Baptism

On Sunday I quoted a line from the Belgic Confession:
Our salvation "does not happen by the physical water but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son of God, who is our Red Sea, through which we must pass to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, who is the devil, and to enter the spiritual land of Canaan."

Next Sunday, I am looking at another line from the Belgic Confession:
"Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, Jesus Christ established in its place the sacrament of baptism...It is a witness to us that He will be our God forever, since He is our gracious Father."

In fact, the whole series of Lenten sermons: Fount of Every Blessing could easily be said to be anchored in this one line from the same article in the Belgic Confession:
"Baptism is profitable not only when the water is on us and when we receive it but throughout our entire lives."

It is safe to say I don't do a lot of catechetical preaching, although my perspective is surely shaped by the creeds and confessions of our denomination.  However, this series of baptism is turning into a 9-part (7 Sundays, Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday) adventure in Belgic Confession, article 34 so I may as well post the whole thing below:

We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, 
in whom the law is fulfilled, 
has by his shed blood 
put an end to every other shedding of blood, 
     which anyone might do or wish to do 
     in order to atone or satisfy for sins.

Having abolished circumcision, 

which was done with blood, 

he established in its place the sacrament of baptism. 

     By it we are received into God's church 

          and set apart from all other people and alien religions, 

     that we may be dedicated entirely to him, 

          bearing his mark and sign. 

It also witnesses to us 

that he will be our God forever, 

     since he is our gracious Father.

Therefore he has commanded 

that all those who belong to him 

be baptized with pure water 

     in the name of the Father, 

     and the Son, 

     and the Holy Spirit.

In this way he signifies to us 

that just as water washes away the dirt of the body 

when it is poured on us 

and also is seen on the body of the baptized 

when it is sprinkled on him, 

so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally, 

in the soul, 

by the Holy Spirit. 

     It washes and cleanses it from its sins 

     and transforms us from being the children of wrath 

     into the children of God.

This does not happen by the physical water 

but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son of God, 

who is our Red Sea, 

through which we must pass 

     to escape the tyranny of Pharoah, 

          who is the devil, 

     and to enter the spiritual land of Canaan.

So ministers, 

as far as their work is concerned, 

give us the sacrament and what is visible, 

but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies-- 

     namely the invisible gifts and graces; 

          washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls of all filth and unrighteousness; 

          renewing our hearts and filling them with all comfort;

          giving us true assurance of his fatherly goodness; 

          clothing us with the "new man" and stripping off the "old," with all its works.

For this reason we believe that 

anyone who aspires to reach eternal life 

ought to be baptized only once 

     without ever repeating it-- 

     for we cannot be born twice. 

Yet this baptism is profitable 

     not only when the water is on us 

     and when we receive it 

but throughout our entire lives.

For that reason we detest the error of the Anabaptists 

who are not content with a single baptism once received 

and also condemn the baptism of the children of believers. 

We believe our children ought to be baptized 

and sealed with the sign of the covenant, 

     as little children were circumcised in Israel 

     on the basis of the same promises made to our children.

And truly, 

Christ has shed his blood no less 

for washing the little children of believers 

than he did for adults.

Therefore they ought to receive the sign and sacrament 

of what Christ has done for them, 

      just as the Lord commanded in the law that 

     by offering a lamb for them 

     the sacrament of the suffering and death of Christ 

     would be granted them shortly after their birth. 

This was the sacrament of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, 
baptism does for our children 
what circumcision did for the Jewish people. 
That is why Paul calls baptism the "circumcision of Christ." 

1st Sunday of LENT (the preview)

One of the earliest metaphors readily adopted by the 1st & 2nd century church was to hear, in the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, the story of our LIBERATION in the waters of baptism.  Early reliefs and mosaics (seen below) demonstrate this emphasis.

As a small band of believers in the midst of a huge Roman Empire, not predisposed to like them very much, they could relate to the terrible odds any reasonable person would give to the people of God.  Despite their poor chances, the people of God rallied behind the Psalmist's battle cry:

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord Our God!"

