baptism

Whole Trust

Posted on by Betsy

On January 12th this year, most churches will celebrate Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer. It is common to have a rededication of your baptismal vows on that Sunday, where we contemplate what was said by us or by our parents. The charge from the pastor is, “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” I am thankful that my parents had me baptized as a baby in the Huntington, Pennsylvania Methodist Episcopal Church many decades ago. Do you remember your baptism?

One of my favorite parts of the liturgy is this:

We confess Jesus Christ as our Savior,
put our whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as our Lord,
in union with the church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races.

These are great statements for us to consider today. Do you confess Christ as your Savior and promise to serve him as Lord? That means more than just receiving the benefit of being saved. I mean, everybody likes that first part! But it also requires making him Lord of your everything: Your attitudes, your resources, how you spend your time, what you post on social media, how you speak to people who don’t agree with you, how you drive on the freeway, how you tip servers… if you take this seriously, you are promising to make him Lord of your everything.

It also asks if you will serve Christ in union with the church with everyone who is sent to you. Think about your church participation. Are you actively serving, or are you just a spectator? If you take this seriously, you are promising to serve God in a meaningful way.

But the best part is when we affirm that we are putting our whole trust in his grace. Think about that for a minute. Is there anything that is more trustworthy than God’s grace? People, institutions, governments, relationships, etc. will all let us down. But not God. We understand grace to be the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God for us. Do you know what that means? It means that you can’t earn his grace, but neither can you lose it if you return to him with a repentant heart. If you take this seriously, you are making the bold choice to put your whole trust in God’s grace.

As you go about your day, ponder this. Christ invites us to love him with our whole heart. Are you worthy of that trust?

Oh, Christmas Tree by Michelle Robertson

Beloved

Posted on by Betsy

Yesterday I met with a woman who had asked to speak to a minister because her husband is dying in a hospital several hours away. We talked at great length about life and death, faith and fear, and along the way she mentioned that while she is a believer, she was never baptized. We talked for a moment about the meaning of baptism and she asked me to baptize her in a few months when she gets settled into a new home. I am thrilled to be able to do this for her. She is 82 years old, reminding us that it is never too late to make commitments to the Lord.

Driving home, I remembered and marveled at the fact that Jesus himself was baptized. Do you remember this story? It tells us many important things about the sacrament of baptism and reveals something about Jesus’ identity … and ours.

Luke 3 (New Revised Standard Version)

21 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

First, we are immediately struck by Christ’s humility. To submit to being baptized by a mere human is an expression of deep humility, and he did it for our sake. God is the agent of our baptism, God is at the center of this sacrament, God brings the cleansing of our sin and  the blessing and the new life that starts in baptism, and here is God, in the form of Jesus, being baptized by a man. He who was sinless submitted to being baptized by a man. I think Jesus’ humility was an act of courageous obedience to the will of God. He was baptized because of his obedience to his Father, and in doing so, sets the example for us. What God desires from us is humble obedience also. Jesus shows us how to submit to the Father’s authority in his baptism.

I am reminded of a story I heard about St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived a life of humility and wanted to be as much like Christ as possible. In the Legend of Perugia, there is a very revealing little notation. It seemed that as St. Francis was traveling and preaching to the churches there, it was noted that “he brought along a broom to clean the churches.” I love that! He brought a broom to clean. What a beautiful example of servant leadership.

Another amazing thing about this story is that it also reveals Jesus’ divinity, and it one of the few portrayals of the Trinity in scripture. Remember that the concept of the Trinity—God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-wasn’t developed by the church until a few hundred years after Jesus’ resurrection. And frankly, the Trinity is a very difficult thing to explain. How can something be one and three all at once? If I had the perfect explanation for the Trinity, I am sure I wouldn’t be here this morning, but rather I would be the Dean at Yale Divinity School or a famous Christian author. But the best analogy I can offer is that the Trinity is like water in the way that it can be flowing water, ice, and steam, but it is all water, just in different forms and functions. On the other hand, maybe we can just simply accept the Trinity the way children do…simply. Kids usually get things right. 

But for me today, the best part of this passage is that it reminds me that we are God’s beloved. In baptism, we are asked what our given name is: In other words, our first and middle names. Have you ever wondered why we don’t say our last names? Because we all share the same last name in that moment: Beloved. You are God’s beloved!

