Baptism means owning up to our mistakes and moving on.
I was presiding over the Sunday communion liturgy, leading the congregation directly into The Lord’s Prayer as usual. That “as usual” was the problem: a guest soloist had been scheduled to sing the prayer at this service. So, with the congregation fully aware that I had messed up (the worship folder verified it), we prayed every word in The Lord’s Prayer. And at the end, I announced, “And now you may be seated as we hear The Lord’s Prayer sung.” By the time the splendid soloist shook the dust of the ceiling beams with “thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory” and then descended to a quiet “Amen,” I hoped at least a few people may have forgotten my mistake.
Then our organist reminded me at the ensuing coffee hour. But, he added, the soloist had stepped out when the prayer was due to be sung, so “your mistake” was really fortunate; it gave him an extra moment to get back. Well, fortunate for him but not for me: the congregation didn’t know the soloist’s dilemma, which was private; but they knew my mistake, which was public. “I just love it,” I said to our organist with more than a little sarcasm, “when my mistakes are so transparent.”
There was, of course, no way to deny it: I messed up. The immediate question was: how to lead with the least disruption to the worship of 100 people. So I did what I did – in the judgment of the moment. And then I also had to decide: do I let this flub go and learn from it; or do I wallow in my failing.
To be baptized means to die to sin and rise to new life. A goof leading worship is surely small, even if glaringly obvious. If I make too much of it, beating myself up over this, I make myself and my mistake too much the center. So, own up to it and let it go. I have already died to sin and been raised in Christ. Let it go – and live!
Brad Anderson, the CEO of Best Buy, was recently featured in The Lutheran. “I’m public about the mistakes I make,” he’s said. “Employees need to know they can fail and still be part of the team.” He adds how profoundly important forgiveness is in the business world. Brad Anderson knows how to live baptized. Our mistakes aren’t the only problem: life is about what happens after our mistakes.
