Scripture- Matthew 5:21-37
The Sermon on the Mount for me is one of the most difficult sets of scripture to speak about. I say thing because I am fairly confident that among the verses I have failed the God that I love more than anything multiple times. I would venture to say that as I read these sixteen verses we have each cringed just a bit, because Jesus does not sugar coat his words instead He is about as straight forward as one can be. We could spend an entire month on these verses, contemplating and reflecting on them not only on Sunday morning but every morning, afternoon, and evening without really getting a thorough explanation. Each paragraph has a wealth of words riding on the very breath of God that cut deeply into our souls like a sharp cold wind piercing through our winter attire.
I stand knowing that the moment I begin to speak I am the greatest hypocrite when it comes to living these words out. I stand yet I know that there is something that we each need to hear. The number one reason so many people turn their backs on the church and the community dedicated to encouraging a relationship with God is because so many people with in the community are hypocrites. We scoff at this statement saying cliché things like where else should they be trying to lessen the sting of such harsh words. The reason people reject God in many cases are because the people. The odd thing is the number one reason people often begin their journey with God is also because of people. People that have taken the time to build a friendship with them, people that have met them at the level they were at and then walked with them as they struggled to come to term with the love of God.
We could look at these sixteen verses and pick out the sin and hypocritical aspects of our lives or could just acknowledge that we each have fallen short and at this moment realize that we need to turn, to repent, to run the other direction from certain activities we participate in because those activities are grieving the Spirit of God that is wooing our souls at this very moment.
Today instead of focusing on the singularity of these spiritual debilitating activities, I would like us to look deeper at how each of these are connected, and what the root of the issue is. Anger, murder, adultery, dishonesty, divorce each has a root in the exploitation or dehumanization of other. Each of these sins are centered on an unhealthy and prideful self that is focused on lifting oneself higher instead of blessing the community around them.
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…” Jesus begins with the basic laws of the Mosaic Laws. It was said… this term does not mean that they have had everything wrong, but that they have not gone deep enough. Murder is the taking of a life. This has been interpreted in various ways because taking a life very serious. This one command has been translated as murder or killing which has vast differences in interpretation. One term, kill, is very broad covering the unintentional taking of life, death due to battle, abortion, revenge, or even the rendering of justice. Where the other, murder, is more directed to the intention taking of a life by the hands of another. It was said… there are vast interpretations to this command against killing, which is why in ancient times as the Hebrew people began to settle into the land of promise they established cities of refuge. These cities were set aside to protect individual from the vengeful retaliation of others in case of unintentional death. Why were cities like these established? I would venture to say they were established to protect the life. When a society is bent on repaying death with death, blow with blow, wrong with wrong we lose our humanity. We become locked in a never-ending cycle of retaliation and revenge those on the opposing side are no longer seen as brothers or equals but instead as lesser beings, not quite as human as us.
There is a grave danger when we fail to see the humanity in others. Women in most cultures have been seen as lower than men as a result they have been mistreated, often they were seen as the highest valued livestock. Then among women in these cases there were the wives and the concubines that also had greater and lesser status, one being greater than the other and valued more, while each being dehumanized. This dehumanization is the root of the slave trade of history as well as in current times, yes there are still slave today, more slaves than there where in the darkest days of American history. It is estimated that there are 27 million people today living in slavery. A slave is person that has been dehumanized in the eyes of others and since they are less than human people can justify the exploitation of their life.
This cycle of exploitation begins with misplaced anger. Anger is a dangerous emotion. Anger if not held in check can build into hatred. Hatred then can lead into actions that are based not on truth but emotional opinions meant to exploit and dehumanize others. But Jesus was angry, we quickly say to ourselves, so surely it is not all bad. I agree, emotions are not wrong; it is what we allow our emotions to do that cause us to lose sight of God and enter into the darkness of sin. Jesus was angry with the venders in the temple, he was angry because these venders were exploiting others in the name of God; they were taking advantage of a situation for their own gain. They saw the people coming to worship not as humans but as a means to their own financial gain. Jesus had a righteous anger, an emotional response with the goal to humanize the exploited.
