Detente

Tags

Cat, Christianity, confession, forgiveness, God, Jesus, Peace, prayer, spirituality

Detente:  the easing of tensions or strained relations.

Last night as I was praying, I asked God for continued improvement in health for my cat, Buster.  Then I asked for a detente between us regarding the pills and the new food which he hates.

Then to make myself perfectly clear, I said, “and by detente I mean complete and total capitulation to my will.”  The laughter resounding through the heavens was almost audible.  If I do not bow my will to my sovereign God, how on earth do I expect a cat, to bow his will to mine.  After all, as all cat owners know, cats consider themselves to be if not gods, at the very least superior beings….submitting to my will is out of the question.

Yet this morning a sign of hope.  We have achieved a detente of sorts on the matter of taking the pills.  He sits on my desk and glares at me with that unmistakable look that says, “I am using every curse word known to cats.” while I shove pills down his throat.  Then we cuddle (his least favorite activity in the whole world) for about 10 minutes while I wait to make sure he is not fooling me again and prepared to spit out a hidden pill as soon as I put him down.

As for the food… the hunger strike continues.

All of this of course raises questions about my own relationship with God.  How often does God give me what I need for my own spiritual health, and I simply ignore him, and reject his gift?  Far too many times.

How often does God cradle me in the comfort of his arms while I struggle to get away and seek my own path?  Far too many times.

How often has God called me to come and feed upon his word and I have responded by going on a hunger strike?  Too many times.

My prayer:

Oh God, forgive me my stubbornness.  Redirect my will so that it more closely aligns with your will.  Make me willing to receive from you all the good gifts you have prepared, trusting that all you have given will be for my ongoing spiritual health.  Make me willing to let go of control and relax into your love and your guidance.  Amen.

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Mephibosheth

Tags

Bible, Christianity, God, prayer, Promises

I have been meditating on Laura’s comments on the Church Alive post, that people don’t practice personal piety anymore.  I am pretty certain that doesn’t apply to those of you who are readers of this blog, but sadly I fear that it does apply to a lot of people in our congregations.

How sad that the regular practice of the Spiritual Disciplines is treated by some as unimportant.  These are the very things that connect us with God.  These are the very things that teach us who God is.  These are the very things that teach us what we can expect from God.  These are the things that enrich and fill our lives.

The regular practice of reading Scripture for example, will often yield those little gems of God’s revelation that we may never have thought of…and which are often not even preached about.  Yet as we read and meditate on Scripture they can fill us to overflowing with insight about who God is for us and who we are to be for God.

Take the story of Mephibosheth for example.  Mephibo-who?

As I was pondering Laura’s words of personal piety, I remembered a time when Iris Ford, the deaconess in our area who came frequently to the congregation where I was a young adult to teach us about curriculum and the art of teaching Sunday School.  I remember one time she was saying that anyone who had received a “good Christian education” would know who Mephibosheth was.  I left that discussion quite pleased with myself because I knew who Mephibosheth was…. aah the arrogance of youth.

It only dawned on me as I was pondering personal piety and the importance of practicing it, that knowing who Mephibosheth was had far more importance than merely knowing the story.  Knowing this story and about his relationship with David (major clue here) is one of the early clues as to why David was a man  after God’s own heart.  Why?  Because David, like God, was someone who keeps promises.  We learn about that important part of David’s character only if we know the story of Mephibosheth.

Keeping promises is an important part of our character as well.  Promise keeping is a sign of integrity.  Promise keeping is a sign of living God’s love.  Promise keeping shows that we are those who take our commitments seriously.

When we read Scripture, meditate on it and pray over it, we learn about God and about ourselves.  What we read may not bear fruit for years, but God promises that his word will never return to him void, so we know the fruit will happen in due season.  And then we learn something else about God, not only that his promises are true and that he keeps them, but also that he never stops working to make those promises true in our lives.

What about you?  What have you learned from God’s word that bore fruit for you many years later?

Whatever it is join me in thanking God for his mercy and goodness and his wonderful timing.  

(Images courtesy Google Images)

It’s a good news day

Tags

God, Good news, prayer, thanksgiving, Trust

It is a day full of good news….

First, I saw my Internist and learned that my blood iron levels are high.  So that means no iron infusion.  I will have another blood test in 6 months and see what happens then.    Good news.

