The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A wonderful Lord’s Day Worship
Remembering our Baptism
Renewing our Call to Serve
An afternoon of much needed rest
Impromptu dinner with dear friends
Love, laughter, stories, encouragement
For the fullness of this day, I thank you, Lord
For all of these gifts, I thank you
In your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As a part of today’s service (The Baptism of the Lord Sunday), Denise decorated the Communion Table with visual reminders of Baptism. Shells, an ever-flowing stream, bowls with water in them, a Dove, a Cross, and a Candle were on the table. We also had smaller tables set up in various parts of the Sanctuary where the congregation was invited to go, touch the water, and remember their Baptism. At the end, I led the congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s order for the Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant for a Congregation.
First Reading – Isaiah 43:1-7
Second Reading – Luke 3:21-23
Sermon – Remembering Our Baptism
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a wonderful day, Lord
Planning and preparing for Worship
Spending time in your Creation
Working on a final class project
Just being with my sweetie
Simply pausing to be still
Now, as the day draws to a close
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Tomorrow we will remember not only the Baptism of Jesus, but also our own Baptism. It is not a bad thing to circle back from time to time and remember our baptismal vows. This picture of the Alluvial Fan from June, 2016 reminds me that even though life, like Rocky, can be in a winter mode, with the spring, renewed life and energy will return. In the winter times, it is good to remember the promises of our Baptism.
Tomorrow we will be electing new Ruling Elders and Deacons at Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies. I think it is rather “ironic” in the deeper, spiritual sense, that we would be doing this on the same Sunday as we remember Jesus’s baptism. As a part of the Renewal of Baptism Liturgy, the following is said in the Prayer of Confession: In baptism you call us to ministry in all realms of life…
I can’t tell you how may Baptisms I have officiated through the years. After 32 years of ministry, one particular Baptism stands out. It was during the year I Clinical Pastoral Education Training at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. I was on duty and called to the NICU where a premature baby was dying. Her Mother was upset (no kidding!) and she needed some presence who would remind her that God was present even in the midst of such suffering.
As the Neonatal Nurse brought the syringe of purified water to me, the four of us gathered and I began the Baptismal Liturgy. The Nurse, the Chaplain, the Mother, and the wee Baby… and in the midst of it all, the Spirit was truly present. We named the child and baptized her… I wish I could remember her name 22 years later, but I am thankful that her Mother and our Lord know her name… she was held by her Mother as she drew her last breath. The Spirit of comfort and strength was very present with us.
So, as we prepare to elect our Ruling Elders and Deacons, I think back to the meaning of Baptism. It isn’t an Eternal Life Insurance Policy… it is the One who created us calling and claiming us. God calls us to live and breathe and have our being as God’s own children.
As ones who have decided to be Christ-Followers (not as the so-called christians [lower case is intentional] but as ones who truly follow the Way), we are called to live and love differently from the world. Love your enemies… Pray for those who persecute you… forgive as you have been forgiven…
As Isaiah says in Chapter 43, verse 5: Do not fear, for I am with you… Our Creator makes that promise to each of us. And our response is this: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39, The Message translation)
As we remember our Baptismal vows… as we seek to love and serve God as we understand God, may we do so in the spirit of love… in the spirit of Micah the prophet… “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
May it be so for me… for you, dear reader… May it be so!
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
What a wonderful day, Lord
A time of rest and reflection
A time of fellowship and music with very dear friends
A time of fellowship with a wonderful Church staff/family
Now, as my eyelids grow heavy, I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“For the Celtic monastic tradition, wandering was a powerful practice, shaping much of their vision of Christian spiritual life. . . This wandering is an invitation to let go of our own agendas and discover where God is leading.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
A beautiful reflection, Jake!
Between last night and this morning, with the snow falling, we decided to watch the movie South Pacific. The first time I saw South Pacific, was on the stage in Austin, Minnesota as a young kid in the 70’s. My across the street neighbor, Randy Day, played the role of Lieutenant Joseph Cable, USMC. The Summerset Theatre Company put on many excellent productions at the Theater on the Campus of Austin Community College.