Our anger is not always held in check, our anger is not always experienced in disciplined manner. Sadly some of the most undisciplined exhibitions of raw emotions are performed among those that claim to love. The people today neglect church because often those in church dehumanize and exploit those around them. It is hard to see at times, because we have become so accustomed to our own actions, we have justified our actions to such a degree that we are no better then the Pharisees whom Jesus called whitewashed tombs of bones. We focus on our own agenda, we hold grudges, we neglect apologies and we do so because we were right. The problem is that being right in an argument has no value unless we honor the humanity of those around us.
Jesus went so far as say, “… [If] you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.” These words are spoken of not just anger but the undisciplined expression of our speech in the heat of an argument. It speaks of the exploitive nature of our language and the inability to disagree agreeably. How often we fall into the trap of our passions where we speak before we think and end up with our feet firmly planted in our mouths. How often do we fail to listen to what is being said and jump to a conclusion starting our next statement before we even hear a response? How often do we ask the wrong questions, which lead to responses that keep us from honoring and promoting the spark of God within an individual. When we fail to be disciplined in speech, when we fail to control our emotions, we will be found dehumanizing those around us, and in the process we may be quieting the very voice that God is using to direct the next step He is encouraging us to make.
Anger, adultery, divorce, murder, and our word each of these sections of this sermon delivered by Jesus revolve around honoring those around us, putting everyone on a equal status as equally human and equally loved by God. How well are we doing? Daily I catch myself failing to live up to the name I claim in Christ. I fail because often I am living in my own power. We cannot love the way God loves; we cannot honor others the way God desires us to honor in our own power. That is the essence of our sinful nature. We cannot do it because we are selfish by nature. We want the glory and honor ourselves. That is why in the story of Eden our first parents ate of the tree. They desired to be equal to God, masters of their own destiny, they wanted to be god. Immediately they began to accuse and dehumanize each other, Adam blames Eve and Eve deflects to another. “I am not the problem,” they say, “but it was this lesser being you put here.” Dehumanization.
We fail all to often. Our community, our world, is falling apart around us running from God and we blame others. The truth of it is that our world is the way it is because we allowed it. We have failed to live up to our name in Christ. We hear news reports and our responses are not in equality but dehumanized exploitive. It’s the gang’s fault, it’s the democrats or republicans, it’s Hollywood’s fault, and it is never my fault. Our schools fail because we allow them to fail. Our neighborhoods have fallen apart because we have allowed them to. We pull back blaming others when I am the problem.
This is why Jesus came. This is why Jesus was born that day in Bethlehem. This is why Jesus gave this sermon and taught His followers on the mountainside, in the fields, and on the sea. He came to meet us where we are, showing us that we have been placing the blame on others that we have been dehumanizing and exploiting everyone around us. But Jesus shows us a different path, which is a different lifestyle. He showed us that the lifestyle cannot be focused on ourselves but must be lived with God and others.
Jesus shows us that the first step, for those of us who claim to be his followers, begins in worship. God is the source of love and true wisdom, He is the breath and Father of life, and we cannot begin to change without first acknowledging and honoring the one from whom our life comes. Jesus made it His custom to worship in the meeting places of the faithful, when He entered a town He would take time to worship with the community at the synagogue, it did not matter if it was a mega synagogue or one that was nearly falling apart He worshiped because worship gives us a right view of ourselves. We are creatures created by God, here for a purpose, to be in communion with our Creator.
Jesus would also withdraw often to a desolate place away from others to pray. He would withdraw to embrace that intimate relationship of love between the creator and the creature. This is embracing the Holy Spirit, or nurturing and deepening our relationship with God. This time of prayer and embracing of the Spirit is expressing our needs, our failures, and our desires to our Lord as well as reading, studying, and meditating on scripture as we allow God to speak to us as well. It is a conversation and an intimate relationship. It is in these times where God will show us how to improve ourselves and where he will provide his strength in our weaknesses. It is during these times of prayer, where we will begin to see where we have shown dehumanizing actions and how to change our ways. It is in these times of prayer where God will direct us and when we embrace His correction He will then send us out to change the world where we are.
