Christian

Living Beyond the Veil (sermon February 15, 2015)

Mark 9:2–9 (NRSV)

mid 12th century
Cappella Palatina di Palermo
Palermo, Italy

The Transfiguration

(Mt 17:1–8; Lk 9:28–36; 2 Pet 1:16–18)

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

(Mt 17:9–13)

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 (NRSV)

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Living Beyond the Veil

One of the most annoying speeches that every child has ever heard when they embark on a much anticipated field trip has to be, “Remember when you are out there you represent your school.” I always wondered why they said that it was not like any of us really cared what reputation the school had. It was school that is it, we had to go and we finally got a chance to break free and live a little. Of course along with that speech came the realization that if we did misbehave we would not get to go on another fieldtrip for a very long time. But what do people see when they look at us?

Each of us though we are unique individuals, still reflect the community in which we live. We reflect the culture that our parents, our friends, our schools, our civic organizations, and our religious background have given us. We mirror the things that we have seen and as others come into our spheres of influence we reflect our culture onto them and then they in turn reflect it back. What do people see when they look at us?

Paul in today’s reading tells us something very profound. He speaks about a veil saying, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Think about that for a moment. Initially we think that those that are perishing are the ones that cannot see, but that is not what he is saying he is saying even if our gospel is veiled. He is saying that we are being hidden, or more accurately we are hiding from those that are perishing. Covering the gospel, blending in to the culture around us, hiding, but why? Paul says that those in the world have an excuse, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” They are blind and unable to see the light, but this does not explain why we ourselves are veiled.

The veil is something that our culture does not fully understand, because the western world has done away with this practice, but there are cultures that would understand quite well what image Paul is trying to portray. We look at these cultures and we immediately judge them and begin to complain that they are mistreating a segment of their population, and to be honest I would probably agree with you because I live in a culture that does not appreciative the veil. But the veil is there for a purpose, to hide the beauty. To keep what is behind the veil secret from all but the one it is intended for. There is a barrier between the veiled and the revealed, a barrier that cuts off the opportunity of friendship because the one behind the veil is hidden from the outside.

The physical veil is not used in our culture but we still hide. We hide our true selves behind many different masks, we hide behind walls that shield ourselves from intimacy because we are afraid to be vulnerable. We keep our guard up, hoping that we can trick those that look at us into believing some sort of acceptable character of who we truly are. We hide because if someone really knew me then would they find me acceptable? Would they accept me if they knew I had struggles, would they love me if they knew my past, would they even talk to me if they knew what I really thought, would they like me if they knew me? Before we even give them a chance we cut them off, we live behind a veil.

Paul tells us, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” The danger of an individualistic society like ours is that there is such a strong desire to be seen in a good light. We want to stand on our own, we want to be seen as successful among whatever group we identify with. The funny thing about that is that within that very statement there is a paradox. We want to be individuals yet we want to be accepted within a community. We want be seen as successful in ourselves, yet under the standards of a community. Maybe we have gotten things a bit backward. We are unique individuals, gifted in various ways but it is the community that honors those gifts. Before we get all defensive, just think about it for a moment. If you have a million dollars but nowhere to spend it, and no one to share it with, you have nothing of value. Our currency and our ability to earn wealth only has value if we are living within a community. Outside of a community the only thing of value are the things that keep you alive: food, shelter, water, air. It is in a community that culture develops and that the uniqueness of individuals can be celebrated and honored. The ability to write a novel has no benefit without others who want to read, our businesses would have no meaning if there were not a community to buy our product or services. So what Paul is speaking about is that instead of focusing of ourselves we should focus on Jesus. Instead of using our uniqueness for our own gain we should use it to proclaim Christ.

This is the sticker though, if we do not use all that we have to proclaim Christ within the community, we are veiled and we are being ruled by the gods of this world. Veiled by definitions of success that have no meaning to Christ. Veiled by the desires of being accepted by others when Christ is calling us to do something totally different. Veiled by our culture and interoperating everything about ourselves through the eyes of that culture. Yes, we are veiled. When we focus our attention on things outside of Christ we are veiling the gospel, we are veiling it with ourselves and our desires instead of letting the light of Christ shine though us. We are stepping up to be the master of our universe instead of submitting to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Let us look now at the passage in Mark, where Jesus is up on the mountain with Peter, James and John. They went up there to pray in an isolated place because that is the rhythm of life that Jesus was trying to teach them and during that time of prayer something amazing happened. There with Jesus the disciples saw Moses and Elijah standing beside him and Jesus was dressed in garments that were whiter than human hands had the ability to bleach. They were shocked and amazed, they did not know how to even begin to grasp what was going on around them. So Peter pipes up because he has this annoying habit of having to speak in awkward situations. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, let us build three tents…” There are veiled words coming out of Peter’s mouth. Words that reflect the culture and the community that he is wishing to impress. Jesus is there standing with Moses and Elijah and Peter says Rabbi, teacher let us build tents and stay here.