Some of the memorable scenes from the movie involve Luther Billis, an ingenious entrepreneur who is also a Seabee. In the midst of the music and the WW2 storyline lies a deeper and more profound message. Lieutenant Cable is in love with Liat, a Polynesian woman he met on Bali Ha’i. Ensign Nellie Forbush, is a young Navy Ensign and Nurse who has fallen in love with a local planter, Frenchman Emile de Becque who has two children with his now deceased Polynesian wife.
Joe Cable and Nellie Forbush have a discussion about why they are struggling with their respective loves. As they sang: coming from 1940’s Philadelphia, PA and Little Rock, A-R-K, they essentially make excuses why they cannot be with the ones they love. Liat and Emile don’t understand how this can be.
In an emotionally charged song (yes, this Padre has tears streaming down his face… I always do with this song), Joe Cable explains to Emile de Becque why this is so.
I found this medley (You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught; Children Will Listening) while searching for a video of the original song from South Pacific.
You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught; Children Will Listen
This medley was sung by Mandy Patinkin as a part of a September 11th Memorial Concert at Riverside Church in New York City. It is just as powerful in my mind as the the song Lieutenant Cable sang in South Pacific, and carries the same lesson.
The songs are just as relevant today as they were when they were written and performed. With the increasing rise of hate, hate-speech, and hate-crimes on the local, regional, national, and international stage, they hit me in a profound and powerful way.
I remember my first encounter with such hate in my hometown back in the mid 1980’s during the unrest with Libya in the Middle East which led to Operation Eldorado Canyon airstrikes by the USAF, US Navy, and USMC in 1986 (a year after I had been commissioned as a Chaplain Candidate, Second Lieutenant in the USAF Reserve and during my last year of Seminary). I was walking down the street downtown when a man about my age ran past me with a look of absolute terror in his eyes. Shortly after he passed, a drunken local came running (more like stumbling as he was obviously drunk) shouting racial slurs and saying he was going to kill him.
Sadly, that would not be my last encounter with such hate in my hometown or in any of the places around this nation and world I would live and serve in as a Pastor and Chaplain. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks of 9-11-01 in this country, I saw a rise of both patriotism in this country and hate as I had experienced in my hometown nearly 20 years earlier.
It isn’t rocket science to realize that this atmosphere of hate is out in the open in this country. Neo-Nazis marching out in the open… Synagogue and Mosque desecrations and attacks… Churches being attacked by white-supremacists… the list goes on and on. And some of the significant voices spurring this on are coming from the Executive and Legislative Branches of the US Government! Sadly, State and Local Governments aren’t doing much better.
Unfortunately, there are too many voices in the christian church (lower case is intentional as regular readers of my blog know) who are on the side of xenophobic nationalism and ignoring the message of Christ. As a pastor and Christ-follower, I strive to do my best to be a voice of Peace, Justice, Mercy, and Hope in the tradition of Micah 6:8 and Matthew 22:37-39. We are called to do Justice, Love Kindness/Mercy, Walk Humbly with God… to love God with all of your being and to love your neighbor as yourself.
As I look out on the snow falling in Estes Park with the beauty of the scene, I do feel a sense of hope.
Dear reader, as we navigate these challenging and difficult times, my prayer is that we will be a witness to something counter to what is on the 24 hour sensationalistic news cycle and social media feeds. After all, the children… our neighbors… the world… is watching.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Another day draws to a close
Lord, your presence has been a comfort
As I consider those who are struggling
I bring them into the light of your comfort
As I consider those who are surrounded by hatred
I bring them into the light of your love
As I consider the leaders of this world
I pray that your Spirit of Wisdom would transform them
As I consider the opportunity to simply be still
I look to your guidance and grace
And now, as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“The Desert Mothers and Fathers valued their monastic cell as a vitally important place. As with all things, they view their cells as a way to experience stillness and as a place to quiet their inner life.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within
