Today I’m cheating. I read Luke 4:14-21 and asked my husband what stood out to him. Jesus felt “anointed.” I continued, “What does that mean to you?” Jesus had a “mission, a purpose in life, and hope for each day. Life is not meaningless; it’s full of meaning.” Sunday, July 26th, I will anoint baby A….. in baptism, not just with the water of baptism but also with oil and the sign of the cross on his head and on his chest as a sign of the Holy Spirit guiding his thoughts and his feelings, his whole being. We pray that he will grow in faith before God and people, embracing all that God envisions for him. The anointing does indeed encapsulate the parents prayer for A….., the sponsors who commit to guide A….., and the faith community that promises to nurture that little life as it unfolds within our community. That child will never stand alone. The Holy Spirit hovers within, and the faith community protects from without.
My husband continued, “All the more reason to ponder anew what the Almighty can do if with his love he befriends thee!” I can only say, “Amen!” We are befriended by Christ’s love, guided by his Spirit, and life today has purpose and meaning. We are anointed. As my Kenyan friends said at the beginning of most every church service, “Many wanted to live to see today and have not,” let us rejoice that we have the privilege of seeing this day whether we are at the ocean in Florida or on the plains in Indiana. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 