Matthew 10:8: freely you received; freely give.

The Twelve are not like the rest of Israel, lost sheep and oppressed. They have a shepherd, a good shepherd, the best shepherd, who summons, calls them, commissions them, heals them, sustains them, feeds them, cares for them. They have received all this as a gift, and Jesus says they are to give the same things in the same way they’ve been given to: Freely, abundantly, without expectation of return.

Jesus is speaking specifically to the Twelve, but this instruction applies to every believer. We have all received abundantly from our Father, through Jesus, in the Spirit. We have received by His free generosity. We have all that we have as a gift. And having received freely, we are called to freely give.

These words are especially for the baptized. We have all received in baptism, and we are called to give. We have freely received in baptism, and we are to freely give.

What have we received in baptism? Jesus’ instructions give us a clue. The Twelve have a shepherd; that is one thing they were given. Likewise, the baptized have a shepherd. As Shepherd, Jesus heals, raises the dead, cleanses lepers, casts out demons. As Shepherd, Jesus does all this for His people. As Shepherd, Jesus does all this for the baptized.

According to Paul, baptism is a death and a resurrection. By baptismal union with Christ’s death and resurrection, we die to sin and are raised to life. Baptism is the fulfillment of all the washing rites of the Old Testament, all the rites by which people were cleansed and qualified to draw near to God. Jesus is the healer, the Spirit is the Spirit of health and strength. By baptism, we are brought into the community of the Healer, into the healed community. We might continue to suffer illness, we are strong even in the weakness of our flesh, by the power of the Spirit in us.

By baptism, we are cleansed from the leprosy that excludes us from God and from His people. We don’t do exorcisms in our baptismal rite, but many Christian churches over the centuries have done so, and with good reason. Baptism marks our transition from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Jesus comes as shepherd with a fourfold ministry, remaking us in four dimensions, to the four corners of our world. Jesus remakes us in four directions in baptizing us into His body.

All this is given to your daughter in baptism, and more. She is given a name, named as a member of the family of God. She is adopted as His child. She is made a member of the body which is the bride of the Son of God.

All this is given freely to your daughter in baptism. Her calling is to receive and then to give. Your calling as parents is to train and teach her in this pattern, the pattern of her baptism. Teach her to look to Jesus for everything she needs. Teach her to be grateful for everything Jesus has given her. Teach her that Jesus is her Good Shepherd. Teach her that, having freely received, she should freely give.