I am a Godfather
My really good friends Tim & Trish asked me to be godfather to their adorable first-born, Tara. I was so stunned they thought my silence was the lag typical of international calls. I accepted without hesitation, overjoyed they’d bestow such an honor on me after already allowing me the privilege of spending baby’s first night at home with her.
It dawned on me that I’d been asked twice to be a wedding “best man”, not including my brother who decided against the tradition but for whom I gave the speech, but on neither occasion did I fulfill my duties. For my jolly (now dearly departed) friend Li Choon, I’d unfortunately already made plans to go to Antarctica when he asked me. For Lester, I botched the time difference calculation flying to Singapore from the States and missed the wedding by a whole day. Made the banquet though, and that’s really the key!
After hanging up, the obvious question surfaced in my mind. “What in heaven’s name does a Godfather do?” Images of Marlon Brando waving aside sycophantic, ring-kissing adulants tempted me to abuse my new title. The standard battery of godfatherly duties however centers on providing religious guidance to the godchild, traditionally in a Christian context. eGodParent.com lists the following 5 key responsibilities:
1. Pray for your godchild regularly
2. Set an example of Christian living
3. Help him/her to grow in the faith of God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, in which he/she was baptized
4. Give every encouragement to follow Christ and fight against evil
5. Help your godchild to look forward to confirmation
Tim & Trish are very religiously broad-minded and knowing neither their choice for godmother (Lisa Grimes) nor I is particularly religious likely influenced things in our favor. I for one feel ill-equipped to perform any of the above in a literal sense, considering myself spiritual but not religious and seeing common benefits in all the world’s major religions but not aligning myself with one for the simple reason that doing so would automatically imply a personal choice I don’t feel egotistical enough to make. And thus far, no religion has chosen me.
That said, the day of my first godfatherly nomination is also the second day of my first “saum”, the Muslim fast during Ramadan. I plan to undertake the fast for 10 days and already at this early stage, can feel the unifying strength of this humble act adhered to by an entire populace. Rising, praying and eating together in a rhythm dictated by the sun, daily focus heightened on compassion & piety. One thing I will certainly do as a godparent in the realm of spiritual mentoring (should I ever be asked specifically) is to advocate close personal study of all the world’s major religions. Billions cannot be wrong and it’s worth distilling the essence of each religion for oneself and developing a deeper empathy for all humanity and/or possibly some form of personal practice.
For now, that’s about all I can summon for my new god-daughter.
It dawned on me that I’d been asked twice to be a wedding “best man”, not including my brother who decided against the tradition but for whom I gave the speech, but on neither occasion did I fulfill my duties. For my jolly (now dearly departed) friend Li Choon, I’d unfortunately already made plans to go to Antarctica when he asked me. For Lester, I botched the time difference calculation flying to Singapore from the States and missed the wedding by a whole day. Made the banquet though, and that’s really the key!
After hanging up, the obvious question surfaced in my mind. “What in heaven’s name does a Godfather do?” Images of Marlon Brando waving aside sycophantic, ring-kissing adulants tempted me to abuse my new title. The standard battery of godfatherly duties however centers on providing religious guidance to the godchild, traditionally in a Christian context. eGodParent.com lists the following 5 key responsibilities:
1. Pray for your godchild regularly
2. Set an example of Christian living
3. Help him/her to grow in the faith of God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, in which he/she was baptized
4. Give every encouragement to follow Christ and fight against evil
5. Help your godchild to look forward to confirmation
Tim & Trish are very religiously broad-minded and knowing neither their choice for godmother (Lisa Grimes) nor I is particularly religious likely influenced things in our favor. I for one feel ill-equipped to perform any of the above in a literal sense, considering myself spiritual but not religious and seeing common benefits in all the world’s major religions but not aligning myself with one for the simple reason that doing so would automatically imply a personal choice I don’t feel egotistical enough to make. And thus far, no religion has chosen me.
That said, the day of my first godfatherly nomination is also the second day of my first “saum”, the Muslim fast during Ramadan. I plan to undertake the fast for 10 days and already at this early stage, can feel the unifying strength of this humble act adhered to by an entire populace. Rising, praying and eating together in a rhythm dictated by the sun, daily focus heightened on compassion & piety. One thing I will certainly do as a godparent in the realm of spiritual mentoring (should I ever be asked specifically) is to advocate close personal study of all the world’s major religions. Billions cannot be wrong and it’s worth distilling the essence of each religion for oneself and developing a deeper empathy for all humanity and/or possibly some form of personal practice.
For now, that’s about all I can summon for my new god-daughter.
posted by jngah @ 12:54 AM
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