Old World Tattoos

We had a baptism in Church yesterday. It was especially meaningful because it was an entire family. . .Mom, Dad, and little girl. I was asked to be a sponsor (or god-parent) of one of them, which I accepted with some fear and trembling. Every time I'm asked to do this, I get the feeling that God is giving me yet another chance to redeem some of the ways I've blown it as a parent. It's going to take a lot of god-children. . . ;-)

Anyway, that's not what I wanted to write about. The young man who was baptized was brought up in a Baptist church. . .and at some point ditched it and tried various "things." I learned this from his Mom, who was there yesterday. We had a nice chat after the long baptismal service. It was apparent from talking with her that it was her prayers and example of life that had planted the seed of Christ in her son's heart. She was obviously grateful that his long and dangerous "search for something real" was perhaps over. You could see the relief in her face. She now attends a Calvary Chapel Church and so she found our service "very unlike what she's used to." But when I mentioned that my first Orthodox service had "scared" me. . .she responded, "Oh, no. . .it didn't scare me. I've been to Catholic churches and even synagogues. In fact, the Orthodox service reminded me more of a synagogue service. . .it was so 'Old World'." I felt a brief surge of defensiveness rise up in me, but I avoided giving it voice. I let her words wash over me. "She's right", I thought to myself. "It is Old World. That's what I like about it."

The thing that she's going to have to deal with sooner or later, especially if her son continues to make progress and grow roots in Christian Orthodoxy, is why a young man covered in tattoos, with many holes in his skin from body piercings, would reject a "contemporary" expression of Christian faith in favor of something "Old World"? Just another fad? Just something else that is exotic and therefore at it's heart a form of rebellion for him? Perhaps. Time, with its attendant suffering, will reveal everything. . .for all of us. The Good Sower spreads His seeds everywhere. . .it's up to us to plough up our hearts so we can accept them.