We may not catch it immediately. Moses is seen by the culture as being the great law giver, the first and most important of all the rabbis. It was through Moses that the very first teachings of God were given to the tribes of Israel, the first interpretations of greater meaning which allowed them to build a community and thrive as a culture. Moses is the greatest of men. Then there is Elijah. This is the greatest of all the prophets, whose name means my God is Yahweh. Elijah challenged the false gods of the world, called fire down from heaven to prove that God is God, and was carried up to heaven without tasting death. Moses gave them faith, Elijah defended their faith. Moses establish a people, Elijah preserved and saved the people. The greatest of men together, one represents the law, the other the prophets. These two men define the faith of Israel. So Peter sees this and begins to think Jesus is equal to these men let us build on this.

Peter was looking at this through the eyes of the culture Jesus is equal to Moses, the law, and equal to Elijah the prophet the third great era of Jewish history is about to begin building on the law and the prophets. Though this is not entirely wrong it is not exactly what the scene was showing. Moses and Elijah were standing there talking with Jesus. Moses the Law giver was speaking with Jesus. Elijah the great prophet was speaking to Jesus. They were praying, seeking the advice and council of Jesus, not Jesus seeking guidance from them. It was Moses and Elijah that came to meet Jesus on that mountain. You might say but they were dead for centuries how could they have been speaking to Jesus, but that is the true mystery. When we enter in prayer we enter into the realm of God which is not bound by the same dimensions of man. What these three disciples were seeing that day was the divine nature of Jesus. But they were unable to see through the veils before their eyes, and they assumed equality with men, not equality with God was being revealed to them. So when Peter spoke God rebuked. “This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to Him.”

The veils we live behind are defined by our culture but Paul is calling us to partake of a different kind of culture. Instead of cultures defined by the gods of the world, a culture defined by the one true God who created the heavens and the earth. And God is telling the disciples and us to listen. Moses sought the council of Jesus and from that council the nation was establish, but mankind did not fully follow and they began to listen to the gods of the world. They twisted and perverted the words of God to such a degree that it became necessary for the prophets to emerge to set things right. Elijah sought the council of Jesus because he felt alone in a world that rejected God. From the teaching of both these men, the rabbinical Jewish faith that was seen in Jesus day emerged after it grew in exile. Both versions of the faith began very similar there was an awakening of faith and people responded but over time veils emerged and interpretations began to twist and turn until the faith that was once so powerful coming from the very mouth of God began to look as dark as the world it was created to redeem. Then Jesus came saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Calling us to follow Him. On that mountain we were not called to follow just another great teacher but to follow God Himself.

So why do we live behind veils? Jesus, God Himself, came showing us the life and lifestyle he created us to live in. I life of worship, prayer, and service to others. Yet we live behind veils. Do we not believe that Jesus can redeem? Do we not believe that Jesus can save and reconcile the world to himself? Do we not trust that he can do what he promises to do? Will we not entrust our lives to the one that can conquer the sting of death? The veils we live behind speak volumes of the culture we wish to reflect, cultures that are ruled by the gods of the world: god that have taken on different names but they still remain the same, gods of war, gods of greed, gods of sensuality. Elijah stood against those gods and said “My God is the one true God.” Moses stood against those gods and demanded that his people be released from bondage. These two men met Jesus on that mountain across the dimensions of time, and God tells us listen to him. Drop the veils and become a people of God. A people that is defined by loving Him and loving their neighbor. A people that desires to participate in the lifestyle He himself lived with us, a lifestyle of worship, prayer, and service. A lifestyle loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. It is not ourselves but Jesus that we should reflect, it is not our culture but the culture of Christ that we should seek to reflect and expand. Let us let that light shine in the darkness.