Better news, Buster is home.  Apparently from the time he felt better he was giving the vet’s staff attitude plus.  He is now home checking out all the smells of the place and has stopped complaining.  That’ll probably last until I give him the first of his pills later tonight.

By the time we make our follow up visit and follow up tests I will “owe my soul to the company store” but his love and affection since we came home make me so happy I can almost say it is worth it….

In the meantime I give thanks to God who does far more than I can ask or imagine and I am very happy that we in this house are under His loving care.  

Thank you to all of you for your prayers, for me and for Buster.  You are definitely part of God’s loving care.

….but I am not a mushroom

Tags

Christianity, faith, God, hope, prayer, Strength

I was talking with a friend today about the emotional toll of the past week.  On Sunday last the congregation I serve voted for closure.  It was an expected outcome for the meeting, but still there was a lot of deeply felt pain on all of our parts. 

Then as the week progressed one of my best friends died. 

I really wasn’t looking forward to yesterday, the anniversary of my sister’s death.  However that pain was eclipsed as I had a lonely morning getting dressed, no kitten games, no strange looks, my cat just wasn’t around.  When I got downstairs the food from Sat night was still in his dish and he was nowhere to be found.  After much calling he appeared, a sad sorry sight.  I knew he was sick.  I left to lead worship with a heavy heart.  That afternoon, I took him on an emergency visit to the vet, who diagnosed a urinary track blockage.  They kept him overnight, gave him aneasthetic and drained the fluid from his bladder.  The final diagnosis, crystals in the urinary track, stones in the bladder and a bladder and kidney infection.  Today he remains under the care of the vet, and if he responds well might be able to come home tomorrow.  I anticipate a bill that means that I will “owe my soul to the company store” and I know that I can’t afford it… but my Buster is a good cat, young and full of life.  His gifts of love are special, and one does not abandon one’s friends….EVER.

My friend and I talked about the emotional pain of each of these events and of how they made for a week that was more to be endured and survived, than lived.  At one point I said, “if I were a mushroom I would be so happy in all this shit and darkness because it would make me thrive.”

….but I am not a mushroom.

I am a child of God, and the Holy One, he loves me.  He cares for me.  He holds me up when my steps falter.  He gives me courage when my strength fails.  He gives me hope when I give in to despair.

Through the night and through today the words resonating in my heart have come from Psalm 27…..

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid? 

When evildoers assail me
   to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
   they shall stumble and fall. 

Though an army encamp against me,
   my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
   yet I will be confident. 

One thing I asked of the Lord,
   that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple. 

For he will hide me in his shelter
   in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
   he will set me high on a rock. 

Now my head is lifted up
   above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
   sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
   be gracious to me and answer me! 
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
   Your face, Lord, do I seek. 
   Do not hide your face from me. 

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
   you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
   O God of my salvation! 
If my father and mother forsake me,
   the Lord will take me up. 

Teach me your way, O Lord,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies. 
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they are breathing out violence. 

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord!

This is my song, the song of my heart in these pain filled days.  I will trust in God to take care of me, to love me, to protect me and to direct my feet onto a secure pathway.

Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord!

God’s Law is Perfect Acrostic

Tags

Acrostic, Bible, Christianity, God, Jesus, prayer

Today I am preaching on Psalm 19, which says, “the Law of the Lord is perfect” and then it goes on to outline the riches of perfection that can be found in the Words of Scripture:  encouragement, wisdom, joy, enlightenment….the purity of eternal graces.  We are privileged to be able to read Gods’ word and do the work of understanding that word and of learning how it is God’s word for us.  

Today’s  acrostic prayer is God’s Law is Perfect.

Glory be to you O God for you have given us your word and shown us your way
Open our hearts we pray that we may more perfectly understand you and more perfectly obey you
Deliver us from doubt and fill us with faith
Show us the pathway you have prepared for our journey of faith.

Lead us onto your path
Appoint us to serve you along the way
Walk with us until our journey is completed

In simple joy, in grateful devotion we confess our love for you
Showering you with the praise of our lips and our hearts

Praising you in the morning and in the evening
Eagerly seeking your word and your face
Reflecting upon your revelation to us and for us
Forming within our hearts a seal
Etching in our very being the image of you
Causing us to rise up, go forth and live like Christ
That we might be known as your children, now and forevermore.  Amen.