You are a beloved child of God. Go out today and act like it.

Christmas Lights by Kathy Schumacher

By Name

Posted on by Betsy

Isn’t it a wonderful experience when you are new to a group, and you find someone who consistently remembers your name? There can’t be any quicker way to feel welcomed than to have someone call your name from across the room. If you are someone gifted with the ability to remember names easily, thank your loving Father for that gift!

My husband and I used to struggle with names when we were in the Navy. In all fairness, the names around us changed every couple of months as people deployed and were assigned to other squadrons, while others came in and took their place. It was pretty easy to remember the pilots, since their names were conveniently displayed on their flight suits. But in social occasions where spouses were included and name tags weren’t worn, we had to develop a way of figuring out someone’s name without letting them know. Kenn would say to the person, “Have you ever met my wife, Betsy?” and I would immediately extend my hand for a handshake and say, “Hi, I’m Betsy!” They then had to respond with a greeting and their name. I could see Kenn leaning in as they gave their name. We had to reverse this when I served a large church many years later. Everyone knew my name, but I had a bit of a struggle keeping up with the close to 4,000 members’ names. There were many potluck suppers where I did the “Have you ever met my husband Kenn?” and then leaned in to hear them introduce themselves. Try this at your next awkward social gathering! It works like a charm.

We continue our examination of John 10 this morning with a special emphasis on verse 3. Jesus states that the sheep not only listen to the shepherd’s voice, but he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out:

John 10 (Common English Bible)

1 I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter into the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw. 2 The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger but will run away because they don’t know the stranger’s voice.” 6 Those who heard Jesus use this analogy didn’t understand what he was saying.

Embedded in this complex story of sheep, thieves, and fences is a beautiful nod to the reverence of baptism. In our United Methodist understanding of this sacrament, baptism is a time of “naming and claiming”. We need to be clear that God knows every child by name at their conception. Psalm 139 confirms this:

“You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13, Common English Bible).

But in baptism, we invite the entire community to participate in the naming of that person and acknowledge that Jesus has claimed them as one of his sheep. Notice that our liturgy asks only for the first and middle name of the person. I believe that is because we take on a new last name in that water-washed moment. We all share that same last name as family members in the Body of Christ. I am no longer Haas. You are no longer Smith or Jones. Our new last name is Beloved.

What does it mean to you to know that Jesus knows your name? You are his Beloved.

Revel in that.

He Knows Your Name by Michelle Robertson

Come Clean

Posted on by Betsy

December is nothing if not a season of preparations. Now, I know some of you have had your Christmas tree up since the day after Halloween (I’m looking at you, daughters!!) but the real rush begins as soon as the calendar moves from “11” to “12.” Now begins the time for shopping, decorating, cleaning, ordering, wrapping … I’m tired after just typing that.

Our lectionary passage today speaks of the preparation that happened just before Jesus’ full divinity was revealed. His cousin John was instructed to go out into the Jordan River region and prepare the people for what was about to break forth on earth … the revelation that the Messiah was walking among them. You will see that baptism was the means of getting ready to receive him:

Luke 3 (Common English Bible)

3 In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler  over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 

This is a gentle reminder to us, as we hurry and scurry over the next few weeks getting ready for Christmas, that a cleansing and changing of heart was the first way that people got ready for Jesus. What does that say to us today? Do we need to take a pause on the prep work and consider changing our hearts and lives, and ask God to forgive our sins?

4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

A voice crying out in the wilderness:
    “Prepare the way for the Lord;
        make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled,
    and every mountain and hill will be leveled.
The crooked will be made straight
    and the rough places made smooth.
6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”

John had the privilege of announcing the way of the Lord. He knew the prophecies of Isaiah and felt the strong call to go out and preach a repentance of sins as the path straightener for Jesus’ arrival. He anticipated a time when Jesus would burst forth and make the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. He looked forward to the time when all humanity would see God’s salvation. But not before the people came clean.

Is it time for you to come clean, too?

