John the Baptizer

Power Washed

Posted on by Betsy

One of the things that is different when you live in a coastal area in a southern state is the amount of moisture in the air that you have to contend with. I mean, it beats snow any day, but the long summer months of sunshine and humidity take a toll on your house. We get our house power washed at least once a year in the Outer Banks to remove and prevent that green mossy mold stuff from taking over on the light gray siding. The house looks great afterward, but what I really enjoy is the clean windows. Our bedroom is on the third floor, making routine window washing impossible. So power wash day is a day of crisp clarity and improved vision. Every window in our house has a water view, so clean windows are important.

Today’s passage is about Jesus’ baptism. It may seem curious to you that the Son of God required a baptism, but in accordance with the fulfillment of the New Covenant, he asked his cousin John to do the honors. It was the confirmation of his human righteousness, setting the example for us about the necessity of baptism. It was a moment of heaven reaching down to earth, setting the example for us about God’s desire to be actively present in our lives. It was a moment of pure joy, setting the example for us about what happens when we submit to the Holy Spirit and yield to God’s plan.

Matthew 3 (Common English Bible)

13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. 14 John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me?”

15 Jesus answered, “Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”

So John agreed to baptize Jesus. 16 When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”

God’s love and God’s happiness come pouring out from heaven every time someone is baptized. Unlike Jesus’ baptism, it is a time to be power washed of all sin and declared to be a child of God. God has brought forth miracles in and through water. We remember these acts in our United Methodist baptismal liturgy:

Eternal Father:
When nothing existed but chaos,
you swept across the dark waters
and brought forth light.
In the days of Noah
you saved those on the ark through water.
After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow.
When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt,
you led them to freedom through the sea.
Their children you brought through the Jordan
to the land which you promised.

(The Services of the Baptismal Covenant are found on pages 32-54 of The United Methodist Hymnal.)

United Methodists do not do baptism more than once, believing that God is the agent and God’s activity in that sacrament is good for life, even if we stumble and fall away from our commitment. But we do celebrate a reaffirmation of baptismal vows where we confess our sins and rededicate our baptisms as a way of making a new start and a fresh beginning.

Do you need a good power washing today? Spend some time in prayer, reflection, repentance, and rededication. And may the Holy Spirit wash you clean and bring you crystal clarity about your life. It’s never too late to start again.

Renewed by Michelle Robertson

Burned

Posted on by Betsy

If you’ve ever had a campfire, you know that the drier the wood, the better the blaze. Indeed, keeping logs dry in rainy weather is a constant challenge in the woods. When the wood gets wet, there will be no lovely evening fire to warm the hands and feet.

The metaphor of dry, dead things being burned up and tossed away occurs several times in the Bible. This word picture would have been very relevant for a nomadic people who depended on fire for cooking and warmth. In Jesus’ great “I am the True Vine” statement, he warns that the vineyard’s branches that have dried up and are useless for producing fruit will be gathered up and burned. Likewise, in today’s passage from Luke, John the Baptizer explains that the true messiah will come and bring a baptism of the Holy Spirit that will consist of a fire that will burn the useless husks so that the wheat might be spared. John said this in response to the people wondering if he himself was the Christ. In a spirit of humility, he tells the people that he isn’t even worthy enough to untie the true Christ’s sandals.

Luke 3 (Common English Bible)

15 The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. 16 John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.”

John’s humility was admirable. He had a huge following, was born of a miraculous birth himself, was a powerful preacher, and was fulfilling God’s prophetic destiny for his life. But he recognized the power that was yet to come in the true messiah. This outpouring of the Holy Spirt through baptism would purify and destroy in a way that his baptism of repentance never could. Jesus’ baptism would bring a transforming power that would burn away all falsehoods and divide the sheep from the goats. It was a baptism that would endure from generation to generation as a function of the New Covenant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus warned about the chaff and dead wood that will be burned. God can’t use dead wood. Scripture tells us, “If you don’t remain in me you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dried up. Those branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:6). This Scripture reveals the standard by which the Vineyard Keeper judges the viability of the branch. Can it, or can it not, produce the fruit of love?

That is the standard by which the church is held. Are we a people who grow love, or are we dead weight? Are we good wheat that can produce a bread of life that sustains people, or are we dried up chaff? Good wheat and fruit are the things that God can use for his glory. As a church, and as individuals, may we guard our hearts and minds against becoming dried out and useless for the kingdom.

Dead Wood by Dave Mong