The Gospel of Luke would have us know that the good news the angels announced to the shepherds is good news for the poor. It is good news for the financially stressed, those living on the streets, or in crowded apartments with the rent due and another baby on the way. It is good news for the emotionally stressed who are locked in a dungeon of depression. It is good news for the spiritually distressed who wonder if God is good or if God even is. With their announcing, “Unto you,” the angels announce God’s saving compassion for “the poor.”
In his book, Good News From North Haven, Michael Lindvall tells a parable of this good news set in a small Midwestern town.
Rev. David Battles is approached after church one Sunday by Angus McDonnell, a church elder. Angus tells Battles that Larry, his son from Spokane, will be in town over Thanksgiving, along with Sherry, his wife, and their new baby named, believe it or not, “Angus Larry.” “They’re going to call him ‘Skip,'” the elder Angus adds. He goes on to say that with Sherry’s folks living nearby, this Thanksgiving is going to be a big reunion. As such, the Sunday following would be a perfect time to “do the baby,” as Angus puts it.
Rev. Battles invites the elder into his office. He talks about the integrity of the Sacrament of Baptism. He asks Angus about Larry and Sherry’s church affiliation in Spokane, and explains it would be best for Skip to be baptized in the church where he will be raised. He goes on to talk about the need for parents to be committed in their faith to the rather sweeping and deep promises they would make in the course of the ceremony.
Angus catches Battles’ drift. Larry and Sherry ought to find a church in Spokane and have Skip “done” there. Angus listens politely, thanks the minister for his time, and leaves the office with Battles thinking the matter is settled. But Angus makes a few calls and at the next meeting of the session the baptism is approved 9-0. So, on the morning of the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Rev. Battles “does” little Skip.
In the North Haven congregation it is a tradition that the minister asks, “Who stands with this child?” before asking the questions of the parents. All the relatives of the child then rise and remain standing through the rest of the baptism. When Battles asks the question, four pews worth rise to their feet eliciting giggles in the congregation.
After church, everyone returns home to leftover turkey, and Rev. Battles goes back into the sanctuary to turn out the lights. He notices that someone waiting to talk with him; a quiet woman named Mildred Cory who always sits at the rear of the church and usually slips out quickly when worship is through.
Mildred seems at a loss for words. Finally, she says that her daughter, Tina, just had a baby, and, well, the baby ought to be baptized, shouldn’t it?
Battles suggests that Tina and her husband call him to discuss it. Mildred hesitates again, and then, catching and holding Battles’ eyes for the first time, says, “Tina ‘s got no husband; she’s just 18, and she was confirmed in this church four years ago. She used to come for Senior High Fellowship, but then she started to see this boy who dropped out of school…”
Now the story tumbles out fearlessly: “…and then she got pregnant, he left, and she decided to keep the baby and she wants to have it baptized here in her own church, but she’s nervous to come and talk to you, Reverend. She’s named the baby James – Jimmy.”
Rev. Battles brings the matter up at the next session meeting for approval. Battles explains that Tina is an unwed mother and that he doesn’t know who the father is. They all know who the father is, of course; this is a small town. The father is young Jimmy Hawthorne, who is completing basic training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
The discussion is awkward because of the picture they all have in their minds: Tina, who looks young for her age anyway, standing up there, teenage spots and all, holding little Jimmy in her arms; big Jimmy long-fled to North Carolina; and Mildred Corey being the only one who stands when the question is asked. It hurts to think of. But the session approves the baptism and schedules it for the last Sunday in Advent.
As always the Sunday before Christmas, the church is full. Down the aisle comes Tina, nervously, briskly, shaking slightly, holding month-old Jimmy. A picture of young Mary holding her first-born son suddenly comes to Battles’ mind. Would she have felt as out of place in her home synagogue considering her circumstances?
Rev. Battles reads the opening part of the service and then – looking for Mildred Cory and finding her sitting strangely out of place in a front pew – asks the question: “Who stands with this child?” He nods at Mildred slightly to coax her to her feet. She rises slowly; looking to either side self-consciously, and then returns his forced smile.
Battles’ eyes go back to the service book perhaps a little too quickly. He is just about to ask Tina the questions required of the parents when he becomes aware of a movement in the pews.
Angus McDonnell had stood up, his wife Minnie beside him. Then a couple of other elders stand. Then the sixth-grade Sunday School teacher, a new couple in church, and soon, before his incredulous eyes, the whole church is standing with little Jimmy.
Tina is crying, overwhelmed by the extravagant expression of grace and support. Mildred Cory is holding on to the pew as though she is standing on the deck of a rocking ship, which, in a way, she is.
In that baptism Tina and Mildred know the good news is true; that even for them- especially for them – Christ came.
– George Anderson
Second Presbyterian Church
