eighth

It's almost Easter! We have been very busy around our house. We are planning my son's baptism, and Easter is just the perfect time for it. How many of us really ever think about Jesus being baptized? I can only wonder at the excitement that day was, and I am guessing it was very private, and humble. Jesus is our greatest example and to emulate Christ is what it means to be Christian.
I was sitting at my son's soccer game yesterday and listened in on a very LOUD teen conversation about religion. One girl and two boys were arguing about whether the boys were Mormon or not. The girl didn't believe that the boys were and they claimed they had scriptures with their name on it and some other things that proved it. Finally the girl got so tired of the yelling she grabbed her chair and sat next to me.
The boys were still yelling at her so I turned around and commented "well at least your not Catholic, or tonight your knees would be hurting from all the penance you would be doing after confession". Sometimes it really is better to keep your mouth shut, and I truly wish I had because the boys decided right then that they WERE, indeed, Catholic and were going to pester me until they proved it.
Now I married into a Catholic family and have learned a few things along the way, so I had to laugh when one of the boys mentioned, in a very haughty tone, that he recites the rosemary every day! When I asked "you mean rosary, don't you?" he looked at me and said "huh?"
So I laughed again, I couldn't help myself. This silliness was bringing back memories of when I would fight tooth and nail to prove I was right about something, and end up looking foolish because my pride demanded I keep going long after I should have closed my mouth.
Anyway by this time some other students were coming over to see what all the yelling was about. I heard a new voice state " I'm Christian." What a save! I looked at all these kids and said in my most grown up, reasonable tone- "Aren't all religions centered around Jesus, Christian?"
It didn't work! The Lynch mob was still forming, and getting louder, and now we had people from the other side of the field coming our way and I was sure the soccer teams were going to have to call a time out just so they could get in on the action, SOOOO I reverted back into that snotty-punk from my youth and screamed " You are all annoying me so SHUT UP!"
At that very instant I got ALL the attention. I managed to end the conversation. Now no-one was right or wrong, we were all just mad, but I got to finish watching the game without hearing one single word from any brat there! Now this would not usually bother me after all I do have two teenagers of my own but with all the negative energy going around on our side of the field...we lost the game! So the lesson to be learned from this is- Religion and Sports really don't mix! NO, NO, just kidding! The real lesson is Emulate Christ! I don't think Jesus would stand with a bunch of teenagers and lose his temper over a silly argument. I have decided to let Jesus have the teenagers to straighten out and I will be icing my knees for a few days while I practice being penitent.


"...for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:..."