Mark 1, the penetrating spirit

Our baptism is a special day. It’s one we prepare for with classes in order that we will know what we are getting ourselves into.
I remember when someone unfamiliar with COB asked “I don’t have to sign over my 401K, do I? We do make commitment in baptism and we receive something also. How that works, the giving and receiving of promises- is a great theological topic.
It begins with water, do you remember the water of your baptism? Was it in a nice warm (mostly warm) baptistery, or a cold river?
I’ve always wondered about the 1st Brethren baptisms, Dec. 25 , 1723
They say no one has ever gotten sick by being “dunked” in a cold river during a winter baptism. I’m sure December would not be my choice for an outside baptism.

Mark's story of Jesus' baptism is remarkable, not because of the water but because of the Spirit. God’s Spirit is a vital part of our ability to follow Christ. It enables us to hear and discern a call. It enables us to enter a particular type of service and feel certain that we are following God’s guidance. The Holy Spirit is key to the service of baptism.

BAPTISM marks a new start, a fresh beginning. And a new direction. This was true even for Jesus. although theologians debate why the ‘one w/o sin’ came to be baptized, it marked a turning and the beginning for his ministry.
We choose to be baptized when we recognize our need for covenant with the author of life and when we choose to follow Jesus’ Way.

Brethren believe:
1. Baptism is a response to God’s saving act thru Jesus, the Christ (God is the actor, we the responder. We act in free will, by choice, deciding to follow Christ.)
2. Baptism is an act of obedience to the teachings and example of Jesus. (In discipleship class I ask youth, “Why do we baptize the way we do--by immersion?” The answer is, “Because Jesus did.”)
3. Baptism is a symbol of cleansing and new life. It is an outward and visible sign of an inner experience of new birth.
4. Baptism is a public witness of the covenant relationship with God. (Baptisms are usually done in a public service and certainly with witnesses. While the inward experience is private, this outward expression has to be public.)
5. Baptism is an initiation rite into the church; the body of Christ. It is the moment of entering a congregation and assuming responsible membership.
6. Baptism is an ORDINATION into ministry. “All people, as they join the church thru baptism, are called to minister thru their life and work to their neighbors in the world.”
7. Baptism is a beginning.
a. It is understood not as something completed but as the start of the Christian’s pilgrimage of faith.

At baptism we take vows,
1. Affirming that We “believe in Jesus Christ as the revealer of God’s love and purpose for the world?”
2. Second vow – Will you turn away from all sin/brokenness and promise to live -according to the example and teachings of Jesus; taking the NT as your rule for living?
3. Third – Will you be loyal to the church, upholding it by your prayers, your presence, your substance and your service?

Then the waters symbolically wash us clean as we are baptized in the TRIUNE name, and we rise as a new creation, in and thru Christ. Then comes the laying on of hands and invoking the Holy Spirit. We know and trust that God’s spirit comes to us –it is the heart of our new beginning.

Perhaps you have experienced God’s spirit as a soft, descending dove – it is a favorite way we interpret Mark’s phrase
“he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.”

Yet, God’s spirit also comes as a burning flame, purifying, igniting with passion, stirring waters and usually stirring up trouble. This spirit doesn’t seem so gentle. (Someone said, when you think of God’s spirit as a dove, think of a dive-bombing bird aiming at a predator trying to protect her young. Or if you’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie, THE BIRDS, you might have a different picture of the Spirit as bird.)

Looking back at today’s scripture in Mark, how do you think Jesus experience God’s spirit?
This visible spirit drove him into the wilderness for a 40 day encounter with fasting and devilish temptation. And yet it was this spirit that gave Jesus the POWER TO withstand the trial of the desert and the trial of the next three years. How?

‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

This not-so-gentle spirit, this igniting and piercing/penetrating, all-powerful spirit states with a voice that breaks into our humanity, “You are my beloved”.

What could you do if you heard these words? You are my beloved? How many people that you know, feel beloved? “Our culture is competitive and judgmental. We never feel good enough. And yet our baptism is the sign that we are good enough thru Christ.” (Sarah Beck)
The words of affirmation cause us to look at the spirit differently, no longer are we likely to imagine the soft white feathers of a dove, but a strong presence of acceptance. This spirit presence is an intrusive power FOR life that only God commands.

We hear God command the spirit in the scriptures. --- -God commands that there be light and there is new birth and life for creation.
-God’s voice echoes over the waters and new life comes after a flood, and the same peace comes after our personal devastation, when we hear God’s spirit in reassurance.
-Christ speaks the words, “Your sins are forgiven.” And lives are changed forever.
- God’s spirit gives voice to God’s blessing when Jesus is baptized and thru his life of giving, we are blessed.

