Dear friends,
It has been said that whenever Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant reformation, was having an especially difficult day, he would pat himself on the head and remind himself that he had been baptized.
I find it very curious that remembering his baptism brought him comfort and reassurance.
While it is true that baptism marks the beginning of our faith journey, most of us rarely remember own baptismal vows, never mind recall them in moments of crisis. We forget that we come from the water to live a new life as children of God, that we have been initiated into a community of faith, and that we are anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit to help and guide us.
Sometimes I try to visualize Luther at his desk, patting himself on the head and remembering who he is and who he belongs to—what he’s a part of—and resting in the consolation that the waters of his baptism brought him to this place.
Jesus’ Baptism
The week before my first book, The God Who Sees, launched into the world I had to preach on Jesus’ baptism. As I was reading the text in the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11), I read that John baptizes Jesus and, as Jesus is coming out of the water, he sees the heaven torn open and the Spirit descends on him. Then a voice from heaven says, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (NIV, v. 11).
Perhaps you, like me, have read that text hundreds of times and move over it quickly because, truth be told, it is probably not difficult to love a person who did everything Jesus did.
I always read this verse without recognizing that at the time these words are spoken to Jesus, he has not accomplished a single thing that he is known for: no miracles, ministry, sermons or even followers. All he has done for 30 years is live the normal life of a Jewish man in the first century. He is beloved and pleasing without accomplishing anything.
“You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” (CEB)
We live in a world where we are defined by what we accomplish—we even have a social media platform dedicated to our accomplishments: LinkedIn. I once told a friend that in the household where I grew up, being told you were smart was better than hearing I love you. And I meant it.
Maybe that is why it is so easy for me, and maybe for you as well, to run right over those words spoken to Jesus without realizing that just being is reason enough to be loved, to be considered pleasing. I always tell people to whom I present on immigration that our focus should be on proclaiming shared humanity with immigrants, and we should not lead with discussing how much immigrants help the economy nor the fact that we need their labor. Being > doing. Human beings not human resources.
Beyond Welcome
It was providential that my sermon preparation came the week my first book came out because it helped me to live into the truth that whether that book sold well or not; whether it was reviewed well or not; whether it made any bestseller lists or not, my worth as a person was not in question. The book is just a book, not my baby or an extension of me, even though it includes my stories, some of which are very vulnerable.
As of the writing of this letter, my new book has been in the world for 1 week. Happy 1 week birthday to Beyond Welcome! Check out the fun 43-second book trailer.
I am once again sitting with those words I heard back in 2019 from the Spirit.
Sometimes people ask me if I know how the book is doing—is it selling? How many copies? It may sound strange, but I have no idea at all. Once a year I receive a letter from the publisher letting me know how many copies were sold and with it a royalty check. At least that’s what happened with my first book. There are also rank lists on Amazon—right now my new book is #32 under “Christian ethics.” But that can change from moment to moment.
Of course, I would love to know. But maybe it’s best that I don’t. My heart would be in peril if it were not doing well, and my soul would be in peril if it were.
So, I have no idea. But I am praying that it gets into the hands of those who need to read it and that it goes further than I can ever go.
I hope that you are well and enjoying the changing seasons. The fall is such a lovely time of year in Baltimore (all 2 weeks of it!). May you remember you are loved and pleasing without accomplishing a single thing. May you remember you have been baptized (if you have) and be gentle with yourself.
With joy,
Karen
You can read a bit about the book and its writing in this interview with Jeff Chu:
And you can listen to a bit of what the book is about on the following podcasts:
Oh, I love this good and generous reminder. After a slew of similar questions about the sales of my book (which I am also blissfully ignorant of), I started responding, "You know, thank you for asking but I stopped measuring my success in numbers a long time ago. I'm just happy it's out and off my desk!"