Luther said, “Remember your baptism.” How can people do that? In Luther’s church, most of the baptisms were of infants. They were brought by their mothers and fathers and they were baptized. So how could they remember their baptisms? Luther knew that when they became twelve and thirteen they would be confirmed in the church and they would claim their baptisms. “Yes,” they would say, “I accept my baptism. I remember my baptism.”

So Luther wanted to know, “Do you remember your baptism?” Why did Luther say that? To make you feel guilty? “Aha! You’ve strayed from your baptism.” No, no. Every one of us strays from our baptism, forgets our baptism, denies our baptism. Every one of us.

Show me a bird who can say “I look like my song.” None of us can do that. But what Luther had in mind was this: Remember your baptism by claiming yourself to be a child of God and by going about God’s business–serving other people.

from Cherry Log Sermons