Our baptism makes it possible for us to hear God’s spirit say, “You are my Beloved”

In our response to God’s loving act, our ears are open to hear God bless us.
Our eyes can see the places God intends for us to work now that we have been granted the power of God’s Spirit.

YOU ARE God’s beloved and we must hear God say it, or we will continue to fall back with hesitation and we can’t act with conviction until we realize we have already been accepted…
YOU are accepted. If you are baptized, you have already acted in response to God’s acceptance. If you are not, the invitation is always open because God love us and desires that we embrace the Holy Spirit and know that we are God’s beloved.

We are all accepted, we are touched by God spirit. We are pierced and filled and empowered FOR something and it takes being reminded that we are God's beloved so we can have the strength to share it with others.

The Light Dawns; John 1

Happy New Year! A bright and sunny one where I'm at, cold but not as frigid as some parts of the country. Isn't it amazing how much easier it is to stand the cold when the sun is out. Perhaps it is a good metaphor for life. When you live in the light, you can withstand all the darkness that comes with sadness and tragedy.

John 1 lets us glimpse the beginning of life; whether of creation or of our own enlightenment. We begin with awareness (says Wm. Arnold in Feasting on the Word) of that which comes from beyond us. Once we are aware it can enter and offer us life. Like the dawn that begins with only the slightest awareness that there is something out there in the dark, we too begin by moving our center outside ourselves and realizing there is MORE.

The rising of the light begins with a hint of pink which often spills into a golden ruby hew. It's like a jewel rising from the ground some mornings and the Light of the World comes with the same richness into our lives, offering more than we could 'ask or imagine' (Eph. 3).

Then the light comes. It floods the earth with color and allows all the richness already present, to be seen. Trees comes alive in any season and the colors, even of winter, become visible as we become attuned to life around us. Christ's light invites us to enter the world fully, taking in all seasons of life with confidence that his light is enough to guide our path.

Then, if you look away from the sunrise you can often see a reflection of gold and pink in the opposite sky as if the earth was answering the gift of sunrise with a mirror of color. It shows up in the sky that will later hold the sunset, a promise that even when the dark returns, the light will be present in God's creation to carry us through.

We carry Christ's light in us and offer the gift of enlightenment to the world. Not in the gnostic sense of pure knowledge, but in the heart and soul sense that when we take in the light, it shines through us and offers life to the world. Ah, the sunrise, on this first day of the year is a beautiful moment of promise for everyone.

Christmas Presents We Remember

"What did you get for Christmas?" We can hardly help but say it. "What did Santa bring you?" we ask the little kids. They give us a list of toys, scooter, bike, Wii, guitar. . . while older and wiser voices say, "Santa brought me you, all of you here for dinner."

What Christmas gifts do you remember best? Were they your first bike or the surprise visit from a family member? Was it a hand-made item like, "A Christmas Mix for Mom" -always my favorite cd of the year, or a hand-made candy dispenser from someone's wood shop? Often we can list unique gifts we've received but even more we remember those special gifts we've given. If you've spent weeks knitting the perfect gift, creating a scrapbook of an event to give, finding just the perfect addition to someone's collection, or making a recipe box down to the sanding and stain, then you are likely to remember a gift you've given more than one you've received. What was the best gift you ever GAVE?

For all the gifts we give and receive we often get the greatest joy for the ones we've given away. We may not even know how they were received but remember all the effort than went into finding or making it perfect. There is great satisfaction in knowing you gave just what was needed. That your work brought surprise and joy into someone's life. On those occasions we touch the joy God must experience each time we give thanks for Christ's birth. 

This most wonderful gift, a life lived among humans that blessed all generations is the best Christmas gift ever. Jesus came, not to die, but to teach us how to live. Every time we listen and follow his WAY, God's gift is received again and it blesses the earth with shared love just as God intended it.

In this Christmas season I hope you remember the gifts you've given and those who gave to you. I hope you look back with long perspective and forward with the hope for love that continues to give itself away. Then you will be a living Christmas gift.

