Baptism: Sanctifying the mundane

How could you NOT fall in love with this little guy?

One of the hardest things about leaving Chicago for internship in South Dakota was realizing that I wouldn't be there when my friends Zak and Katie would be giving birth to a baby boy.  They were due in October, but actually started pre-term contractions in August...the day that I left Chicago.  I was halfway through Minnesota when I got a text from Zak and nearly turned around to go back to Chicago!  I didn't, but I was incredibly worried.  August is a bit earlier than October, so I called my mom and had her talk through the stages of development for a fetus and tried to figure out what the risks would be.  Fortunately, that little baby stayed inside for another week, but was born into this world happy and healthy.

Katie was especially sad that we were all going to be out on internship when the baby was born, so I said that I would try to come back and visit.

Well, I love Katie and Zak...and I love traveling...and I couldn't even IMAGINE missing the opportunity to meet little Henry Christian Wagner as a baby.  So, I bought my plane tickets.  At some point in the fall during a conversation with Katie, she asked me if I would be Henry's godmother.  My heart nearly stopped.  I started to tear up and got SO excited to support Henry in his faith journey.  Needless to say, I've been planning for January 6th, the day Henry was baptized, for months.

I arrived in Chicago on January 4th, giving myself plenty of time in case weather would affect my trip.  I spent the 4th through the 9th with Zak and Katie, falling absolutely in love with my godson.  On the night of the 5th, the night before his baptism, Katie asked if I wanted to help bathe Henry.  As I watched Katie gingerly place this four-month old angel into his bath tub, I started to feel the emotions churn.  Katie looked into Henry's eyes as she wiped him clean, smiling at him and he smiled at her.  I felt like I was witnessing one of the most sacred moments in my life.  For Katie, it's a regular occurrence to bathe her baby, but for me, I felt this palpable love exchanged between mother and child.  I kept the tears in, but it was a struggle to keep it together.

The next morning, I stood with Zak's brother Jake, Henry's godfather, and promised God, the Church, and Henry, that I would support him in his faith journey.  It was the absolute COOLEST thing that I have ever done!!!  I've been all over the world.  I've been skydiving.  I've snorkeled in the Caribbean.  I've gone scuba diving in the Red Sea.  I've climbed into a pyramid and I've sat at the top of the ski jump in Lillehammer.  I have done awesome things.  Really.  None of these things are nearly as awesome as promising to love and support Henry for my lifetime.

Now, you may start to be asking yourself why you're reading this.  Let's be honest--does it matter to you who my godson is?  No.  Not really.  I write all of this to share what being a Christian is about for me.

The sacraments of the ELCA: Eucharist and baptism, are both mundane, regular tasks.  Eating and bathing.  Sure, we all eat different things and clean ourselves in different ways, but we all do it.  Standing in a large congregation, surrounded by six hundred people worshiping on a Sunday morning didn't make the act of baptism any more sacred for me than the bath that Katie gave Henry the night before.  God is in both of those acts.  God is the parent's love, gazing into our eyes and loving us from before we were even formed in the womb.  God is the godparents' love, committing to raise us up in God's house, walking beside us in our journey.  God is the community's love, supporting and celebrating with us.

And that, my friends, is pretty stinkin' cool.