Jesus would then engage with the community, healing the sick, answering questions, encouraging the disciples, and teach the masses. It is through the prayer, the conversation with the Father in the Spirit, that He would then begin to serve other. He shows us that in this lifestyle, the lifestyle of the kingdom of God we too will be sent out to serve, and to live the love of Christ with others. It is in this service where we begin to rebuild our communities, reconcile the dehumanizing actions we have allowed to occur, and stop the exploitation of those deemed lesser than us. We share the love of God by feeding the hungry, giving a coat to someone that needs one, repairing the car of the single mother who trying to get to her job so she can feed her children. We live the love of Christ when we meet people where they are, not in judgment because that is a form of exploitations, but in encouragement. Encouraging them by our generosity, encouraging them by our kind words, encouraging them with our tactful teaching and urging to walk the path to Christ.
When we leave the lifestyle of exploitation and enter into this lifestyle of Christ we will begin to see the world change around us. We will begin to see men treating their wives differently, we will begin to see people living not out of anger or lust but out of generosity and respect, we will begin to see the end of exploitation and the beginnings of encouragement.
How often have I failed, how often we as Christians have failed to truly be the people God has called us to be. But Jesus is giving us an opportunity to turn it around, to rebuild the world that we have allowed to falter, to bring in the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. As we enter into this time of open worship, and holy expectancy let us allow God to examine our lives, let us repent of our failures and let us ask God for the forgiveness and strength to change, let us begin to see His kingdom come in our lives so we can encourage and honor those around us with honesty, and humility.
Scripture: John 1:29-42
How many of us have ever been exhausted? Just stretched to the near breaking point feeling as if one more thing going wrong just might make you snap. Where the stress is so great the only thing you really want to do is to sit down to cry, or lay down to sleep for a day straight. I know many of us are at that point, and if you are not currently you have been there. In those dark days of exhaustion we do not always act in a manner we would normally wish to act, we may not think as clearly as we would like, and at times our mouth may start speaking before our brain chooses the proper words.
The problem with this state of mind is that we tend to add more to our plate. The stress may be the result of a lost client so we work extra hours attempting to replace the lost income, or we seek to work another job. We end up adding additional stress to alleviate the stress. We have to do these things because it is an issue of survival. But if we do not have a good way to relieve and release the stress, we are walking about like pressurized balloons drifting and bumping along only to pop when we least expect it.
The first century Palestine is one of those pressurized cultures stretched thin and ready to explode. What is causing the pressure? Many things really; there is the political tension of very different cultures living in one place, there are the religious debates over what the correct interpretation or teaching of the Hebrew Law, there is the continuous threat of war as the Romans have a military presence stationed throughout the land because it is the eastern edge of the empire, historians could probably continue listing off various factors that were putting pressure on this small province. But what we do know is that the pressure continued to build and it eventually snapped into all out war that has affected the region for nearly two millennia.
It is in this culture that the evolution of faith emerged. It is in this pressurized and tense situation that everything changes, so much so our calendars and history reflect the distance from this particular era. Last week we spoke of John the Baptist and today this same man again is mentioned. This one man’s ministry stood at the fork of history and faith, it stood as a signpost that marked two paths. The paths were similar in many ways yet altogether different.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” This is where the pathways diverge, and this is where the evolution of faith that I spoke about earlier is first seen. It revolves around on small three-letter word, sin. Notice that this is a singular word. John did not say sins of the world, but sin of the world. How many of us have recognized that point? Of the two pathways at which John stands guard, one lane focuses on the plural sins where the other focuses on the singular sin. As I contemplate that point I am reminded of the passage in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The yoke in this passage is the teaching of the rabbi. Jesus says that his yoke is easy, where the others are heavy. As Jesus taught, he critiques the religious leaders saying, “they tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to life a finger to move them.” This critique is saying that they are focused on the plural sins, instead of the singular sin.
What exactly is the difference? The plural form looks at the symptoms where the singular looks at the cause or the disease. One is looking at the outside, the other internal. Mankind once lived at peace with God in the Garden of Eden, but they were tempted. That temptation was to become like God, and they ate of the fruit and have since lived trying to control their own lives and that of others, instead of living in relationship. Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Lamb of God is the second statement that sticks out to me. This statement goes back to the formation of Israel, linked to the Passover lamb. This particular lamb is a sacrifice, but is different than other sacrifices. This lamb was the sacrifice that freed the tribes of Israel from bondage, and also prepared and nourished their bodies to begin their journey to the land of promise. Those with the blood of the lamb on the frames of their doorways were protected from the wrath of God that hovered over Egypt claiming the first born of all living creatures.
