Resurrection, baptism and Monday morning

Monday morning.  Most maligned hours of the week.  Shut off the alarm, jump in the shower, grab some breakfast....begin the familiar routine of yet another work week, another foray into the world filled with challenges, disappointments, responsibilities and not as much peace as we would like.

After the different rhythms of even a busy weekend, Monday morning demands our attention, so it is not surprising that resurrection and baptism are not the most present things on our minds.  Resurrection and baptism are things that were checked off our To Do list long ago.  Right now we need peanut butter and jelly and gas for the car.

If I weren't writing this right at this moment I would be right behind you in line for use of the bathroom.  This world demands our attention and we pay a huge price if we lose focus and get caught day dreaming.  Living out our day as a baptized child of God feels like one more responsibility, not the great adventure that God intends for us.

It seems that life has managed to get more and more complex and the pressure to keep up or wash out just grows daily.  Any request to take on one more thing is considered suspiciously because at some point all our plates will stop spinning and china will crash to the floor.  We are perilously close to our limit - that place where our worth and ability run out and we are empty and useless. So baptismal covenants and resurrection life have found their place at the back of the closet; two more things that I don't have to think about right now.

Let's drag that baptismal water and empty tomb out from storage and re-consider.  Let's consider the power of the Holy Spirit - the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead into new and eternal life - the Spirit that anointed you in your baptism - the Spirit that works through you in this world to bring people and situations out of death and into new life.....THAT spirit.  Could you use a little of that today?

Let's consider that good news that you are beloved.  Today.  Right now...even though the laundry didn't get done this weekend and the dog is throwing up on the rug.  You are God's beloved and anything that might keep you separated from this God is off the table: forgiven and forgotten.  Even in the midst of one of your worst tantrums, when you are egregiously wrong, you are loved and Jesus walks beside you like your friend from elementary school.  Could you face a time today when that memory will hold you together and give you a glimpse of the holy?

Let's consider that God knows your name.  Sure, on the bus you are one face among 60 others; people you don't know.  Sure, HR knows you when they locate your file but even that won't matter if they need to lay off 15 people.  Sure, the soccer coach only knows you as that mother who runs in late and keeps murmuring about Sunday practices.  We are one of the great crowd of anonymous people to everyone out there but God.  God never forgets and is always available for a chat, a confession, a cry of fatigue.  Is it possible that today you will need to know that you are known by God?

The water of baptism is the beginning of resurrection life for us - real life, authentic life, life that gives life rather than continually subtracting it into nothingness.  The water of baptism calls us into a relationship that can mold and nurture us every moment of every day.  It is a new pair of glasses with which to see the world.  It is a new medicine that regulates our heart.  It is a pair of Italian leather loafers which cushion our walk through this lifetime.

So when you stand in the shower tomorrow morning, think baptism.  Your day will be changed because your life has been changed.  T
he baptismal waters are meant to disturb your life, your day, your dreams, your actions, your hopes, your plans. You go out into this world as a baptized child of God to live the life of resurrection and spread it around willy-nilly to absolutely everyone.

Here's a prayer to start your day:  Lord, disturb me this day.

I won't answer for you, but as for me, my day could use a little more disturbance by this God who loves me so dearly.