Easter 4B-Baptismal Letter to Rawls Ochsner

4th Sunday of Easter Year B April 22, 2018 A letter to Eleanor Rawls Ochsner upon the occasion of her baptism. Dear Rawls, Today is the 4th Sunday of Easter, which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a beautiful day to be baptized, because we are still so close to the Day of Resurrection; our alleluias are still so fresh and joyful; our hearts are light and full. Today in your baptism, we are recognizing and celebrating the truth of who you already are—God’s beloved child. This day we celebrate that you belong to Christ and that you will be marked as his own, belonging to him, forever. This process that begins for you today will go beyond even your own death, for you will always be a sheep of Jesus’s own fold, a lamb of his own flock, a sinner of his own redeeming. You will always be someone loved so much by Jesus that he willingly lays down his life for you and for all of creation. (Something important to remember on this Sunday that also happens to be Earth Day.) If you hear nothing else today, I hope that you will hear and know this: God knows you altogether and God loves you altogether. Nothing you can ever do can change God’s love for you or can change your place of belonging in the heart of God. You may do things that grieve God, that hurt yourself and others, but you will always have a place in the heart of God who loves you so much more than you can ever ask or imagine! The deeper you live into God’s love for you, the more you will love others and give of yourself to God and to others, and it is in this knowledge and through this practice that you will encounter the abundant life which Jesus promises and offers you. Since today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and in many of our readings we are told that we are like sheep and Jesus is the Good Shepherd, I’d like to tell you a couple of things about sheep and their relationship with their shepherd that may help you on this journey of faith which you begin today. Sheep have gotten a really bad rap. People say that sheep are stupid, silly creatures, but scientists have actually proven that sheep are much smarter than we thought. Sheep are actually intelligent animals who can recognize faces and respond to rewards. But, there are two important things that we need to know about sheep that have led to their being labeled as stupid, because these two things ring true for us as well. First, sheep are not willing to be driven along from behind like cattle. If someone tries to drive sheep, they scatter. But sheep are more than willing to follow along behind a trusted shepherd. They follow willingly wherever the trusted shepherd leads because they know the way is safe. Second, sheep, like most people, run when they are afraid, and in their fear and in their running, they become incredibly lost. We know something of this fear, this running, and this lostness. The late psychologist Rollo May has written, “Humans are the strangest of all God’s creatures because they run fastest when they have lost their way.” We know something of this. We become afraid when our lives take a turn from what we expect or hope. We become afraid when we feel trapped, and we run. We become afraid when circumstances seem to be spiraling out of our control. We become afraid when we are forced to change in ways that we do not want to change. We become afraid, and we run, and we get lost. At some point in your life, sweet Rawls, you will probably be truly frightened—whether it is by the threat of sickness or injury, afraid for someone you love, broken hearted and lost, believing your own false heart or the false lips of those who tell you you’re not good or good enough, you’re not smart or smart enough, you’re not pretty enough, you’re not doing enough…You may believe at some point that you are truly lacking and that you are unlovable. At some point in your life, I fear, you will be afraid, you will feel lost, and you will want to run and run and run. When those times happen remember this day. Remember that you are cherished by God; remember that you will always belong to Jesus, even when you do run away. Remember that he is not only with you, but that he has gone before you, into and through death and into the fullness of his resurrection. Remember that he is your shepherd and that he leads you and all of us through death and into the abundant life of the resurrection where he invites us to dwell. Always remember that God has created you good. You are good, no matter what you do, no matter what others say. You are good; God loves you and will always love you, and God really wants to you flourish and to grow toward God. Remember that we walk this way with you, following Jesus our Good Shepherd all together, so that none of us is ever alone. You have nothing to fear and everything to gain. May you not be afraid. And may you have life and have it abundantly. Your sister in Christ, Melanie+