Sin entered the world and that sin affects relationships between God and humanity and between mankind. Adam and Eve immediately became ashamed of their nakedness and began to hide themselves from each other and God, they covered themselves bound themselves from knowing one another. They became a slave to sin because they could no longer trust, and could only rely on themselves. Here is the Lamb of God, who will free us from the sin, or sickness of the world. Here is the Lamb releasing us to love and trust once again.
The teachings of all the other rabbis focused on the symptoms or the effect of sin. The books of law contain 613 commandments. There are 613 symptoms that point to the root cause of sin, but treating the symptoms does not cure the disease. Trying to keep these laws is like trying to cure a brain tumor with Excedrin. It may relieve the pain for a time but the reason behind the pain remains. Every day more pills are taken, at increasing amounts just to cover the symptoms, and that individual would have to constantly keep a bottle of pills with them just to be able to function. These rabbis command each person to keep the laws, but they still have issues with sin. So they add teachings, and define what the laws mean and what constitutes sin. All the while they continue to wrap their bonds tighter, until they chock out the very life of their faith. Here is the Lamb releasing us from that bondage.
Two of John’s disciples heard these words being said. They were like many of us tired and exhausted, stretched to their breaking point, and John is telling them, “That guy is the one that will release the tension.” For two days they heard this and they decided to follow. Jesus turns to them and asks, “What are you looking for?”
These men are tired of the constant struggle, tired of the trying, tired of the lack of trust and love between everyone around them. They are tired of keeping track of the sins of their life and just want released. And Jesus asked them what are they looking for? Everyone is looking for something. We live in a world that is more connected than ever before. We can instantly converse with people on the other side of the world, we can play games with them over the Internet, but we are also the loneliest we have ever been. What are we looking for? Acceptance? Hope? Release? Everything that we do is done for a reason, that reason may be well planned out or spontaneous but everything we do is done to full some need we are seeking. We may not even know what the reason truly is but we are self-medicating our sins hoping that somehow we can numb the sin.
The men answered Jesus, “Teacher, where are you staying?” The translation, “staying” does not really paint a clear picture of the conversation. Their question alludes to the pitching of a tent, or abides. Or to be clearer, where do you find relief from life’s struggles? Come and see is the answer.
Jesus does not only want to give them some grand teaching or interpretation of the law, he instead wants them to come and see. He wants them to join him so he can show them what life with God is truly supposed to be. Come and see, not listen and do, but come and see. There is a distinct difference between the methods of teaching. One is dictated to others while the other is a hands’ on approach with them. Come and see, walk with me, listen and observe, and let me show you and then watch as you practice.
We live in a scary, dark, and lonely world. Every day we shake our heads as we hear reports of violence. We have divided our nation up into political groups where we have different philosophies how to answer the same questions, and yet we do not trust the other. We stretch ourselves out with work, and attempts to alleviate the stresses that are around. We attempt to control as many factors of life as we can in an attempt to turn things around. And yet we feel as if we have just been spinning our wheels. We look to leaders to give us the answers, yet those leaders are just like us exhausted, stretched, stressed and about to pop. We are asked what we want and all we want is a little release of the pressure.
Jesus is saying to us all come and see where I stay. He took those men out to the place where he physically rested, and Jesus taught them and showed his life. Come and see. Jesus showed them how to enter into a spiritual rhythm that would fulfill all law. He showed them love and acceptance.
We look out at our community, states, nations, and world and often we are overwhelmed, but Jesus is calling us to first come and see. This is what caused George Fox’s heart to leap with joy, this is what prompted Ignatius to start the Society of Jesus with his companions, and this is what prompted every major movement in the church. All had a strong desire to find rest and release from the bondage of sin within them.
We are each on a journey together as we walk with Christ. But we are not the only ones looking for answers. Everyone is looking for something, and we like Christ should help them discern what they are seeking, and then walk with them as they too come and see. We each walk the path, and we each are being watched. Are we showing those around us asking questions what life with God is like or are we instead binding them deeper in their sins.
I began today speaking about being stressed and tired. Our stresses are constantly going to be around us. But we can find rest in Christ. We find it as we adjust our lives to reflect his, as we walk with him in a life of Prayer, worship and ministry. By becoming a people who are Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. When we are able to live that rhythm we will begin to see how we can better encourage those around us in their own walks, without binding heavy burdens on them.
