I have been praying that this season of Advent be full of expectation, in a fresh way. I wanted to consider the Gospel accounts, the worship, the music, the traditions with a fresh sense. The season of Advent unfolded in a lovely, but predictable manner. Nothing "fresh"--- until late Christmas Eve afternoon.
My church has, for its afternoon Christmas Eve service as a centerpiece, baptisms. Sometimes there are many, this time two. I was honored to assist with one this year.
As the pastor walked the parents through details, the pastor said, "I will finish up with a prayer where we lay hands on you and your son,
praying for the day he stands before the church on his own proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ."
The mom started to cry, she was so moved by this moment and the hope of that moment in the future. It was touching and beautiful to see her emotion surface; to see the depth of faithful love expressed in a spontaneous reaction.
That was it. Through her, I saw the majesty and import of it all with fresh eyes. It was not what I expected and it was the best of surprises. I worshipped with a joy and thankfulness anew.
Beautiful! I cried when the girls were baptized, too. But it was easy for me to cover it up in the joyous chaos that is the 3 PM service with numerous baptisms.
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