Being a Godfather

This past Sunday I was in Kansas City and was able to attend Catholic mass with my god daughter. One of the highest honors in my life is to be a godfather, because it breaks the rules a bit.  Rob and Susanne asked me to be a godfather despite me being a Protestant minister, or maybe because I am.  I did not ask why, but just took the honor.

The godparents promise to raise their god child in the Catholic faith.  We took that seriously, but had a lapse when she had first communion.  Ouch, we moved to CA and it would mean a Sunday's vacation and trekking the whole familia to KC, a costly trek.

So, I told my goddaughter that I had one goal and that was to go to mass with her.  There are things about the Roman Catholic church that have changed since Pope John Paul II died.  The KC diocese that was very progressive and downright liberal is now very conservative.  The whole idea of an altar as opposed to a table really bothers me and that whole transubstantiation thing bothers me as well.  The bread and wine are symbols not miraculously body and blood.  However, I am a godfather and my task is to raise a good Catholic girl.  So, I recite creeds and do not take the Eucharist because I need to honor the tradition.

So we sat in the KC cathedral on Sunday and I talked to her about the service.  I pointed out the baptistery, "I remember, you were covered with water.  That means you were made a part of God's family."  I pointed out the altar that is artistically shows bushels of wheat under the top and I said, "THey have wheat because this is KC where wheat is a very staple of life.  I come from the place where grapes are the staple.  On Sunday when you take communion, when I break the bread I will think of you with the wheat.  When you take the wine, remember me with the grapes. God will unite us when share in the table."  I know it is a table to me, but she got it.

It is hard at times to do things that I don't fully believe, but I do this act of being a god father because it is important for her to be raised rightly with compassion and mercy not with mere rightness.  So, I try to display that and I hope that in my actions of god father teaching her a faith I don't fully believe she will learn how to have tolerance, honor others, and how important love is in the world.   That is a faith that we can all hold upon to.