Tears As Baptism

For the past year, 

I’ve been taking a course through the Lutheran Chruch to become certified as a lay preacher.

I’ve taken an Old Testament course, a New Testament course, and a theology course. 

I’m currently in a preaching course.

 

One of our assignments for the preaching course was to write a sermon for Bof our Lord Sunday on January 12, 2025.

I decided that instead of waiting until the last minute, I would go on and write the sermon.

I finished the sermon last week.

 

I enjoyed the process of studying and reading and preparing for the message.

I also enjoyed remembering my baptism.

 

Baptism is a complicated topic:

Infant versus believer’s baptism;

Sprinkling baptism versus baptism by immersion;

Still water versus running water;

John’s baptism versus Jesus‘s baptism--

Those are just a few of the things that I read about in the process of writing my sermon.

The scholarly articles debating the merits of each are vast and wide, 

So I finally had to stop reading and just write. 

 

One of the things that didn’t make it into the sermon but that made an impression on me

Was the idea of tears being a way of remembering our baptism.

Tears—

Those little drops of water that come when we are hurt, upset, angry, or sad.

Tears—

Those little drops of water that come when we’re overly happy or joyful.

Tears—

The natural expulsion of emotion.

Tears—

A catharsis of everything we hold inside.

Tears—

Water running down our faces,

Reminding us of our baptism:

Of being held in God’s arms,

As God’s beloved,

In whom God is well-pleased.

Tears—

Water running down our faces,

Reminding us of our baptism:

Of being saved from the mess of ourselves

And cleansed into the wholeness of Christ.

 

So the next time you cry,

For joy or sorrow or allergy,

Remember your baptism.

Remember your place in God’s Kingdom.

Remember what God has done for you through

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Remember that your faith is by grace alone,

And remember that,

Through it all,

You are God’s beloved,

In whom God is well-pleased.

Always.

 

Amen.

Common Courtesy

 

I went to Amelia The Niece’s choir concert on Friday night and watched something frustratingly funny happen. 

 

The concert was in a church sanctuary, so the audience was sitting on pews. 

My family and I were sitting about halfway back. 

 

Proper concert etiquette for a choral concert, 

or any non-rock band live music concert really, 

is to arrive on time, 

to sit quietly and listen, 

to only enter and exit during applause if you must leave for some reason, 

to turn your phone to silent, 

and not to film. 

Some performance programs specifically request that you do not film due to copyright infringement 

While other performance programs do not mention this request. 

But still, it’s courteous to the people behind you not to film during the concert. 

Holding your camera up obstructs people’s view and accidentally encourages people to look through your camera instead of at the actual performers. 

 

We just so happened to end up sitting three and four rows behind two different families who did not follow proper filming concert etiquette.

 

Each time their children sang,

They held up their phones and recorded the entire song.

 

What was frustratingly funny was that at the end of the concert, all groups sang together.

So both camera families needed to film.

The family on the third row up got annoyed with the family on the fourth row up and moved to the right so that their view would not be obstructed.

They then held up their camera and obstructed the view of the people newly behind them.

I couldn’t help but think of how inconsiderate that was,

To do the exact thing that was annoying them in the first place.

 

We live in a society that encourages us to put our own needs first. 

Maybe we should live counter-culturally 

And consider how we can be courteous to those around us while also taking care of our own needs.

 

In this instance:

Film a few seconds. 

Sit on the outside aisle so that your camera is not in the middle aisle.

Snap a picture during the applause.

Remember the performance in your brain rather than trying to keep everything on your phone.

How often do we go back and watch our videos anyway?

 

It’s little things, really,

That show courtesy:

Holding the door for the customer behind you,

Being ready to go through the ATM before you drive up to the machine,

Asking the person behind you if it’s OK to recline your seat a little on the plane,

Not singing along in the movie theater even though you really want to sing along.

 

May we be a people of courtesy that’s not so common anymore 

And may we not do to others the exact same things that annoy us. 

 

Amen. 

Breathe Out

 

On Monday, I wrote about showing up.

Today, I’m going to share a practice that I often employ

When showing up for those I love.

 

Whenever I sense that someone is struggling and

I want to help them,

I simply breathe in and breathe out,

Letting my breath be my prayer.

 

Only, it’s not so simple.

 

Upon breathing in,

I imagine sucking in the

Darkness, heartache, pain, loss, and hurt—

Taking it away from them and putting it inside of me.