Shut Up! (Sermon February 1, 2015)

Mark 1:21–28 (NRSV)

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

Sheets, Millard, 1907-1989 (painted 1964)
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN

(Lk 4:31–37)

²¹ They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴ and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

There are several things in life that I cannot explain. For the most part it does not bother me one bit, but then there are times when I feel like I should be able to explain something yet I cannot. Those are the times that I have trouble with. I would love to be able to clearly explain heredity and genetics since I spent so much time studying this in school, yet unfortunately I cannot even remember the terms. Of course since most of you probably do not care to talk DNA I am probably safe in my igrorance. But then there are things like this passage that we read which I cannot fully explain, and frankly it scares me a bit. It scares me because there is something just under the surface that I know is happening both in this scripture and all around me, but I do not necissarly have the vocabulary to explain it. Scares might not be the proper term, because I do know if I am truly scared, but I am uncomfortable and nervous.

There is a reason I remain guarded because there are several different theories around this passage and other like it that cover a broad range, I cannot fully support any of these theories fully because each do not fully explain what is happening, while others from a theological standpoint contradict everything I hold to be important. So I am left in this akward state, of not wanting to diminish what is happening while not wanting to perpetuate heresy.

When it comes to the spiritual realm I hope each of us are just a bit uncomfortable, because it is a realm of the unseen. Do not get me wrong I belive that there is a spiritual realm, I believe there are benevolent and malicious spirits at work around us. I believe this not only because scripture tells us that they are present, but also because things happen around us that cannot be fully explained. As I first read this passage though I am struck by continuing evidence of a continuing battle that has raged since the heavens and the earth were created. A battle that is both seen and unseen that is fought in physical and spiritual ways, and that throughout the centuries has never let up. There is evidence of this continued battle in the various understandings and explainations that various doctrinal traditons and interpreteatons have given us about ancient observations of demon possession, some of the cases can be clearly explained as mental illness yet others passages do not lend themselves to this. I hear the stories that our missionaries tell of the spiritual wars that they have fought with Christ and they amaze and unnerve me, so just when I think I begin to have an understanding everything twists again and I am left wondering what is really going on yet again.

I admit this failing because I want us all to be honest with ourselves. Things happen and we cannot explain it. We can simply say that it is spiritual and leave it at that or we can look deeper. There is a risk in either approach, because one thought process can give more power to spiritual forces than scripture allows while the other approach leave can cause us to question the authority of scripture and leave holes in our faith. There are forces of good and evil in our world. There is a spiritual battle that is being waged, and yes we are caught in the middle. But as I wrestle with this scripture I do not want us to look at it from a different perspective than we are used to looking at it from. Not to detract from the power of Jesus and the first miracuouls feat that Mark records in his Gospel, but I want us to look at this through a different set of eyes.

To begin I want us to admit that there is evil in this world. It is not hard to see. We can watch on the news, read in the papers and on the internet story after story about revolting and inhumane activities that occur within our nation and around the world. We can turn back the pages of history and see ghastly deed that have been performed for various reason which can nauseate us and cause even the strongest among us to weep. I could say the word ISIS, Nazi, or slavery and each of would be able to say yes there is evil there. But then there are other terms that we use where the line between good and evil is blurred words like drones, Wall Street, waterboarding, Israel, Palistine, or genetic modification and we may begin to argue because some see these as evil while others may see them as justified. The blur occurs when we as humans define and redefine what evil is, what right and wrong are, and what actions are culturally acceptable. Do you sense the danger in that statement?

There is evil in this world that much we can all agree on. It does not matter what faith or lack thereof we have, every human being on the planet knows that there is evil. But where that evil rears its head can often be surprising.

I have read this passage countless times as I have walked along the pathways of faith, yet each time I have seemed to overlook something. Something that is so simple yet causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. It is easy visualize in our mind’s eyes Jesus preforming a maricle. We are drawn to it and begin to imagine the convulsing man from which an unclean spirit emerges. But how often do we actually consider and contemplate where this man actually is? He is in the synagogue. The place of worship. He is participating and involved in the very same activities that we ourselves engage on a regular basis. The church as we know it emerges out of the synagogue.

Jesus goes into the synagogue in Capernaum, and begins to teach and among those in the crowd is this man. But before we discuss the man it is important to expand on the scene. There are similarities and differences in the first century synagogue to our contemporary expressions of worship. They did offer prayers, they did sing hymns, and read scriptures which occurs throughout the world in houses of worship, but the difference is in the interpretation. In the first century the approach to the sermon or the teaching portion of worship was different. That is alluded to in this passage of scripture. Mark records that, “They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus began to teach and it astounded them, because he taught with authority, and not as the scribes. This is profound because in the first century there was a deep focus on orthodoxy. One did not speak during the teaching portion of worship without having been trained in the oral traditions of the faith. Those that spoke, spoke giving reference to the rabbi from which they learned. It was unusual for someone to speak without making some reference. Jesus spoke without referencing the teacher that trained him. He spoke as his own authority, He moved away from the oral traditions they were used to and began speaking an interpretation of his own.