But the early church did not simply see baptism as a LIBERATION from earthly powers.  In fact, in some ways they didn't see -- the couldn't see -- this kind of liberation at all.  Like the Apostle Paul himself, many of these early Christians remained in chains.  So, when Paul writes to the church from prison -- as he does in the book of Ephesians -- they are eager to hear what he has to say.  With his hands and ankles bound by shackles he wrote:

"Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The people of God pass through the waters in safety.  But all that pursues them -- whether the chariots of Pharoah's Army or the lingering powers of Satan's temptations -- are swept away by the same waters. The Belgic Confession has these words to speak about the nature of this salvation:

"This does not happen by the physical water but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Song of God, who is our Red Sea, through whom we must pass to escape the tyranny of Pharoah, who is the devil, and enter the spiritual land of Canaan."

Christ is our Red Sea.  Ultimately, it is our union with Christ that LIBERATES us from the powers not only in the earthly realms but in the spiritual realms as well.  Thanks be to God.

Introducing Lent

During this Lenten season, we are focused on the theme of baptism – Fount of Every Blessing. This theme has deep connections to the practices of the early church, in which Lent was instituted as a time of intensive preparation for all those seeking baptism and membership in the Christian community.  On Easter morning – or, more properly, at the Saturday Easter Vigil – it was a joyous celebration of baptisms, professions of faith and new members in the family of God.

Since then, Lent has been used by the church as a time of preparation and discipline in many ways, not just those associated with baptism.  We live in a busy hectic world, where advertising, employers, nations and families all work together to tell us what sort of people we are.  As Christians, we choose to remember who we are in the waters of baptism. We are to find our identity as the fount of every blessing.

Ash Wednesday Recap

In case you were unable to join us, here is a copy of the meditation from our Ash Wednesday Service and two song selections.  If you have 15-20 minutes, consider using this to center your thoughts and prayers for this first day of LENT.

Meditations on Psalm 139

All sin begins with a lie.

Eve, in the Garden, lied to herself.

She told a story that wasn’t true:

“You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden (true enough)

and you must not touch it. . .”

Eve told a lie – whether she meant to or not –

Eve believed something that wasn’t true.

Eve believed that God was harsh. She added to His prohibitions with her own.

So when she heard the serpent’s words:

“You will not certainly die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be

opened and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.”

She believed him.

She believed the lie told to her by Satan because it matched the lie she already believed.

            God is harsh.

God is petty and jealous for His own authority.

            God does not want what is best for you.

Adam, in the Garden, lied to God.

In his fear, he misused truth:

      “We are naked so we are hiding from you.”

What happened here, Adam?

“The woman YOU put here with me – SHE gave me the fruit and I ate it.”

What happened here, Eve?

      “The serpent lied to me. And I ate.”

Adam avoided truth – whether he meant to or not.

Adam was beginning to believe something that wasn’t true.

Adam believed that

God would not chose mercy.

God would love him better if God loved others less.

God would not care for him.  Adam would have to take care of himself.

All sin begins with a lie.

We tell lies about God:

      God is unjust

      God is stingy.

      God cannot help.

      God will not help.

      God does not love me.

We believe our lies and so we sin:

      God is unjust.          

I will seek my own retribution.

      God is stingy.           

I need to hustle and push others aside for my share.

      God cannot help.   

I worry. I own the troubles of the whole world.

      God will not help.   

I resent and scheme and grab hold of my own bootstraps.

      God does not love me.     

I will find meaning elsewhere - in success, financial security, sex, relationships, power, respect.

We tell lies about ourselves:

      I can’t do anything right.

      I am the center of the universe.

      It all depends on me.

      I am beyond forgiveness.

      I am practically perfect in every way.

We believe our lies and so we sin:

      I can’t do anything right.  

I despair. I give up. I punish myself.

      I am the center of the universe. 

I belittle, reject and dismiss anything/anyone inconvenient.

It all depends on me.        