The Greatest Story

The Christmas story is the 'greatest ever'. So tonight we will tell it, listening to it from each character's perspective and singing all the additional pieces authors have imagined over the years. Tonight we will hear and see the characters that inhabit the ancient town of Bethlehem. We will feel the cold night air outside of town and be surprised by the voices of angels. Tonight we will look on the child with the same wonder as his parents first did as we enter the story as if for the first time.
Joseph is a righteous man. Perhaps it was his sense of God’s supreme justice and working in the world that allowed to trust his dream and obey.
Mary said “yes” to God’s messenger despite all the improbability of Gabriel’s words. Despite all the unreality of what was being promised. Despite all the odds that were against anyone believing her, she said ‘yes’.
Was Elizabeth surprised to see Mary? How she must have felt to have a companion to share her story and her pregnancy. How wonderful to know it was all really about to happen.
THE MOMENT COMES – All the waiting, the fears and anticipation, the wondering and the traveling have brought Mary and Joseph to this night. For every parent the moment of birth comes and is surprising, remarkable, scary, and wonderful all wrapped up in one. This is the night we celebrate with song.
Angels, no matter where we think we’ve spotted angels, a heavenly host singing glory to God is, well, incredible. What would you do if they hovered over you…tonight?
Surprised, blinded, wondering what just happened? All these things are likely what the shepherds experienced but instead of sitting around the fire and talking about it, they WENT, they went to see for themselves. Travel with them tonight.

May you be blessed in your services, your travel and in your celebration. Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth PEACE!

Seized By Life

Pregnant by surprise - surely no one in all of humanity was more surprised by the news than Mary. "Shadowed by God's Spirit" with words like that it was no wonder Gabriel had to say, "Be not afraid."
The roots of words contain interesting and sometimes enlightening information as to their eventual translation. Looking at Luke 1, the root words that are translated conceived are "seized in the belly". That's pregnancy, isn't it? All of one's being is contorted and transformed into growing a new human being. Nourishment produces cells that will differentiate into gray matter and bone. And when the first kick is felt, well, 'seized' is a good way to describe it.

We need not be pregnant to be seized by life, tho. Everyone who opens the door of the heart to God is seized by the ONE who creates life. The amazing event is that this Almighty One waits for our consent. Can we say, "Let it be with me.." Are we willing to be seized and transformed so much that we too can give birth to new life?

What would it mean for you to say yes to God so that all of your day, every day revolved around a new mission, birthing. Church would no longer be events on your calendar and prayer a new-year's resolution waiting to be fulfilled. God chooses US, not just Mary and awaits our consent to be seized by life. BE NOT AFRAID.

Identity and Vocation

What questions would you ask me to know who I am? 

• What do you do for a living? 
  
• How many children do you have and how old are they?
• What do you like to do with your time off?
• What's your favorite book or favorite theologian?

And my answers; pastor/2/college-age/ski or golf/depends/Tillich, give you a glimpse of a slice or two of my life. It's a completely different answer from that which John, the one who baptizes, gives in John's gospel. When folks (oi Ἰουδαῖος) 

ask John identity questions, he never gives any personal vocation information, he tells only about Jesus. He's the voice, a mouthpiece that points with his words and his life, to the One Who Comes. 

     It's unnatural, in this day, to be so selfless to the point of disappearing in favor of someone else. John challenges his society and when he gets people's attention, he points. It is a challenge to unite our voice and action in a direction that points so definitely away from self. Some of us can talk, and others just do, but few seem able to pull off a 'John' and point with both our voices and our lives to someone else. Yet its the job description of Christ's church, isn't it? To be pointers so that others may "Know and believe that Jesus is the Christ" as John says. Its a calling, a vocation for sure, and a challenge. Perhaps its time to review our job description.

Do you believe?

"We watch for advent" is the theme of this week's worship. Isaiah 40 promises an end to the watching and waiting and names the awaited hope, "the Lord God comes with might. . He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms. .in his bosom." Can you believe it? Do you?

How easily we suspend our reliance on what is possible at Christmas and believe in angels- breaking out in song on a starry night, shepherds- entrusted with the good news, and even a virgin birth. But when we walk out of the sanctuary doors, what happens to our belief? Do you still believe that goodness and mercy is in the world? Can you see it as you drive to work or watch the news? I've read 2nd Isaiah 40:6-8 at gravesides, "all people are grass. .and the grass withers, the flower fades. . .BUT the word of our God will stand forever." How is it we believe in God's possibilities when we stand at a friend's grave, but struggle to see God's goodness in the news? The Israelites deliverance was not based on human possibility but on God's action.

This year we should promise to watch for God and believe that God's advent is now and possibilities are endless. AND that God can and does use us to make the impossible happen. May the valleys in our lives be lifted up and the mountains leveled for nothing is impossible with God.