 

Church Alive

Tags

congregations, faithfulness, God, holy spirit, Jesus, prayer, the church

These are sad days in the Presbyterian Church in Canada.  Congregations are in decline and sadly some are closing and others should be considering the need to close….or change–radically change.  In my journey in ministry congregational closure has touched me now five times.

The first was a struggling new church plant, that seemed to have nothing but setbacks.  I was a student in that congregation for a summer and no matter how hard we worked there was just another blow around the corner.    Hardworking people would become discouraged and exhausted.  Eventually, they made the decision to quit struggling.

The second was when I was the moderator of the Presbytery of Central Alberta.  On a regular basis their minister would call and say that he had not been paid because there was no money.  I, or someone else, would visit with the treasurer sort the situation out, and hope that it was the end of it…. it wasn’t, the financial problems persisted and the treasurer finally admitted that there was no way to keep on paying a minister.  We sent a committee, who recommended closure…. the congregation and especially the treasurer were very angry with the Presbytery and especially with me.  So be it.

The third congregation was was another kind of story altogether.  When I came to be their minister they had embarked on a radical new ministry initiative, which in part attracted me to want to work with them.  What I quickly discovered was that this initiative was causing more people to leave than to come.  But they would not or could not change course.  The matter was even more complicated when you added in the consideration that they were one of three Presbyterian churches within eyesight of one another, and also in eyesight was a United Church and an Anglican Church…. and this was in a town of 10.000 or so people.  Finances became an issue, Presbytery closed them.  Again lots of anger.

The fourth congregation I personally have seen closed was also one in which I was a minister.  They had a small building, in a rural location.  They were warm and loving people.  They were multi-generational, but we didn’t often see the young families, who farmed but both husband and wife also worked in regular jobs to support the farming.  With that and children’s activities they were frequently too busy and too overwhelmed to provide time and energy to leadership. The senior generation became older, frailer and moved into the city when they could no longer stay on their farms.  The commuted back for worship, but the travel, especially in bad weather took its toll.  What I am so proud of is that they started seriously discussing a plan for closure, seeking to faithful to the leading of God and asking the question, “did there really need to be a Presbyterian Church in the middle of an area whose original population was disappearing and what was appearing was a golfing community.  Some discussion ensued on how to reach out to the golfing community, how to be another kind of congregation, but as one person put it, “We might be starting on this pathway 20 years too late.”  Over the process of two years they planned for closure and asked the Presbytery to assist in the process.  There was joy in that final year mingled with the tears, but it was a much easier closure than the last two had been and the healing of the Holy Spirit was clearly present.

The other point in that two point charge remained open, and I have been working with them half-time for the past year.  In that year they have explored other ministry options, and have come to the sad conclusion that it is time to close and quit the struggle to keep the church alive for them.  That is not an easy decision to make, and I hope that now that the congregation has made it, that we will be able to have a tearful, yet joyful few months in which we celebrate what God has accomplished through the people here.  May that same healing of the Holy Spirit be present for them.

A friend of mine has been ranting about congregations that cling to life hoping that the church will be there as long as they themselves are on earth.  It is not a faithful approach to faith and witness and I am pleased that these last two congregations, whom I have loved these last 7 years have grown beyond that desire.

This same friend has a vision for congregations that are vital and alive and who are eager to embrace what the Holy Spirit is asking of them…. and I agree with her.

That is part of the reason why I started this blog.  I wanted to deepen my own prayer life, but also I was frustrated that the congregations I served (those same faithful people mentioned above, whom I love) were not able to grasp my passion for being a church that prayed and walked in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Individuals certainly did and do, but not so much the congregation as a whole.  And it is whole congregations that need to arise with bold new decisions and embrace the path that God is clearing for them.

I know that fear holds congregations back.  But what also holds them back is a memory of what they used to be like….with a full Sunday School, and an overflowing nursery.  Memories of the days when they were younger and physically able to carry on the work of the church in a variety of ways.  What is worse, is that the dream of recapturing those days also holds them back from embracing the future.

We can’t go back to the good old days.  And I believe that if we could, there are a lot of things in these modern days that we would not be willing to give up.

Things like

seat warmers in cars
frost free fridges and freezers
self-cleaning ovens
air conditioners in cars and homes
microwaves
cellphones
computers

We have grown accustomed to the good life we know now.  We can’t have that and the overflowing congregations of the past, if we keep wanting to be the church exactly as it was in the past.

