baptizing yanagi lei

Today we gather to baptize Yanagi Lei. By the sound of her name I can safely assume the characteristics of one who had the upper hand in naming this first child last November 26. He or she should be a lover of sushi, tempura, anime and manga which leads to me the conclusion that he or she was not born during the brutal Japanese Occupation years. I might be wrong in my presumption but I can say that I am safely correct in my conclusion!


I got curious with the name Yanagi. And so I looked it up in the internet to find out who Yanagi is. First, it is the name of a shushi; it is also the name of a Japanese knife; and it is the name of an anime character who was also called Princess and who had to undergo trials because of her ability to heal. If she is named after a sushi she must be delicious. If she is named after a Japanese knife she must be sharp. And if she is named after an anime character of the same name then she must be a healer. Irregardless of the meaning we attach to a name I can safely assume that it was done with the conviction, that it was, as it always is, an attempt to influence not just the genetic composition of child but her character and personality as well, and I should say even more!
It is with great joy then and for the same reason that we gather here to baptize Yanagi Lei. It is our feeble attempt, again, to influence her spirit and imbue it with the faith that has nurtured us through the years. This child after all is not just a cluster of genes, nor just simply human with character and personality, but she is above all also spiritual, a spiritual being imbued with the same spirit that binds us together as pilgrims and believers, as disciples and persons who can make a difference in their world, as brothers and sisters.
For this is what it truly means when we say we are catholic, we are universal, unbounded by the distinctions of names and origins. This is what it means when we say catholic: faith is more binding than blood relations, and our beliefs are stronger than nationalism and patriotism, for to be catholic means to acknowledge that we are one people, one church, one big family under the common fatherhood of God.
Today this reality is made fact by our gathering this afternoon for the baptism of Yanagi Lei. Baptism makes us see beyond the petty distinctions and differences that we have set upon ourselves or distinctions that have been set upon us. In Christ there is no man or woman, no slave or free, no gentile or Jew, no rich or poor, no low born or high born, no royal or common, no mestizo or indio, no pro or anti, no Filipino or Japanese. Our names may be as old-fashioned as Protacio and Gorgonia or as sophisticated and modern as Yanagi, and yet all these differences are at most cosmetic and skin deep, a piece of paper made by man. Our baptism rips apart all these – distinctions that have beset our nation since it was born, distinctions which continue to make us at odds with each other even now and especially now.
Some practical points for us to ponder and do.
First: A philosopher by the name of Diogenes was one day found Alexander the Great, in the cemetery examining the bones of the dead. Alexander asked what are you looking for? And the great Philosopher said, I am looking for the difference between the bones of your father who was king and the bones of his slave.
It is an irony, a disturbing irony indeed that we came upon this world naked when we were born and when we finally leave this world we will all be gathered together in the same patch of land called the cemetery peacefully even at arms length to each other. We were all one when we were born and we will all be one when we die. So why quarrel in between? Why create distinctions in between? Baptism reminds us in the in-between of birth and death of this reality, the reality that we are all one, the reality that we are united in a common bond of brotherhood irregardless of.
Second: The king of France died and as tradition dictates his body was borne to the cathedral of St. Denis to be buried in the tombs there. It was customary for the retinue of the king who were carrying his body to knock and beg to be entered into the church. So the retinue knocked and somebody from the inside asked “who is there?” And the retinue answered, “It is the king of France.” But the person inside answered, "we do not know him." And the doors of the church remained shut for the king. Again the knock. "Who is there?" "It is the Sovereign of Empire." But a feeble voice from the inside would answer, “We do not know him,” and the doors of the cathedral remained shut. After many knocks and exchanges wherein all the titles of the king of France were given, the retinue would finally knock. The voice from the inside would ask, “Who is there?" and the retinue would answer, “A Christian,” and the voice from the inside would answer, “We know him and this is his home,” and the doors of the cathedral were opened for him.
The lesson is what counts in the end is our being a Christian, our being a baptized and it would be good to value that which is of value and that which will last. Most often we forget this reality. We nurture our good name, our good standing, our reputation as teacher, politician, lawyer or whatever. But we most often forget to nurture that which will really last, that which we will bring with us when we have already shed off all our positions and title which we have accumulated in this world. But in the end realize very well that we can bring only one thing – I am a Christian, I am a baptized Catholic Christian. Nourish that, take care of that name, develop it as you grow, take good care of it, preserve it, persevere in it, for it is that which will last.
And so in the name of the Christian community I will now baptize Yanagi Lei.