Now I say that this is a difference between the first century synagogue and the church, but in actuality is not all that different. Our pastors today do not merely reiterate the sermons presented by others most write their own, but often they are filled with theological teaching they have learned from others. This in and of itself is not wrong. Each of us do this, we learn one way and when we are asked to teach we teach out of what we have taught. But what happens if someone challenges our understanding, what happens when we hear a different perspective. There are only two choices really, we are either open to the teaching or we reject it. There is a growing number of people that accept the teaching of an end time rapture where those in Christ will be gathered in the air removed from this world just prior to the last days. Many of us accept that teaching, we believe that that is exactly what the scripture teaches, and when we hear something contrary to that teaching we can become defensive. But that was not the teaching a century ago, in fact that teaching was not mainstream until after World War II. Why is it that so many of us belive that teaching as the true interpretation, because it is what we have been taught. That interpretation was not widely accepted until after the nation of Israel was reestablished, and along with that interpretation is cultural baggage from the Cold War. We as Americans were taught that Russia was the one that was going to lead the war against Israel and therefore that interpretation of scripture was correct because Russia was allied against us and Israel. We have been taught that. That of course is only one example of the teachings we have been taught. The teachings that often times are challenge as cultures shift and emerging generations begin to focus on different aspects of faith.

What is our reaction to the teachings that differ from what we have always been taught? Ultimately each of us are like those first century worshipers in the synagogue of Capernaum, we are astonished. And sometimes we are defensive. Sometimes we may even cry out a challenge. At times we may even demand for the removal of a minister or teacher because they are not holding true to the traditions. We may even consider someone to be evil because of a difference of interpretation.

Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, He was teaching with authority unlike that of the scribes, and someone cries out from the congregation, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” I stop there because I want us to be very aware that that very same spiritual battle that possessed this man still rages to this very day. What we have known can be challenged and often we can cry out like this man, “Have you come to destroy us?” I stop there because we as humans define for ourselves what is good and evil, we justify in our own minds what is right and wrong. We base our understanding on many factors but sometimes we can be led astray. “Have you come to destroy us?”

We see this man as being a man possessed with an evil spirit, someone who was indwelled by a demon and far from God, but again he was at the synagogue. We know nothing about his past or his future but we do know that he had great concerns. Was Jesus there to destroy everything that he and others had worked so hard to create? Was Jesus there to change the direction that this faith community was going? Was he and those like him going to lose their influence if the community saw Jesus’ authority as being greater than theirs? Do you see why this passage makes me uncomfortable? Do you see why I admit to being just a bit scared while I read it? I am unnerved because I have cried out at others very similar things. I myself could be this man. I could be the man Jesus is telling to shut up! And I do not want to be that man. I do not want to be a man that is so influence by evil that I cannot accept the authority of Jesus. I do not want to be the man that is afraid that if I were to listen to Jesus that everything I thought was important would be destroyed.

This is the very place that many of us are at today. There is a raging war all around and within us. And we are afraid that everything we have struggled to keep alive is about to be destroyed. Jesus said to that man, “Be silent…” Be silent. Yes I know he commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man as well. But first He said be silent. There is something important there. Something that we used to know but have forgotten. Be silent, be still, close your mouth and let Jesus speak. Admit that maybe just maybe we have been influenced and led astray by various things and maybe we might have focused on the wrong things. Maybe in our struggle to keep things going we have forgotten what is really important. Maybe we are that man. A man or woman sitting in a church listening yet being led by something else, something unclean, perhaps something evil. What is evil? What is sin? These questions have been asked before, we might say that it is a transgression of the law, but I think it is more than that, I think sin is anything that detracts and distracts our attention from God and the people that God loves so much that He gave his very life to redeem. Evil is when we consciously decide to live a life of sin. We cry out with this man, “Jesus, Have you come to destroy us?” The answer is absolutely yes! Yes he has come to destroy anything and everything that hinders reconciliation. Yes He wishes to destroy this illusion of self-justification of evil that keeps us from loving him and or neighbors. Yes he wants to destroy you and me, so that He can then redeem and restore each of us to being who we deep down know we are. He wants us to be individuals and a community that is defined as loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. And that all begins with us being still and letting His authority direct our paths.