I have become firmly convinced that we need to become and be another kind of church altogether.  I also believe that we need to look to the book of Acts to learn what that church looks like.

In the past I have tried to prioritize ministry by what the congregation needed:   worship, seniors in home or the nursing homes, the groups that are still active, the emergencies that needed tending.  It was a faithful model of ministry, one that most congregations want and that most ministers attempt to practice.

These last few years I have been wanting more.
More vision.  More dreams.  More passion.   More fire.

My daily reading, reflection and prayer have led me to the place where earlier this month I outlined for myself new priorities for ministry and I believe that these need to be the priorities in the next congregation that I will serve.

worship that honors God and is focused on his word
fellowship and hospitality that is well done
a focus on prayer and the other spiritual disciplines
and
all of these things done under the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit

I believe that these faithful actions are the backbone of all ministry and that if we let any of them slip we are in danger of not being faithful to God’s calling on our lives as individuals and as congregations.  But for me the MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL is to be open to the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

This is what I believe I am called to, and I can do no other.

the death of a friend

Tags

friendship, grief, prayer

One of my very best friends Joanne died this morning.  It wasn’t a shock to learn the news, she had been struggling so much these past months.  At least once a week we would talk on the phone about how she was feeling, about the coming events that she was hoping she would be able to attend, about the dreams that she had for her son.  In those conversations I hope that I was able to be as good a friend to her as she has been to me.

We first met at when we served together on a National Committee.  Officially known as the Committee on Theological Education, it was unofficially known as the Committee from Hell.  In those years, it served us well to have a sense of humor regarding the work we were asked to do.

Years later, I moved to the east coast to serve a congregation there.  About a year after that she also moved to serve a congregation in the same Presbytery.  At her induction service she came to say hello and remind me that we had met.  Oh yes…. the Committee from Hell.

I invited her to join me and another friend with whom I met weekly for  dinners, movies, and working out at the Y.  Those were important moments in which we talked about our congregations, our hopes, our dreams.  Together the three of us tormented our trainer and were known as the unholy Trinity.  Those were good years.

google images

We were of the same age, so it was a surprise when  Joanne took in some brothers to foster, just about the time that I was sending my own child off to university and her own life with her husband.  Eventually Joanne adopted one of those boys… a deeply troubled, but charming and affectionate fellow.  We all fell in love with him.

It was also during this time that I fell on some ice and injured myself severly… dislocating my shoulder and chipping my scapula.  The emergency department sent me home in a blizzard with a handful of Tylenol 3’s and advice to stay as still as possible.  And I stayed still.  Every movement was agony.  On Monday morning as soon as her driveway was plowed Joanne came over, dug me out and took me to see my doctor….who prescribed muscle relaxants and narcotics.  She filled the prescription, picked up some groceries and stayed with me for a half hour to make sure I didn’t have an adverse reaction to the pills.  While waiting she scooped the litter box and ran laundry.  Before she left she asked if the pain had lessened.  She chuckled at my response and wasn’t above spreading it among the people we knew…. what did I say?  “No, but I don’t care.”  The euphoria of the combination of those drugs was remarkable.

It turned out my injury was far more severe than was suspected, and for the next year she was there for me.  Bringing groceries, taking me to doctor’s appointments, helping me shower and dress, scooping the litter box, bringing me to physio.

When I was better and back working in the congregation, she became a whole other kind of support person for me, because I came back to work at the time the congregation was being closed.  Her support and encouragement was phenominal.  The importance of those dinners, movies, and workouts at the Y and the fellowship we had at them was an important source of strength and hope for me at that time.

Even after I moved to another province to take up working among my next congregations her friendship was especially meaningful.  She came and visited with me.  I took care of her son for a week while she was at meetings.  We called frequently…talking until long into the night.

When I spoke with our mutual dinner, movie, workout friend this morning we remembered those days, the depth of Joanne’s friendship and the desire to be as good a friend in all of our other relationships.

I treasured  her and she knew it.  She treasured me and I knew it.  That gift is s true blessing.  I will miss her, but I pray that what I have learned about friendship from her will continue to grow in me.

Rest in peace Joanne.  May your deeds follow you.

Holy Spirit Acrostic Prayer

Tags

Acrostic, Christianity, God, holy spirit, Jesus, prayer, Religion

google images

Tomorrow I am preaching on the Spiritual Gifts, those gifts that come to us when we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  As Presbyterians, we are decidedly uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit.  But we neglect the Spirit’s power to our own detriment.  