 

Inside of me is Jesus,

Who then takes the

Darkness, heartache, pain, loss, and hurt

And transforms it into

Light, love, strength, happiness, peace, and everything good.

 

I do this over and over,

Breathing in the dark, stank air,

Breathing out the light, fresh air.

Breathing in what I want to take from those I love,

Breathing out what I want to give to them in return.

 

I don’t know if it “works.”

I don’t have any scientific evidence saying that it does or does not.

All I know is that it “works” for me,

And it helps me sit in the midst of darkness, heartache, pain, loss, and hurt

And not be consumed by it all.

 

Is showing up always easy?

No.

Is breathing in darkness always easy?

No.

Sometimes it hurts.

But Jesus is there.

In my heart.

Working to hold it,

Working to purify it,

Working to transform it,

Working to do what I cannot,

And leaving me to do what I can:

Send out light, love, strength, happiness, peace, and everything good.

 

Regardless of whether this practice works for you,

I encourage you to find something that grounds you

And connects you to your breath, to others, and the

very Breath of Life.

 

Remember:

There is a lot we cannot do in this world.

There is a lot we cannot afford to give.

But just as surely as the sun rises and sets each day,

We can show up for one another.

And we can breathe.

 

Amen.

Show Up

 

I wrote Heidi the Librarian on Saturday and asked what she was doing.

She sent me a bunch of pictures and said, “My M.”

M is one of our students.

I said, “What is M doing?”

She sent another picture of M in a fancy dress.

I said, “I know it’s a pageant. For what?”

She said, “I’m not sure what the title would be.”

I laughed and said, “You’re at an unknown pageant?”

She said, “Yes. It’s just M’s pageant that she might not win.

She had steep competition in her division.”

I laughed again.

Heidi said, “It lasted two hours then there was a 30-minute intermission.

I saw M and hugged her and left.”

A few minutes later,

Heidi wrote me back with the name of the pageant.

“Enchanted Sweetheart Christmas,” she said.

“I asked 😊.”

 

In review:

Heidi spent two hours of her Thanksgiving break

Watching an unknown pageant

Because a student asked her to go,

And she did.

 

Friends:

There is a lot we cannot do in this world.

There is a lot we cannot afford to give.

But just as surely as the sun rises and sets each day,

We can show up for one another when someone asks,

Or show up for one another when need cannot be muttered.

In times of celebration,

In times of grief,

In times of goodness,

In times of sadness,

In times when words flow freely,

In times when words get stuck in throats,

In times when waiting is easy,

In times when waiting is hard.

We can show up.

And sit.

And endure a two-hour pageant

For a 10 second hug that was

Probably the highlight the entire day.

 

In this Advent Season,

May we be a people who show up,

Sometimes not even knowing what we’re getting into,

Simply because we can and

Because we love and

Because the Christ-child showed up for us.

 

Amen.

Not Alone

 

I’ve been thinking about it for a few days,

And I’ve decided that

Part of the reason

There aren’t a lot of Thanksgiving songs

Is because Thanksgiving isn’t a liturgical season.

Thanksgiving isn’t part of the liturgical calendar at all

Because Thanksgiving is very much an American holiday

And the liturgical calendar is very much a world-wide thing.

 

Additionally,

Thanksgiving isn’t a money maker.

Though we’ve gotten very good at commercializing holidays,

Thanksgiving doesn’t really take hold because

There’s not a culturally accepted gimmick

And true Thanks-Giving can’t be monetized.

 

Furthermore,

Thanksgiving is only a one-day holiday.

Why write music about a one-day holiday?

 

And so,

The Thanksgiving music canon is small.

 

And yet,

Shouldn’t it, truly, be the biggest canon of all?

 

No.

Not songs about America’s bumpy and sometimes ugly past,

But songs about Thanks-giving,

Giving thanks,

Songs about gratefulness for

All that we have,

All that we are,

And all that we will be.

Not songs diminishing

Hurt, pain, heartache, and despair,

But songs that recognize that

Through it all,

There is reason to be thankful.

 

On this Thanksgiving Day,

Without many songs dedicated specifically to this day,

May we find songs that resonate with our hearts

And express whatever gratitude we can muster for

All that life brings.

The day will be hard for many—

Grieving loved ones,

Missing loved ones,

Feeling alone,

Being alone—

Yet we can remind those around us,

Through words and presence,

That they are not alone.