As we enter this time of open worship let us contemplate on the question, “What are you looking for? And the answer come and see.” Let us look to Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and let us seek to show a lifestyle where we are free to speak and encourage others to come and see the hope that we have.
Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
We are a nation of rules and laws; everyone knows this and many would point to the Ten Commandments to verify this stand. The fact of the mater is that our nation’s legal system has more in common to the Greeks or Roman cultures than that of the Hebrews. We often think of the Jewish people as being people of the Law. They follow the Torah, or the books of the law, so it is easy to think that, but after the exile to Babylon and the subsequent rule of Persia the Hebrew people were in a state of transition. Their faith was in a sort of evolution. They became people of teaching instead of people of the law. They became a people of various rabbinical teaching or interpretations of what the meaning behind the law was. These teachings or yokes as they were commonly called in the first century were more than just a religious expression but an entire way of life. It was incorporated not only on the day of worship but saturated every facet of the disciple’s existence.
The first century expression of faith among the Jewish people was in a state of transition. It had to change in many ways because the people of Israel were scattered across the known world, to the east they reached into across the Persian Empire and into what we now call Russia, they moved throughout Western Europe into Spain and north into Scandinavian areas. Their settlements are old and their influence in those areas are great. This vast distance posed an interesting dilemma for the faithful, how do we worship without going to the temple? As distance increased it became impossible for the faithful to travel to Jerusalem for the feasts so they developed a proxy type system that eventually morphed into what is seen today.
This is the culture in which Jesus began his ministry. But to really understand the ministry of Jesus we must begin with John the Baptist. Every Gospel speaks of the ministry of John. There are very few things that every Gospel mentions, but each one mentions the ministry of one man John. John is not the only teacher in Israel at that time, but there is something about the ministry of John that uniquely corresponds with the ministry of Jesus. That place they meet is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Both Jesus and John teach this Gospel. And that is the Gospel message. As our own Christian faith has evolved over the years we have focused on different aspects, many would say that the Gospel message is the Cross, but the cross is only a portion of the good news it is not the whole Gospel. The cross is a sign that points to the fulfillment of the gospel and proves that the kingdom is truly at hand. But the Gospel is that the Kingdom of God is near, the rule of God is all around us, and God wants us to participate in it. The kingdom of God is beyond the walls of a building, beyond even the sacred wall of the most holy of holy area of the Temple. The kingdom of God is at Hand, that is good news.
This is a teaching that is emerging in the culture around Jesus. It is something new yet linked to the traditions of ancient days. This message has people curious and is why people are leaving the cities and seeking out a radical teacher out in the wilderness. The Kingdom of God is at hand. If that is true, the people then asked, “What must we do to enter into that kingdom?”
John stood on the banks of the Jordan crying out to the people all around, “Repent and be baptized.” This literally means turn around and wash. This message says a great deal about the evolution of faith in the first century. John’s baptism was more than just the ceremonial cleansing promoted by other rabbinical teachers; those washings needed to be continuously repeated because people were constantly getting themselves dirty again. Meaning sin was all around, the interpretation of the law showed this in great detail, and so to worship one would need to wash to be acceptable. To eat with unclean hands would deem you unfit to worship, so you would wash in a particular way to be clean. John’s teaching was slightly different. Yes there is a glimmer of similarity but there is something deeper. John’s baptism was literally teaching that to enter into the kingdom you must turn from the other interpretations and wash yourselves of their influence. Turn from a life of sin and walk a different path, cleansed from all unrighteousness.
