Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust - A Baptism Homily

God bless Hannah Diane and John Joseph!

          In the 1991 Steven Spielberg movie “Hook,” starring Robin Williams, we find a very grown up Peter Banning working as a corporate lawyer in London. Peter had been adopted by Wendy Darling many years before, and the eternal child in him finally grew up, forgetting his youthful adventures as Peter Pan. His former life returns to him suddenly when he discovers that Captain Hook has kidnapped his children to lure Peter back to Neverland for an epic, final duel. There’s one problem, though:  Peter Banning doesn’t remember how to be Peter Pan; he doesn’t remember how to fly; he’s forgotten that all he needs is a happy thought grounded in faith, trust and pixie dust. Faith, trust and, yes, pixie dust are essential to the Christian life that Hannah and John are entering today. Our reading tells us why.

          Today’s reading is one of my favorite Gospel passages for Baptisms. In it we learn about Jesus’s great love for children, and perhaps more importantly, about our need to be childlike to enjoy the eternal happiness of Heaven. So what does Jesus mean when he tells us that we need to be childlike?  Well, I don’t think he means that we should be messy, or smelly, or cry when we don’t get our own way. He means that we have to believe in the unbelievable, we have to be humble, and we have to be innocent.  In short, we have to have faith, trust, and pixie dust.  Allow me to explain.

Faith is a cardinal virtue infused in our souls by God. It’s our firm conviction that God exists, and that God will deliver all that he promised through Revelation.  Faith isn’t blindly believing in something we can’t see; it’s the evidence that what we can’t see is really there.[1]  Little children are paragons of faith. The notion of God is easy for them to grasp because they’re willing to just believe, and they hold onto their beliefs even when they don’t seem to make sense.  To be happy, we need faith in God, just like children.

 Trust is placing complete reliance on another. While faith is belief, trust is acting on that belief. It’s an act of humility. Little children are wonderful examples of trust – they rely on their parents for everything, always trusting that their parents will deliver in their best interest. To be happy, we need to trust God, just like children trust their parents.

Now the one you’ve all been waiting for – pixie dust.  Pixie dust is another word for awe and wonder. One of the great by-products of faith and trust is that teach us to see the world through a child’s eyes. “Everything becomes luminous, animated, loving.”[2] Children see God’s creation as one big playground – it’s fantastic, thrilling, and inviting. To be happy, we need to live in awe and wonder of God’s handiwork, just like children. Faith, trust, and pixie dust are the keys to the happiness that can only be found in God, because the happiness that can only be found in God assures us that we are loved, frees us from every burden, and allows us to enjoy our world.  When we’re truly happy, we fly.

           No matter how hard the Lost Boys tried to teach him, Peter Banning couldn’t fly like he used to when he was Peter Pan. That is, until Tinker Bell reminded him that all he needed was a happy thought – the kind that comes from faith, trust, and pixie dust. He struggled at first to find a happy thought among the many difficulties he experienced in life. Then Peter suddenly remembered his happiest thought – his children.  And with that happy thought, Peter flew, ready to face the challenges ahead of him. Amy and Eric, Jess and Greg, thank you for bringing your happiest thoughts to Jesus through the sacrament of Baptism. With your good example, and a little help from your family, your friends and your Church, I pray that Hannah and John will soar through life filled with happy thoughts that are grounded always in faith, trust, and, yes, pixie dust. 

 Reading: Mark 10: 13-16

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[1] Peter Givens.

[2] Anonymous.