You Belong

The Baptism of Jesus, by Vladimir Zagitov

Have you ever wanted a neon sign from God?  Something that you don’t have to decode, not have to guess which part is your own insight, which part is divine, and which part is your guilty conscience?  Well, there are sacraments.  In our Protestant tradition, we have two: baptism and communion.  Sacraments are “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible gift of God.”  Things we can experience with our senses to represent what is going on at a level we cannot reliably sense.  And the gift of baptism is: You belong. You belong to God’s family through the power of Jesus.  You are forgiven.  You are made new in the image of God. Rely on it.

Unlike communion, baptism is something we preachers are only supposed to serve up to you once.  This is out of respect for the validity of your first baptism, whichever group of Christians did it. (Some Christians don’t think baptizing babies and kids too young to profess their faith counts. They are called, ironically, Baptists.) Only one baptism per person.  In a way this is too bad, because we often need a new start with God; we need that reassurance that we belong.  That we are forgiven.  That we are made new in the image of God.  

“Remember your baptism, and be glad.”  Whether or not you remember your actual baptism, rely on it. Remember who loves you.  Remember that you truly belong.

*****************

Brea Congregational United Church of Christ

January 7, 2017

New Beginnings

Mark 1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

            9   In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Happy New Year! To start our New Year, a new gospel, the gospel of Mark.  And the very beginning of Mark is the baptism of Jesus, the beginning of his ministry.  Today we are invited to experience God’s newness, leading us forward into a future of learning, and service, carrying the message of God’s love, and enjoying God’s amazing world.  Happy New Year, indeed!

I love Mark’s gospel. It was the first written collection of stories of Jesus.  Mark invented a new form of literature: a gospel. He recorded a new religion; the name of it wasn’t even fixed at that time.  Mark had learned about Jesus by word of mouth, probably from people who had seen him in the flesh, and who had encountered the risen Christ in power. Mark in turn experienced that transforming power as their stories came alive for him. Mark was no academic, but he knew how to tell a story in its bare bones essence.  He wanted to make sure that the stories his mentors told him were remembered, and preserved, so that people removed in time and space could encounter that risen Christ in power for ourselves.

Power is key in the Gospel of Mark.  For Mark, Jesus has a kind of power that makes things happen.  Healings.  Exorcisms. Revealing the true nature of things, exposing the powers and principalities and the rot behind the political and social structures of his day.  In the coming months we will unpack this kind of power and what it might look like for us today.  

According to Mark’s story, Jesus’ power was first revealed at his baptism.  The veil between heaven and earth was ripped apart, and the spirit of God escaped from heaven and landed on Jesus. He was claimed as God’s special son, and then his work among us began.

Some impressive baptism that was.  But were people even aware of the amazing new thing that was happening with Jesus in the Jordan?  Who knew at the time?  Maybe only Jesus.  The text says:…just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw…  Did anyone else see?  Did even John the Baptist know what was happening?  Was it just a vision that Jesus saw?  Was that enough to change the course of his life from carpenter to messiah? 

Which begs the question, what does God need to do to get through to us, today?  Have you ever wanted a neon sign from God?  Something that you don’t have to decode, not have to guess which part is your own insight, which part is divine, and which part is your guilty conscience?  Well, there are sacraments.  In our Protestant tradition, we have two: baptism and communion.  Sacraments are “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible gift of God.”  Things we can experience with our senses to represent what is going on at a level we cannot reliably sense.  And the gift of baptism is: You belong. You belong to God’s family through the power of Jesus.  You are forgiven.  You are made new in the image of God. Rely on it.

Unlike communion, baptism is something we preachers are only supposed to serve up to you once.  This is out of respect for the validity of your first baptism, whichever group of Christians did it. (Some Christians don’t think baptizing babies and kids too young to profess their faith counts. They are called, ironically, Baptists.) Only one baptism per person.  In a way this is too bad, because we often need a new start with God; we need that reassurance that we belong.  That we are forgiven.  That we are made new in the image of God. 

“Remember your baptism, and be glad.”  Whether or not you remember your actual baptism, rely on it. Remember who loves you.  Remember that you truly belong.