 

Which reminds me of a song.

 

Child you’re not alone in this world

And you never have to be.

No I will never forsake you

If you put your trust in me

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And I will lead you through

When the storms rage

And the battles are fought

I am here with you.

 

Thanks be to God.

 

Amen.

Freshwater in Parched

 

Each year around Thanksgiving, 

I give my students the opportunity to make a word cloud of things that they appreciate about their teachers.

It’s always interesting how some classes are so very descriptive 

While other classes barely have anything to say. 

It’s also interesting that the kindergarten students 

Cannot distinguish between things about their teacher and things about their day. 

Feeling safe and loved by having structure and routine, 

Going to lunch, encore, and recess,

All of the things that teachers must do,

Equate to appreciation for the younger kids. 

 

In addition to the normal

Helps us learn, nice, and pretty that I often hear, 

A couple of highlights of this year’s word cloud making were when 

One student said that he appreciated his teacher simply because she was alive. 

He appreciated her for being a person and all that that means. 

Another student said that he appreciated his teacher for always being there.

And another student said that he appreciated his teacher for giving so much to teaching.

I thought those students were pretty perceptive.

 

On the flipside, I was taken back when I came to a student who said, 

“I don’t have anything to say because she’s always rude to me.”

Another student in that same class echoed the sentiment by saying,

“She doesn’t like me. She hates me actually.”

And a third student said the same thing. 

What made these statements worse is that the other kids in the class agreed.

Not that the teacher hated everyone, but that she didn’t like those three students and treated them poorly. 

 

I found that sad.

While, as a teacher, I know that there are certain students that we struggle with,

I also know that most of us don’t truly hate our students. 

They are kids. 

They are products of their parents and a very broken societal system. 

We don’t hate the kids. 

We hate the circumstances that make them act out. 

We hate that our hands are tied in discipline. 

We hate that we work so hard for so little respect. 

We hate that we give so much and get so little in return. 

Teachers carry a lot. 

And so sometimes, 

I fear, 

Kids misread our body language, tone of voice, and actions. 

At least that’s what I hope. 

 

I’m happy to report that each of those students did find something good to say about their teacher

Upon further reflection.

And I’m also happy to say that that teacher was just as happy reading her word art as everyone else.

It was neat, seeing teachers immediately read what their students said about them.

It was as if they were parched in a dry land, 

Needing freshwater to drink.

 

May we, as individuals, offer that freshwater freely,

And may we, as teachers,

Know our worth and value. 

May knowing our worth and value help us rise above 

All that we hate, 

And may our students know that they are loved for just being alive. 

Amen. 

Quotes

 

I’ve always been a decent student, 

Memorizing information for tests and such, 

But I’ve never been good at memorizing quotes, 

And most of that information that I memorized for tests has flown out the window!

 

The other day, a friend posted a prompt 

To share a quote that has made a profound impact on your life. 

A recent quote from Joe the Counselor immediately popped into my mind 

But I also kept thinking about memorable quotes from friends or family. 

To be someone who thrives off of words of affirmation,

There are very few quotes that I remember.

I tend to remember moments, overall feelings, circumstances, and life-application meanings

Instead of exact sentences. 

 

That being said, 

There are a few quotes that have planted themselves in my head, 

And I want to share those quotes now:

 

Watch for the deers and the drunks. (Affectionately now abbreviated WFDD) —Dad

 

We pay for what we value. —Daniel the Brother 

 

If given the choice to do something special or take a nap, do the something special. Ten years from now, you won’t remember that nap, but you will remember doing something special. —Daniel the Brother 

 

Before we were born, God pulled us to God‘s chest and whispered who we are supposed to be. When we came into the world, the world immediately began trying to make us into who it wants us to be. Our life’s journey is to live into who God whispered us to be. Jesus was the only person to ever to do this. That is his perfection. —Dr. Timothy Brock

 

I don’t want to be involved in culture wars. I want to be involved in culture care. —Sara Groves 

 

I think our morning duty is as much for emotional support as it is for safety. —Holly Windmeyer

 

You are perfect the way you are AND there is always room for improvement. —Joe The Counselor

 

You don’t have to do the whole two weeks at once. —Joe The Counselor 

 

And that’s about it.

 

What about you?

What are some memorized quotes that have profoundly influence your life?

Please share.

I’d love to hear!