Rites of Commitment

Sunday was a stellar day for our family. The kind you remember all your life if you were part of it.
Two cousins got baptized. Their cousin baptized them. That cousin became ordained that evening. We marked a remarkable day for three grandsons.
In the morning, the two younger cousins went under water. “Buried in Christ. Risen in Christ.” Now walking a new way.
One grandson remarked, “I’m really wet.”
I guess he never got wet with so many clothes on before. I hope that sense of being so “wet” sticks with him, reminds him Whose he is now. What he’s committed himself to.
A different kind of life that takes a new direction.
Every new day is an opportunity for a new direction, for a change in course. But those special days mark the new direction, the commitment, the striving to stay on course even if the way gets hard.
Those special days are road signs that glow in the dark and remind us how to walk.
That’s why such days are important. It’s important to have family and friends there as witnesses–like at a wedding. Others watching public commitments help us keep the way.
The watching solidifies and solemnizes the promise.
In the evening came the ordination service–something more formal than we’re used to. There were some suits and ties. Not the usual fare in our place of worship.
An extra dose of solemnity. For the promises of the morning were vows to carry oneself.  The promise of the evening was to carry oneself and others.
We celebrated both events with food and fellowship. Feasts to commemorate the new way.
For the evening, I prepared a previously untried cake recipe. I figured if it went badly, I could buy baked goods and feel chagrined for my sense of adventure. But it didn’t go badly.
It’s important to have some adventure along the new way.
It’s important to stay the course, to remember the road signs.
To carry with us the rites, the promises, the connections, the joy.
We carried them with us on that special day. They will carry us through different days when we may feel alone and unsure of our way on a darkened path.
And we will remember:
We do not walk this way alone.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

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