When Jesus was baptized, he was getting a ritual that John the Baptist had created, of submersion in the Jordan river for forgiveness and renewal, maybe a little political protest too, but Jesus got something else besides:  the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit. In this story it was seen “like a dove.”  Whether this was seen by anybody else but Jesus, this receiving of the Holy Spirit to make baptism complete had become part of the baptism ritual already by the time of Paul.  A Christian baptism is water and Spirit: it is not a Christian baptism unless the Holy Spirit is a part of it.  The apostle Paul has to clean up several baptisms in Acts of the Apostles.  He delivered the Holy Spirit to new Christians by laying on hands (chapters 8 and 19).  Now you know and I know that the Holy Spirit does not need a pair of hands to reach you.  But how cool is it that faithful people have been carrying forth the power of God from one person to another for thousands of years through the ritual of laying on hands, in baptism, in Confirmation, and in ordination, and in everyday life? 

God makes us new each day.  Yet so much of God’s work is invisible.   Here is another way besides baptism to make it visible: by our hands, deliberately as carriers of that Spirit that loves us no matter what.  We can be that for each other, with a “peace be with you,” a handclasp, a respectful hug, an arm on the shoulder, or a full throttle laying on of hands. The Spirit blows where it will, but we can also deliberately share it with one another. God is everywhere, but in the church community, we can know it, and share it, in this simple touch of loving hands.

I have worked my way through close to forty listening interviews with members of this church.  I am privileged to know some of the things you value.  As I have listened, I am very aware that this is a season of loss for our church, and for many of your families too.  Losing a beloved pastor who has seen you through so much of life is a big loss.  Some pillars of the church have moved away, and other pillars of the church, have died and gone home to God.  So much loss. We each face that loss in our own way.  

And in the emptiness that we are left with, God is at work creating something new.  We are not alone.  The book of Hebrews talks of a great cloud of witnesses.  Those whose hands showed God to us. Who loved us, and taught us, and showed us how to do this crazy thing we call church. A great cloud of witnesses, no longer here in the flesh, but still supporting us. From my churches, I especially remember Katherine, who showed me how a woman could be a pastor. Dave, whose quiet faithfulness and hard work taught me the bible cover to cover.  Marion, who said: Pastor, I’m praying for you every day.  Beth, who at 99 years old, took church attendance and kept track of every visitor.  Take a minute and reflect on who is in your cloud of witnesses, no longer here in the flesh, but still supporting your faith.

 God doesn’t create out of nothing. Out of our past relationships and our broken hearts, in love with those saints who have gone before us, God is creating a faithful future for us, and for this church.  We might become those caring hands for someone new who walks through our door.  We might be that carrier sof God’s Spirit to a person who needs to know that they belong, they are forgiven, that they can be accepted exactly as they are.  We are probably not ready to fill the shoes of those who go before us with God, but that’s OK.  It’s good to have a challenge.  And we’re not doing it alone!

Has anybody been making New Years resolutions?  Somebody’s making resolutions: I know because the yoga studio was cram-packed when I went last week.

I love that resolutions work for some people.  For myself, I find a different process seems to work more reliably: paying attention to what God is making new in my life.  Then just going with the flow, following that energy, that Spirit gift, and trying to let it fully into my life.  Following through is not always my strong suit; I can’t make things happen.  Instead, I try to keep finding the flow, the life-giving rhythm that God is providing, and stepping into it, and letting it wash over me, and letting it support me.  So I’m not trying to remake myself.  We are being remade.  We are showing up, and being willing to be remade.

So every morning (well, most mornings) I offer myself to that flow, hoping to be remade into the things God is nudging me to become.  And every afternoon, I have forgotten a good part of my good intentions, but God is forgiving, and that flow of Spirit is still there, that cloud of witnesses is still there, and every time I remember to pause and listen and feel it, I am made new.

I suspect this church is ready for new beginnings, and I hope you will be a part of it. Details to follow after the next Council meeting. There is no magic formula for a church to thrive.  I have some ideas of what we can do.  But the most important thing we can do is accept the gift that those before us have given to us, the gift of God’s Spirit made known in the caring hands of faithful people, and then we do our best to carry it forward, in ways that bring us love and joy.  Through the water of baptism, through the bread and cup of communion, we carry God’s spirit. In celebration and mourning, in prayer and song, in parties and works of mercy and works of justice, we carry God’s spirit to hurting world. We are the church, created in water and Spirit.  We belong.  We are forgiven.  And, surrounded by those who love us, in this world and the next, we are made Christ’s new creation.  I can’t wait to see how we grow!  Amen.