Remember!

On this Earth Day I was thinking back to our Awesome Confirmation weekend. This past Saturday we gathered out at our Retreat Center for our "Baptism and Reaffirmation of Baptism" Service. It was not the most beautiful of days. It was raining -- a sprinkling -- and I commented to one of the parents that it must be a sign that God liked sprinkling (We celebrated two immersion and one sprinkling Baptism). I don't think they found it as funny as I did (probably former Baptists). [NOTE: I love Baptists! But they don't usually get infant baptism jokes]

The creek that we dam up to create the Baptismal pool is from a natural spring. So despite some warmer weather in the 60's and 70's the creek was COLDDDDD!!!! Clark and I got in and soon were numb. But I couldn't help thinking as each of the Confirmands entered the creek and gasped -- as they continued down into the waist-deep water (actually Clark and I had to pull some) -- as Clark dipped his hand into the water and made the Sign of the Cross on their forehead and said, "Remember your Baptism and Be Thankful". That they would indeed remember this -- the shock of Baptism.

"Remember Your Baptism and

Be Thankful"

I tried to capture this shock in my sermons on Sunday -- from 1 Peter 2:2-10. What a shock it must have been to be reading this wonderful letter. These were ordinary folk -- who had probably been scattered from their homeland -- maybe struggling with self-esteem issues (if not outright struggling with faith) -- and they hear these words of encouragement, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." I dare say that was something they talked about for a long time -- REMEMBER!

BIT: It was also neat to connect royalty to our Baptismal Service in the creek. As each came to be Baptized or to Remember their Baptism, at the height of the drama of the service, there were all the camera "clicks" coming from the shore as family and friends "captured" the event. You would have thought it was Madonna! And I dare say in God's eyes they were just as royal ... "This is my Beloved ..."