"Wow. That's a Lot of Water"

So one week after a moving service of installation I had my first baptism at The Church. My very gracious colleague invited her new associate to do the baptism early in the week, and he jumped at the chance.

It was not my first baptism, but it was my first adult baptism (insert grimace here).

The baptized, a 17 year old high school senior, wore a white tuxedo. I told him beforehand, "I hope you're ready for that tux to get wet." He smiled and said he was. But he had no idea what was coming. Surely, he could not have been prepared for the tsunami that came tumbling out of my cupped hands and onto his stiffly-gelled hair, down onto his shoulders, dripping onto the kneeler, and splatting onto the wooden chancel floor.

The congregation heard, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

I heard, from inside my spinning head, "Wow. That's a lot of water. Probably too much."

I will always defend the liberal use of water in baptism, especially the baptism of an adult. But I'm afraid I went a bit overboard there. Given the choice between too much and too little, though, I'll take that miscalculation every time.