This past Tuesday, 22 February 2022, was both a palindrome and an ambigram. The date read the same from left to right and from right to left, as well as upside down. No matter how you look at it, the number is the same.
So it is with God’s love. No matter how we look at it, experience it, and wrestle with it, God’s love and action are consistent.
Early this month, Catholic priest Rev. Andres Arango resigned following what is being called a “pronoun malfunction.” For more than 20 years - ever since he had been ordained - Arango had been saying “We baptize you” instead of “I baptize you” when performing the sacrament of baptism. Any baptisms he performed using the “we” pronouns have been deemed invalid. Various sources agree that this is likely how he was instructed to say the baptismal words at the time of his training - before it was against church laws.
Catholic theologian Mary E. Hunt, frustrated by the indictment, pushes back against the Vatican ruling in an NBC (www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/invalid-baptisms-arizona-point-something-very-wrong-catholic-church-ncna1289612) report, saying, “the intention of people to be baptized and to have their children baptized remains fairly constant - to give public expression to their welcome, membership, and responsibility in a faith community. The words are decidedly secondary to the actions of using water, blessing, and welcome as visible signs of the grace of belonging.”
Thankfully, our Lutheran thinking agrees that God’s action is the primary in baptism. No matter how you look at it, God is the one doing the baptizing. More than once, I have called a child by the wrong name, forgotten to anoint ahead with oil, and even jumbled the words in the splashing moment. Oops! Despite my errors, God still shows up and claims that baptized one as a child of God, marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever.
Isn’t it strange that we think our missteps can undo God’s favor? God is not an adversary, lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to slip up so we can be censured. Instead, time and time again, God uses language of friend and companion when we speak of enemy and opponent. Jesus talks about seeking and finding where we see idleness and loss. The Spirit of God demonstrates abundance and generosity where we name scarcity and selfishness. Jesus talks about flipping the world upside down, turning lives around, and bringing life out of death.
Lent is a good season to remember that God is love, no matter how you look at it. On Ash Wednesday, March 2, we begin our forty-day season of reflection as we prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus, consider Christ’s sufferings, and rethink how we are called to take up our own crosses.
Some of us give up things like chocolate or television during this season as a sort of fasting. Others try to integrate something new into their lives, like visiting folks in prison, sewing clothes, exercising, or praying. It is a good season to rethink how we live and to let some things go, or maybe even to develop some new holy habits. A variety of Lenten resources are available at Lord of Life to accentuate your journey.
Looking back on your life, how do you see God’s loving activity? Dreaming of what is ahead, how can you imagine God using you to change the world? Any way you look at it, God’s love is a constant presence of redemption and hope.
Come Lord Jesus, come!
Pastor Lowell