What we need to do is to stop being uncomfortable, stop being afraid, stop denying that we need the Spirit and instead embrace all that will be possible when we allow the Spirit to flow in us and through us.  

The only thing we need to do is to be willing, and open our hearts to receive and then, when the Spirit comes, embrace the gifts that come with him.  Then…. we need to put on our crash helmets, do up our seat belts, and wait and see what wonders God will accomplish through us.  Let us pray:

Wind, Flame, Power, come and fill us
Infect us with your power, fill us with your presence,
Then give us freely from your gifts
Holding before us the life changing combination of power and calling

Then give us freely from your gifts as you may choose
Heaping upon us gifts of healing, gifts of proclamation, gifts of service, gifts of power
Energize us in your service.

Spill over into our lives, proclaiming to all who are near that you work in us
Propel us out into the streets
Invigorate us with boldness and eagerness
Raise the roof, send wind, send flames, send power
Infuse us with your goodness until we don’t know where we end and you begin
Then teach us how to show others that your power and substance are for them as well
Spirit of God, Holy Wind of Power, Heat of flame…do not let us go until we recieve you

Grant us an open heart and a willing spirit
Indicate where we are to go
Fit us for service
Tend the garden of your gifts within us that they will abound
Spirit, bloom in us, that your fruit may be multiplied

Enter now into our hearts
Make us into your people
Point us in your direction
Order our lives according to your will
Wind, Flame,Spirit, we bow before your majesty
Enter us now and never leave us
Require us to risk it all in your service

Until we so resemble you that others see God, Christ and you in us
Spirit come and be our life.  Amen.

 

The prayers that Jesus hears

Tags

God, Jesus, prayer

google images

Today I was leafing through a book of prayers and meditations by Wild Goose Publications called, Present here on earth.  I was stopped by a meditative skit called, “Prayers that Jesus hears”.  As I read through the skit it struck me that the prayers that Jesus hears and responds to are not the ones that we think.  He does not necessarily respond to long flowery prayers full of scriptural references .  ( A sad thing to note for we preacher types who write those long prayers that most folks nap through).  As I read through this skit, it struck me that the prayers that Jesus listens to are the ones that come from the heart.

As the skit unfolded the first prayer that Jesus heard was:

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. 
This is the prayer of the sinner at the temple.  It is honest, and heartfelt and it is an opening up, laying himself bare before God and an act of throwing himself at God’s  mercy.   How often do we feel so miserable about what we have done, that the only way we know  relief is to come honestly and humbly before God?    How good does it feel to admit to God our shortcomings and failures?  And the best part of all, it frees us up to go out and to be better.  Humbleness, honesty, and an open heart comes with the words of this prayer:  Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

The second prayer that Jesus heard was:

Lord if you had been here it wouldn’t have happened. 
This was the prayer of Mary, the sister of Lazarus.  When we recall the story we know that word had been sent to Jesus that Lazarus was ill unto death, and yet it was days before Jesus went to see him.  In fact Lazarus had been dead four days at this point and Mary pours all her grief and frustration onto Jesus.  This is the kind of prayer that we dare to pray only if we are deeply sure that Jesus loves us, and if we love him in return.  The love and the trust are still there, but because we can’t see past our circumstances the hurt, anger and fear come through our words. Even so,  these are still words of faith.  We need to know that the place to take our anger is to God.  God will listen.  God will understand.  God will hear our prayer and he will heal our heart.  Lord if you had been here it wouldn’t have happened.

The third prayer that Jesus heard was:

Lord if you want to, you can make me better.
The leper desperate to be healed of his disease, sees Jesus on the road.  He knows what Jesus can do, and what Jesus has done for others.  He knows that Jesus can heal him.  He has the faith to be healed.  For that reason he risks it all and coming to Jesus declares that he knows Jesus can do what ever Jesus wills to do.  How often do we timidly come before God and lay our prayers down with bated breath, and little hope?  Prayer that flows out of knowing Jesus well, is confident.  Prayer that understands God’s will, is bold.  Prayer needs to be built on a deep faith, the kind of faith that is born from knowing Jesus and God well, so well that we know what they can and will do.  Lord if you want to, you can make me better.

