Sometimes I forget that what is just a little out of the ordinary to me is surprising to others. Take Monday for instance. Katie and I had some great looking pork chops to grill.  I am, as some Coke Zero cans like this one have reminded me, the “grillmaster” of our home.  And so it was my pleasure to prepare supper Monday evening.  Katie was not home when I returned from my bike ride and was hungry enough to eat both pork chops, so I started to cook supper. There was a steady rain coming down.

The pork chops turned out great.  They turned out so great that my lovely dining companion asked me how I had cooked them since it was still raining. I sat down the pork chop in my hand and said, “I grilled them. You didn’t think a little rain would stop me, did you?”  Grilling in the rain may seem surprising to some but as most grillmasters know the only difference is you keep the heat up and you get a little wet.  You also have to be careful when there is lightning, and you are holding some sort of metal utensil.

Over the past 8 or 9 months we have been involved in some changes that are to some of us just a little out of the ordinary and to others of us surprising and very different. The bulletin is just one example. It’s smaller, in color, has fewer words in it and each Sunday there is a new commitment section.  Each Sunday we are asking you to choose from two or three time-sensitive items that you will DO in the next week.  Then we ask you to tear that section off and put it in the offering plate.

Our hope is that each week most, if not all of us, in worship would be willing to DO at least one of these things.  Our intention is that everyone mark one of the choices (there is usually something to be in prayer about at least once in the coming week). Others we promise are real needs that require something of an urgent response.  Recognizing that our life beyond worship and the time we spend together in it are very much connected is an important piece of together being Big Enough to Make a Difference, Small Enough to Care.

A couple of weeks ago we had a baptism Sunday.  We baptized four children from three families new to our congregation. It was fantastic. I gathered with all of the moms and dads and kids up front before the service.  There was one big brother up there also. and his mom asked, “Can you give us the first grade version of what baptism means for big brother here?”  Not being one to shy away from any liturgical challenge I said sure.

I asked the big brother to look into the pitcher that was sitting on our altar table and tell me what was in it.  He gave the correct answer… water.  Then I asked him, “What do you do with water?” I was expecting the usual answers of getting clean or drinking it. I then use the obvious answers to explain that water can be a way that we remember that God helps us to be clean on the inside and give us what we need.

For a few moments the big brother looked back at me as some kids do when you ask a silly question.  Then the big brother looked back at me smiled and said, “You have fun in it!” If you remember this was the same Sunday when it was so hot that even in the air conditioning of our sanctuary, I was sweating it out under my liturgical garment. My first thought was that commercial for the Wisconsin Dells where the guy remembers the fun he had there and splashes water in his face from the water fountain.  I started to pour the water over my head to cool off.  But then I remembered that I was talking about baptism to a first grader. I thought ….”you know, this kid has it right.”

The big brother had it right because baptism is a time when we recognize the beauty, the glory, the fun God desires to share with us in life.  Baptism as a sacrament is also something we participate in together. And so it is also a moment for us to recognize that the life we share together with God is meant to some fun in it.  

I can’t say this enough…. what I like about the word fun, especially when a child calls our attention to it, is that you can’t fake fun.  When a kid is really having a good time, there is seldom anything put on or pretended.  Having fun to a child is being your authentic genuine self. 

Now I don’t know what you do to have fun, but this week and next I’m on vacation trying to do just that.  I enjoy riding my bike and reading books on the dock.  This year I’m going to see how kayaking goes. I hope you have had or will have some time this summer to do nothing but have some fun, nothing but be yourself for a while.  And let’s not be afraid to have some fun together, in of all places, during our time at church.   And maybe while you’re doing something fun or just after, you will also remember your baptism and be thankful. 

Keep the Faith, 

Pastor Dan