It is July. The dog days of summer are upon us. The days feel slow and lazy. The summer heat has nearly evaporated my expectations and hopes for this summer. I have not taken the hikes I promised myself, so that I could be renewed in the joy of God’s creation. I am behind in preparations for this fall’s ministry program. As a congregation, we had hoped to be in a different place in staffing for youth ministry. And, as if to rub salt in open wounds, the Chicago Cubs are below .500 and have fallen out of serious contention for the pennant…..again. 

Kathleen Norris has reminded me that the Desert Fathers and Mothers called this kind of weariness Acedia, the Noontime Demon. They described it as a dislike of staying in one place, ennui, boredom, impasse, futility. A spiritual dryness. 

So, if this is a spiritual condition, where is the refreshment? 

I remember sitting around the kitchen table in the Swidnicki home, talking with then four‐year‐old Jacob Michael Swidnicki about his upcoming baptism and ways to remember God’s promises. I shared what Martin Luther had said, “When you wash your face, remember your baptism.” 

I asked Jacob, “So, what is it about water that will remind you of your baptism?” Jacob didn’t hesitate. “Water balloons,” he said. 

Thank you, Jacob Michael Swidnicki. Water balloons it is. We will melt that Noontime Demon with the wet grace of water balloons. I feel refreshed already. 

Maybe we ought to toss some verbal water balloons around, surprising one another with the refreshment of grace. We can play catch, tossing back and forth wet words of grace: “nothing will ever separate you from God’s love in Christ” and “God says, ‘you are mine, sinners who for Christ’s sake are named ‘saints.’” 

Anne Lamont writes, “Most of what we do in worldly life is geared toward our staying dry, looking good, not going under. But in baptism, in lakes and rain and tanks and fonts, you agree to do something that is a little sloppy because at the same time it’s also holy, and absurd. It’s about surrender, giving in to all those things we can’t control; it’s a willingness to let go of balance and decorum and get drenched.” 

So, fair warning. You may find yourself surprised and drenched one of these Sunday mornings…in the wet grace of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

‐Pastor Steve