Immersed (Sermon January 11, 2015)

Mark 1:4–11 (NRSV)

Catacomb of Peter and Marcellinus
early 3rd century
Rome, Italy

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.”

The Baptism of Jesus

(Mt 3:13–17; Lk 3:21–22; Jn 1:29–34)

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.”

Of all the differences between all of the denominations found in the various Christian traditions the most divisive is that of baptism. When there is one church one God and one baptism why exactly is there so much disunity among believers over this one activity? There is much fuss over this activity because in most faith traditions baptism is the first rite, the first ordinance or means of grace. Which is why we read about it today during the first Sunday of Epiphany. The season of Epiphany is the celebrations of the great revelation of God, the revealing of Jesus as the Messiah, Lord, and king. Baptism and the baptism of Jesus is the beginning of God’s greatest revelation to mankind, the revelation of the very word of God, Jesus.

Every Christian denomination has some understanding of what baptism is and how it should be performed, and each of these various denominations have a disagreement in some form with each other. Of course there is the common argument infant baptism versus believer’s baptism, then there are submersion versus pouring, there are arguments and against the number of times one must be submerged or sprinkled, or what words one must say for the baptism to be acceptable, and even who is authorized to do the baptizing. There are arguments even over what type of water can be used when administering a baptism. Some traditions have an age limit, some have degrees of which your baptism can count. There are even some faith traditions that require frequent baptisms for repentance of sins. I have confused myself already, but with all of these various understandings of baptism how can we be sure we are right? And to top it off how can be sure of anything when we are in a Friends Church where most would say we do not believe in baptism.

Let us start over. John was baptizing in the Jordon, dressed in crazy attire and eating things that do not sound too appetizing. Why and what was John doing? For most people we believe that baptism is a Christian thing, but we would actually be wrong. Baptism has a long history one that stretches back to the very beginning of humanity. Baptism in some form has been part of religion for as long as religions have been acted out. But according to some Jewish traditions the first mention of an activity similar to baptism comes directly Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the Garden of Eden. It is said that Adam fasted and stood in the Jordan River (or the River Gihon) up to his neck for forty (or forty-nine) days and Eve likewise stood in Tigris for thirty-seven days. Each stood there as for penance for their sin, hoping to gain atonement. Now that story is one of tradition and not of historical fact, and is not mentioned in scripture anywhere and is not even believed across all forms of Jewish tradition but there is a history that connects ritualistic washing to the cleansing of sin. This is seen even more directly during the time the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon.

During the exile the rabbinical forms of the Jewish faith began to emerge. This is important because this is the beginnings of both the contemporary Christian and Jewish traditions. The rabbinical systems had to find a way to express orthodox faith without an actual temple to perform sacrifices in. It was during the exile that Daniel and his friends were in the courts of and became advisors to the king. Because there were people of Hebrew heritage in such prominent rolls people became curious about their faith. These people were taught and in some cases had a strong desire to join into the community of the faithful. To accommodate these God fearers the Rabbis devised methods and practices for conversion. These included a period of rejection, ceremonial washing, and circumcision or the release of blood. Many of the methods and practices that started during this timeframe are still being used in some traditions today.

The use of water in the acceptance into the Jewish community is symbolic for many points in history. It can represent the repentant activities of Adam and Eve, it can represent the joining of the community by passing through the water that the children of Israel passed through during the exodus or before entering the Promised Land. But in all cases it represented the crossing from one life to another. A new beginning, letting the old life be washed away and a new life to emerge unblemished and clean.

John was out there baptizing in the Jordan. The location of John’s ministry is very important as well. It is widely accepted today that John was most likely a member of the Jewish sect known as the Essenes, which is the sect that preserved the documents we call the Dead Sea scrolls. The odd thing about this group of people is that they made their residence outside of the land of Israel. The lived on the opposite side of the Jordan because they taught a very strict form of faith that one could not enter the Promised Land unless you were properly cleansed from all sin. John stood on the banks of the Jordan crying out to the people of Israel to repent and be baptized because they were not prepared to be in the land promised to their fore fathers, they were corrupt and unclean in some way and needed to be rejoined into the community just as any other person foreign to the community of the faithful. They needed to have a new beginning.