This is where the foundations of the Christian church are laid. They begin with the teaching of John, the Gospel of the kingdom. The news that God’s rule is all around us and to gain access we must first wash ourselves of the old ways and turn to Him. John did not teach that the law was bad, but that it was not enough. The teaching of John was a lifestyle of sacrifice, putting others before yourself and living in a community of blessing. John’s teachings were just the begin, because John himself said “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
John in his own words is saying that the Gospel message that he is teaching is yet incomplete, that the water of repentance he is promoting, is just a symbol, a shadow of the true power yet to come. It is here that Jesus comes in. Jesus meets John in the Jordan and John says to his cousin, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
What is John saying? First off he is saying that Jesus is greater, that Jesus is the more powerful one John was speaking about that would bring the Holy Spirit and fire. But secondly he was saying that the next stage of the evolution of faith was upon them. John the Baptizer was about to step back and allow the new day dawn. Jesus answers, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”
Let it be so now. I want us to contemplate this phrase, really the word now. When we consider the word now, we have certain thoughts that immediately come to mind. This one word could be translated as: at once, for now on, still, again, at last, immediately, in the future, just, just now, this moment, and this very day. Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness. At once, for now on, still, again, at last, immediately, in the future, just now, this moment, and this very day all righteousness is fulfilled. With that one act Jesus took on the mantel of all humanity turning them around and began to show us the Kingdom of God. That one act connected the traditions and teaching of the past with the emerging teachings and life that Jesus was to show his disciples. With that one phrase and action every theological expression of the Church is covered: Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Quaker. Because in this one exchange the focus shifts from what man can do to what Christ does for us. As Jesus stepped out of the water, He became the way.
Matthew’s Gospel more than any other Gospel builds connections with the teachings of the Old Testament with Jesus, he shows how Jesus fulfills all righteousness, and he shows the path or the way to the Kingdom. Matthew teaches us the way of the disciple.
The word baptize, is to immerse as to clean. It has roots in the hygienic laws of the Old Testament but is deeper. I have recently began to read a book describing one woman’s quest to live a life of biblical womanhood, why a guy is reading it who knows, but it is very interesting. In this book there is a discussion of the Mikvah, or the ritual bath, and describes how it is to be used. It is to remove all foreign substances from the body and then immerse completely. One is to breath out all the air from your lungs and let the water soak into the pores, allowing the water to carry away all filth, so you emerge from the water clean. This is a great picture; I fully understand why many believe that full immersion baptism is an important sacrament. But I want us to remember that John said the one to come would baptize or wash us with the Holy Spirit and fire.
It is when we immerse ourselves in the Holy Spirit that we entered into the Kingdom. It is when we allow the Spirit of God to soak deep within our being and to carry away the things unclean in our lives that we enter into the kingdom and begin that walk with Jesus. This comes through worship, prayer, and service. Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with others. We immerse and are baptized by the Spirit when we turn from the old ways and put ourselves into a place where we can converse with the Spirit.
I speak a lot about a life of prayer, and I have a feeling that I will be speaking about this more deeply throughout the year, because prayer is where the immersion begins. When I speak of prayer, I am speaking of something that incorporates the entirety of our mind and body. It involves the reading and deep study of scripture, the meditation and contemplation on scripture, the interaction and conversation between oneself and God with scripture. I speak of the use of our imagination and our wisdom as we with the Spirit examine our lives and envision the future. To me prayer is more than just lifting words of intercession on behalf of others, or telling God our needs, it is an intense intimate conversation with God. Prayer and a lifestyle of pray builds into worship and service to others. Without that immersion with the Spirit in prayer, worship is just noise, and ministry empty. But with an immersed life of prayer everything changes all things are made new.
When I read this passage. I see the conversation, and I hear the words. I see the bubbles emerging from the nose and mouth of Jesus as John pushes Jesus beneath the water and insures every hair is soaked. As I read I see the passing of a mantel, not ritual. I see John laying down the old guard, and Jesus rising up out of the water to carry on something new. Emerging from the water as the droplets fall to the ground, splashing in the dust I see all righteousness fulfilled in Christ. And he walks out into the wilderness. I see the closing of ritual and the emergence of a new lifestyle a lifestyle focused on God ruling every aspect of our being, immersed.
Repent and be baptized. Let it be so now. Fulfill all righteousness. God is calling us to the Kingdom; the Kingdom is already around us. It has always been, because God has always been working in the lives of mankind. Jesus is calling us to turn from the old and see with new eyes, to listen with new ears, to gain a different perspective, to be immersed in Him. Let each one of us this year strive to be immersed in Him. Let each of us strive to examine every aspect of our lives with Him, to envision a brighter future. Let each of us strive and walk with Christ out in the wilderness of our community, not with answers to the problems of the world but instead going out with teaching and encouragement to everyone we meet. Showing encouragement that they too will want to immerse their lives in the grace, hope, and love of Christ.