The fourth prayer that Jesus heard was:

Sir, if you took him away, tell me where you have put him.
This we recognize as the declaration of Mary Magdalene outside of the empty tomb.  She does not realize  that she is speaking to Jesus, she thinks he may be the groundskeeper.  It is sometimes like that for us, that we are talking to another, pouring out our heart not even realizing that Jesus is present in that moment.  It is a prayer that comes from deep within, a prayer that is prompted by a faith that is searching for answers and the revelation of God.  God always hears our longing to see him and to know him.  Those are the prayers that God longs to hear.  He will hear when we ask him to reveal himself to us.  He will hear when we ask to know him better.  He will hear when we seek to know what he will have us do next.  Oh yes this is a prayer that God will hear  “God reveal yourself that I may know you.”.  When we pray that kind of prayer we with Mary say, Sir,if you took him away tell me where you have put him.

There are many other of those heartfelt, deeply intense, bold, desperate, and even unknowing prayers that God will hear.  The key is to make certain that we are constantly seeking God, and keeping our lives filled in prayer in all circumstances.  Joy, sorrow, anger, pain, ill health, searching.  Everything we go through will have a different kind of prayer, but  when it is bold, confident, searching and comes from the heart, it is a prayer that God will hear.

google images

The skit concludes with these words:

So if you want to make a prayer
for forgiveness
or of frustration
for healing
or of searching faith
for ourselves
or on behalf of one other person
let us do that now….

Don’t wait for the right time to pray…. NOW is the right time to pray.

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Tags

Baptism, Christianity, God, Jesus, prayer, Religion, spirituality

Today in worship we recalled the baptism of Jesus.  We focused on the declaration of John the Baptist that Jesus would be the one to baptize us with fire, and the promise from Isaiah 43 that God would be with us when we pass through the waters.  We were reminded that baptism is not for the faint of heart.  We, who submit to baptism are reminded that we too will drink deeply from the same cup from which Jesus drank…which is why it is so important that we be baptized with fire as well as with water.  The baptized life is not retirement to the comfy white clouds while we strum on our harps, the baptized life is about serving, loving, and living just as Jesus served and loved and lived… we too will drink from the cup.

google images

When we go to be baptized, or bring our children to be baptized, we must do so with a profound understanding that this is an action that strengthens the church.  Where baptism and its vows are taken seriously, the Holy Spirit is freed to act, and we, like Jesus, emerge from the water, with the blessing of God sounding in our ears and the calling of God filling our hearts.  (adapted from the notes for the Baptism of Jesus Sunday in The Worship Sourcebook)

One of things that I find very sad among those denominations (like mine) that practice infant baptism is that unless that baptism is taken seriously for what it is….an action that strengthens the church and which plunges the baptized into the water and into the fire….it becomes meaningless.  As we sung the final hymn this morning, I was struck during the chorus that in baptism Jesus Christ must be praised… and I was reminded of a story told me by a friend of the baptism of her friend’s infant daughter.  Underlying the humor of  this story is a deep and profound sadness, and a shallowness of understanding that we the church need to overcome.

During the baptism my friend was sitting with the baby’s older brother, and as the Prayer of Thanksgiving over the water unfolded, the boy became increasingly agitated.  Finally he asked, “Why is that man angry with the baby?”  “He’s not angry with the baby,” said my friend.  Still worried the boy responded, “then why does he keep saying ‘Jesus Christ?'”

How sad that this boy knew the glorious words “Jesus Christ” only as a curse.  This is the name above all names, the name by which we are saved, THE NAME OF OUR LORD!  When ever we hear that name we should be praising God and giving him glory.

Let us work to recapture the full joyous understanding of what our baptism means.  Let us remember that as we enter the waters of baptism that we share the death that Jesus would die and God spoke to us saying, “fear not for I have redeemed you.” Let us also remember that when we rose from the waters of baptism, we shared in the victory that Jesus had won over death and that God says to us, “you are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.”

Remember your baptism
and give thanks
May Jesus Christ be praised

When morning gilds the skies my heart awakening cries
May Jesus Christ be praised
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair
May Jesus Christ be praised

To God the Word on high, the hosts of angels cry
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Let mortals too, upraise the voice in hymns of praise,
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Be this while life is mine, my canticle divine
May Jesus Christ be praised
be this the eternal song, through all the ages on
May Jesus Christ be praised!