Pulling Together

On the first Sunday after Epiphany we commemorate the Baptism of Our Lord. It is a time set aside in our life together to remember and celebrate the promises made to us in Holy Baptism. But we do more than celebrate, we also live into the Spirit-empowered response of baptism by following the risen Christ out into the places where we live, work, study, and play to participate in God’s saving mission for the world. We Lutherans refer to this as the vocation/ministry of the baptized.

Ministry during an ongoing global pandemic is definitely not for the faint of heart. Yet, even amid the forced adaptations and unforeseen circumstances that have been thrown at us, there is still a lot to celebrate. As I reflect on all that has occurred during the last few years I am reminded of the acronym T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) and a story about a farmer whose mules pulled a large 18-wheeler that was stuck in a ditch.

Though stranded and in need of help, the truck driver did not believe that the farmer who stopped to help him and his team of two mules would be of any help. “How much can one of those pull?,” asked the truck driver. The farmer replied, “About ten tons each.” The driver, certain that the task was too great for the mules, said, “But my truck weighs at least three times that.” To which the farmer replied, “It doesn’t matter what they can pull separately. It only matters what they can pull together.”

During times of unprecedented challenges and unforeseen circumstances I have come to appreciate the many ways we, God’s faithful people, have pulled together by living out the ministry of the baptized when life together as we once knew it has pivoted in profound ways. The “new normal” that we are navigating requires stewards of the gospel who are willing to adapt, improvise, and heed the agitating and empowering activity of the Holy Spirit who is leading, guiding, and empowering us.

If we have learned anything these past few years, it is the reality that so much of what lies before us is uncertain. We are, without a doubt, in unchartered waters. Yet, even now, amid the lingering uncertainty and change, we trust that God is with us. Enabling, empowering, and leading us through the wilderness to the promised land. For in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus promises, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

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Partners in God’s Promise

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One of my favorite Christian authors, Kathleen Norris, writes that sacrament of holy baptism “occurs once, but its consequences unfold over a lifetime.”

The insight reminds me of a story that Rachelle Linner writes about; a tale about a rabbi who asked his disciples, “What is the greatest sin of all?” As you might imagine, the question sparked a debate among the rabbi’s followers. One group was sure the greatest sin was idolatry. Another said violation of the Sabbath, still another murder.

The rabbi listened silently as he processed the flurry of responses. When the debate had run its course, the wise teacher informed his disciples that no one had answered correctly. “There is no greater sin,” declared the rabbi, “than for you to forget that you are the children of the Lord, your God” (Deut. 14:1). “Forgetting this reality,” continued the rabbi, “is at the root of many sins and all the various wrongdoings that each of you mentioned.”

Of all the promises made to us in holy baptism, the one that we lose sight of is the pronouncement, “You are my beloved child.” For one, we are bombarded by worldly messages that repeatedly tell us of the ways we come up short, of the ways we are “less than.” And, if the truth be told, many of us are our harshest critics. So, we forget. We lose sight of the reality that we are God’s beloved children. And we forget that so is everyone else.

As we lean into the Sundays after Epiphany by commemorating Jesus’ baptism, may we also claim, and then live into, our God-given identities as God’s beloved. Completely, and unconditionally loved.

In a world where we are called by many different names, many of them hurtful and unkind, God comes to us in the waters of baptism and claims us as beloved, created in God’s image and likeness.

This does not mean that we will not wander or lose our way, or that life will not throw us curveballs from time to time. Instead, it helps me to understand the baptismal journey as an unfolding process that occurs over the course of a lifetime. Yes, there will be times when I lose my way. There will be episodes of doubt. And I will struggle to see the face of God reflected to me in others. Yet, my shortcomings do not negate God’s promise. For in those moments when we grow weary, when we endure what St. John of the Cross calls “the dark night of the soul,” God IS there. With us. Loving us. Always!