John baptized in the Jordan and 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.  I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Consider this statement for a moment while we contemplate the meaning and purpose of baptism. When the early Friends spoke out against the performance of water baptism they almost exclusively used this very statement for their discussion. Robert Barclay, considered the first Quaker theologian and author of An Apology for the True Christian Divinity (now commonly refered to as, “Barclay’s Apology”) says, “If those that were baptized with the baptism of water were not therefore baptized with the baptism of Christ; then the baptism of water is not the baptism of Christ…Why should he have said, that those whom he had already baptized, should yet be baptized with another baptism?”

Why exactly do we as followers of Jesus continue to argue over this one activity of baptism? Mainly because it marks the beginning of a new life. When a husband brings their new wife home for the first time there is a tradition of carrying her over the threshold. This tradition symbolically represents a profound change in their relationship and their existence from that moment on. He is placing her into his house, she has crossed over no longer a guest but part of the household, placed in not to be removed. You can add or subtract whatever you want to that tradition, I did not carry Kristy over the threshold because she feared for her life that I would drop her or cause a serious head injury as I rammed her head into the door frame. And she was probably right. The religious rite of Baptism is just like that it is a symbolic representation of crossing over from death to life, from a foreigner a to member of a community, from one rejected to one accepted. This happens in various forms, at various ages, and by various methods. Infants, children, adolescents, and adults are all accepted as they are and are encouraged from that moment on to walk with Christ. We continue to argue the point across the various traditions because we have different understandings of when that life of discipleship begins.

The most important thing is that it does begin. The most important thing is the encouragement of every individual that is in or has contact with our community to walk with Christ. To immerse them in the teachings and lifestyle that Christ has shown us. To turn every aspect of their being away from the ways of a sinful world and refocus them to promote the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Pure faith, distilled faith, faith taken down to the purest most elemental form is what the early Friends wanted to promote. A faith that was not filled with ritual or weighted down with dogma. I have often been asked how can I be a Christian if I have not been baptized, how can Friends be Christian if they do not perform baptisms? I ask what baptism is. For a Baptist it is one thing, to a Lutheran something else, for a Catholic it is performed one way for an Orthodox another. In every case the pure elemental form of the rite is the same there is an acceptance of an individual and a commitment of a community to encourage and teach them to follow Christ. Baptism is just one of those rites used to encourage and provide means of grace available to each of us through Jesus. The Eucharist or communion is another, marriage another, repentance and confirmation, the anointing of the sick, and the participation in a life of devotion are others. Protestants see only two sacraments, Catholics see seven, Orthodox see an infinite number of mysteries that can draw us into to the grace of God, and as Friends we see every aspect of our lives as being holy and sacred to God, to be used to encourage everyone we meet to turn to God.

In the gospel of Matthew John refuses to baptize Jesus saying that it is John not Jesus that needs to be baptized, but Jesus responds by saying, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” It is proper for what, Jesus was sinless, he was the fulfillment and the hope of the ages, what and why was it proper for him to be baptized by John? It was the beginning. He was taking all people Jew and Greek, male and female, slave or free into the land of promise. He was opening the doors of the kingdom and providing the very means of that entrance through himself. John stood as the guardian of the old covenant and Jesus as the gate to the new and as he emerged from the waters the heavens opened and the spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven spoke, “This is my son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

God made the greatest revelation that day, and he began a new work. He revealed to us through that act that in Jesus, God is pleased. That in Jesus, all things are made new. It is in Jesus we can cross from death into life and have hope through the hopelessness we see all around us. The power of that life is not in the water, but it is in Jesus. It is Jesus who left his throne in Heaven to dwell among mankind. It is Jesus who took on our humanity, our sin and our shame and hung it on the cross and covered it with his blood. It is Jesus who over powered the grip of death and rose to life. It is Jesus who went before us to prepare our place in heaven. It is Jesus who sends the very spirit of God to dwell inside our hearts, to teach and guide us. And it is Jesus who is calling each of us to join him and cross over into the Promised Land, a land that is not devoted to the way of man but a land that is influenced and devoted to the ways of God. It is Jesus that is calling each of us to become a person who devotes every aspect of to be set apart and devoted for Him and his ministry in this world.

As we enter into this time of open worship and holy expectancy I encourage each of us to consider a few things. Consider what is more important to God, performing the right ritual or living a right life? Consider what is more important to mankind, arguing over methods or encouraging a better lifestyle? God told the prophets of old that it was mercy that he wanted from the people of Israel not sacrifice, it is a life lived loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit and Living the Love of Christ with others that he wants. Will we be his people living that out in our community?