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January 25th, 2017

1/25/2017

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Liturgically speaking, Baptism of the Lord follows Epiphany and Christmas—makes sense, right? A child is born and then baptized. But Joseph and Mary didn’t present Jesus for baptism. Rather, Jesus (likely at the age of 30) presented himself for baptism when John the Baptist called for people to repent and be baptized. Liturgically, we celebrated this story after Christmas. And what began with a simple scripture assignment for our worship lector, turned into a fun conversation about Baptism. Really, it began with, “what happens when a child dies before they are baptized?”

The subject of Baptism requires a reminder that all Christian denominations are different in their understanding and practice of baptism. For most reformed Protestants, we baptize children and adults by a three-fold sprinkling of water, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Other traditions baptize adults only, and some immerse the recipient in a pool of water. There is no one baptismal practice that is right or wrong, it’s a matter of denominational understanding and ascribed practice.


Now, I can only speak for my own tradition and theological perspective, so the following comes from a reformed understanding. We baptize our children not because we are afraid that they won’t go to heaven if they die, but because baptism is an outward sign of God’s providence in our world. When a parent commits to raising their child in the Christian faith, the child is baptized as a symbol of that commitment. It’s a commitment undertaken by both the parent and the faith community—“through our example and fellowship, we promise to help nurture the child’s ties with the household of God, so that in due time, the child may profess faith in Jesus Christ.” It’s a vow taken on behalf of a child. When the child is old enough to assume the vow on their own and they desire to commit themselves to the ministry of Christ, they do so by being confirmed as an adult member of a congregation.


For me it’s not about what happens to us when we die, it’s about what is happening in the here and now. Baptism in this sense, seals our relationship with God, it allows us to focus our commitment and intention to live as God’s people. When Jesus was baptized he was making a statement—there is something that continually happens between God and God’s people. And really, there is no better symbol of that than water. Water is a necessity for life. Not even plants can survive without water. Water also cleanses us. Try washing your hands with soap but no water and you’ll find that it doesn’t work out so well. We need water to live and we need water to be clean, and that’s exactly the relationship Jesus affords us with God. And our relationship with God is meant to be on-going. Baptism isn’t some once-and-for-all gesture of good measure. Being baptized doesn’t mean we are somehow “good to go!” Baptism is a symbol of on-going relationship. God is present in our day-to-day happenings, calling and challenging us to new and better things. Therefore, just as we continually need water to live and to be clean, we hold this reminder of our baptism—that we are joined in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.


​In Baptism, we make a commitment to God; and God’s commitment to us is celebrated. In all of our days, God is present. God is present in the joy, showing us the beauty of life and offering us reason to enjoy it. God is present in the sorrow, showing us through Jesus Christ the way of compassion, empathy and an opportunity to experience new life. And God is also present in the mundane, calling us to take part with Christ in bringing about God’s grace and goodwill for all people. So, baptism isn’t some kind of assurance for later—it’s a symbol, a reminder, of we experience today as we live in right relationship with God.
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January 4th, 2017

1/4/2017

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Traditional Christianity follows what is called the Liturgical Calendar, and on Friday, January 6, we commemorate the Epiphany. A friend of mine was having a hard time understanding the concept of Epiphany, so I finally explained it as a light bulb moment when we suddenly understand how or why something works. And now, every time my friend has some sort of revelation, she proclaims, “I’ve had an Epiphany!”

Epiphany is the end of the nativity story. It’s how everything abruptly changes. In chapter one of Matthew’s Gospel, we find both the genealogy of Jesus, and the quiet, mystical birth of the infant. And then, right away in chapter two, we find a threatened king and his plan to destroy the baby. There is no building up to the climax, no preparing for something bad to happen… just “they named him Jesus,” and “when King Herod heard this, he was frightened… then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.” Epiphany is the story of the wise men, following the star and locating the Christ Child. But the story doesn’t end there. The wise men have one of the light bulb moments and they realize the destruction Herod intends for Jesus. So, they return home a different way and refuse to give Herod what he demands. And what I most love about this part of the story is that it speaks directly to us as we begin 2017.

The writers of scripture weren’t writing facts and history, they were writing theology. Theology is an explanation of God and how God relates with the world. Time and time again we find that the story of Jesus - written thousands of years before our time - fits smack dab right in the center of our life experience. Herod was scared when word got out that this new Messiah would rule the world, much more, the hearts of individuals. Herod wanted to be the ruler, he wanted control over the people and he wanted his ideas to dominate society. He also wanted to fill his own treasury. How perfect that Herod would be part of the nativity of Jesus. I mean, imagine, a Christ that understands our world and experiences the same struggles as we face. That’s the theology of the scriptures… life isn’t always pretty and Christ is born into that life, showing us how we might live in the midst of all this chaos while being in right relationship with God.

There’s no doubt that as we enter 2017, we know fear and greed. We also know the evil that transpires from both. It’s no secret that the catastrophe in Syria and many other corners of the globe is a direct result of power-hungry Herod’s. Herod wanted to the kill the baby Jesus to secure his control of the throne. All around the world people with power put the lives of innocent civilians at great risk to secure their pursuit of oil and other fine riches. I get it, we need oil, and we also need wealth. However, scriptures remind us that there are things that all people need, and we need to find a way to put a right relationship with God first. It couldn’t have been easy for the wise men to defy Herod and go home another way, they risked the wrath of Herod, which wouldn’t have been appealing. I imagine they decided the ministry of Christ was most important, so they chose the path that most directly led to him. They refused to play into the hand of a Herod that was more focused on his own gain over the needs and rights of others. I’m fairly certain that’s the entire intention of Jesus anyway, you know, putting others before himself.

As we head into a new year, I personally hold hopes of significant satisfaction (bringing my son home from an orphanage in India). But I need to be intentional about looking for epiphanies… those places where God would rather I look beyond my own comfort and pleasure. I may be a dreamer, but I believe that if a whole bunch of us made room in the New Year for an epiphany to happen, our collective experiences of the world would look a lot less frightening. Happy 2017 dear readers.
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    Pastor Kimbrel Johnson

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