Make the Rough Places Smooth by Kathy Schumacher

In You I Find Happiness

Posted on by Betsy

I had a surprising conversation last week with a young man whom I have known for years. He wrote me an email to let me know that he had recently been baptized. I cannot tell you the joy that exploded in my heart. This is a fellow who has had a strange and encumbered journey to this decision. He has been seeking peace all of his life, but many of his own choices in the past have taken him far afield of anything resembling peace. This decision came after a lot of deep soul searching and some very excellent discipling from a young pastor and a faithful church that has embraced him in his wanderings. I feel like he has finally come home.

This Sunday, we will remember the baptism of Jesus. It may surprise some folks to remember that Jesus was baptized. Since he is the totality of the forgiveness of sins and the One who brought the cleansing needed for new life, it is amazing to think that he himself was baptized by John. What a powerful reminder of the humility it takes to be a servant of God!

Luke 3 (Common English Bible)

21 When everyone was being baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

The Common English Bible version is the first time I have seen the words, ”in you I find happiness.” What a marvelous take on that Scripture! Can you hear God saying that to you in those moments when you choose him over the world? ”In YOU I find happiness.” Hallelujah!

My young friend is working his way through what baptism means. He has expressed doubt that he was ”good enough” to be baptized. Oh, that we could somehow understand that there is no such thing as being ”good enough” to have a relationship with God! You can never be good enough, but the opposite is also true: you can never be ”bad enough” to be disqualified from his grace. Grace means that we are offered the unconditional love and unmerited favor of God, based NOT on our behavior, but on his amazing love for us. Period.

We understand baptism to be an initiation into the household of God. Initiation. That means that baptism is a place where we start our process of growing in Christ, not a place where we present some completed version of ourselves. It is the threshold of a lifelong journey where we study, pray, meditate, serve, and worship in our pursuit of understanding who God is, and whose we are as his children.

So keep growing. Keep learning. Keep praying. Keep striving. Keep putting yourself under the authority of God’s plan for your life, and never stop seeking the peace that he offers. You are God’s child, whom he loves!

In you, God finds happiness.

Come to the Water by Alice Rogers

Mine! Mine!

Posted on by Betsy

In the Disney classic Finding Nemo we meet a group of greedy seagulls who chant “MINE! MINE!” as they forage for food. While fish and sea life are definitely their preferred diet, seagulls will also feast on human food, garbage, and refuse. Have you ever watched two seagulls tussle over a French fry in a fast food parking lot? The Disney spin that a seagull will claim anything they see as “mine” is not far from the mark. And as someone who lives near the beach, can I please make a request? DON’T FEED THE SEAGULLS. You are contributing to their behavior!

When I read today’s passage, I wondered if the early Christ-followers didn’t have a similar perspective. Jews who understood all the messianic prophecies and realized that Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of all they had waited for were probably quite startled to learn that Jesus came to save everyone, including the gentiles:

Acts 10 (The Message)

44-46 No sooner were these words out of Peter’s mouth than the Holy Spirit came on the listeners. The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on “outsider” non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.

The proof was in the pudding. The outsiders spoke in the tongue of the Holy Spirit, a unifying voice that proclaimed that what once was “mine” is now for everyone. The outsiders have been let in.

46-48 Then Peter said, “Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They’ve received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did.” Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Then they asked Peter to stay on for a few days.

With the evidence of the universality of Christ right in front of them, they acted in one accord to acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit and confirm it with baptism in the name of Jesus. The “mine” became “ours.”

If only we could adopt that same perspective! Our bitter division, our denominationalism, our thinking that “my doctrine is better than your doctrine”…all of this surely grieves the Holy Spirit, who calls us to be one in Christ.

One body. One voice. One heart.

A quote that is attributed to many sources including John Wesley helps us to keep the main thing the main thing: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. And charity in all things.” If we live in a time when we can’t agree on the essentials or the non-essentials, let us at least agree on charity in all things.*

This passage points to the main thing. The Holy Spirit is the transforming power of God and will come upon whomever God chooses to come upon. The outward and visible sign of this is found in baptism, which is a confirmation of the work that God has already done. Jesus instructs us to go into the world and teach and baptize in his name. We can all agree on this.

In the kingdom of God there is no mine or yours…only ours. Go and share him with someone today.

*Read more about this quote here.

OBX Seagull by Agatha Knab