she found satisfaction and times she suffered wistful regret. Times of comfort and time of sorrow, times when all seemed right, and surely moments when much, or all, seemed wrong. But at that moment, the very moment of commending her soul, all of that was no longer the most important thing. The most important thing, the only ultimately important thing was that she, Pauline, was, a last, being wonderfully commended into the hands of God, the God who created her, the Savior who redeemed her, the Spirit who sancitified her long and holy life. Safe, at last. And Bailey's new life in Christ begins here today. gets started in safety and certainty. She is marked, identified, as Christ's, Christ's own, not for a bit or a while, but rather - Christ's own - forever! Now and at the hour of her death, after what we may rightly pray will be a life even longer than her great- grandmother's. There is no doubt, none, for any of us, ever, whose we are, or where we are headed, or how it will all turn out in the end. Our route, our journey, our experiences, may be up and down, back and forth, good and bad, happy and sad, but these lives, these Christian lives of ours, are not up for grabs, are never at loose ends, are never uncertain. We know from the start whose we are, and to whom we will return, whose we are and were from the first, and with whom we will be at the end, and then through all time, through eternity. Safe secure, content, blessed, saved, redeemed, happy, forever. Because of our sure and certain hopein the Resurrection from the dead, Funerals always assume genuine joy and triumph, but still, and nevertheless, human grief and the sorrow of parting for a time introduces a sadness and a tear to that actual moment. That is not so at Baptisms, not so today, this morning, with Bailey's baptism. Here is joy and happiness and assurance and peace and grace without any sadness or sorrow or worry, nothing to cloud the day or the moment. Baptisms - they are one of the only things in the Church, in all our worship, in all our time together, that is 100 % happy. Let us then rejoice and warmly welcome Bailey, and celebrate with her beloved family, and remember above all the source and reason for this joy, for our happiness, for our peace that passes understanding and can never be taken away. Remember whose you are, remember and rejoice for you too were and are and always will be marked as Christ's own, forever. What could be better than that? Nothing. Other than to be commended into his hands. At last, and forever.