I work frantically. I will not rest. I resent       anyone who does.

I am beyond forgiveness. 

I isolate myself from others.

I isolate myself from God.

I am practically perfect in every way.         

Ignoring all evidence to the contrary. I am selfish & arrogant. I don’t need God or anyone else.

On Ash Wednesday,

We are recruited to a season of repentance.

Repentance begins by searching out the lies beneath the sin.

                        To perceive it,

Grapple with it.

                        Root it out.

And the truth is – THE TRUTH IS –

      We are not in it alone.

      God will never stop telling us what is true.

For God knows our truth far better than we do.

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.”

“You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.”

“See if there is any offensive way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.”

If All sin begins with a lie.

Let us pray with the psalmist:

      “Search me, God, and know my heart;

      Test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

All grace begins with truth.

“Dust you are. And to dust you shall return.”

A difficult word.  A harsh word.

A true word.

And it is grace to know this, make no mistake.

I am broken. I am sinful.

I have failed.

I cannot do it on my own.

Difficult words. Harsh words.

True words.

And it is grace to admit this, make no mistake.

On Ash Wednesday,

We are called upon to prepare for Easter’s Alleluias.

Preparation begins by finding grace in truth.

                        Recognizing it.

Owning it.

Believing it.

In the earliest church, the 40 days of Lent was a time of preparation for baptism. 

Converts awaiting the salvific truth revealed in the waters of baptism

Not only that are we dust and to dust we shall return but also:

We are liberated.

We are sealed with a promise.

We are family.

We are cleansed.

We are kept safe.

We have died and risen with Christ.

If All grace begins with truth,

Let us pray in concert with the Psalmist:

            The heights of the cosmos, the depths of the seas, the expanse of all creation

            God’s hand guides us, holding us fast.

            We are fearfully & wonderfully made.

            All our days are known to God.

            In death and in life, we belong to Jesus Christ.

Gearing Up for Discernment

Tomorrow, the Council of The Christian Reformed Church of Washington DC convenes at the church and parsonage to do some ...

strategic thinking?
creative visioning?
imaginative dreaming?
long-range planning?

Yes to that but mostly to do the work of Discernment.  What is discernment?  Particularly in relationship to the previously listed categories?

In the early church, the Council of Jerusalem convened to make a pretty important decision about the continuation of the church, mindful of Jew and Gentile divisions.  At the conclusion of their meeting, they communicated their decision this way, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us ..."(Acts 15:28)

Discernment does not eschew strategy, creativity, imagination, dreams or planning.  That is what we bring to the table.  That's the "it seems good to us" piece.

But Discernment recognizes that "it seems good to us" is not the only criteria of merit.  Discernment asks us to listen to one another carefully.  Discernment asks us to recognize that the Holy Spirit has a track record of asking God's people to do things that defy all of our best reasoning.  Discernment makes room for the possibility that God may be asking us to do the very thing that makes the most sense to our human minds AND the possibility that God is asking us to stretch, to move, to change and be changed.  Discernment comes, as much as humanly possible, with open hands.

"Decision making has its limits. We make decisions.

Discernment is given. The Spirit of God, which operates at the deepest levels of the human psyche and within the mysteries of the faith community, brings to the surface gifts of wisdom and guidance which we can only discover and name." 

- Danny Morris & Chuck Olsen

As we look ahead to the next 18 months of ministry at The CRC of Washington DC, we want to know what big picture ideas & goals should guide us forward.

Would you pray with us?
Would you pray for us?

The Trump Card

Next Sunday's text is: Luke 5:33-39

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. If they do, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And people do not pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And none of you, after drinking old wine, wants the new, for you say, ‘The old is better.’”

I wonder how you've heard this text used?  I sometimes think of it as "a trump card" played by folks who want to do something new in the church and just need everyone else to "get over it" so that they can do as they'd like. The North American mentality (call it consumerism, individualism, what-have-you) makes scanty room for repetition, for the wisdom of old-ness or decisions influenced by anything other than flash & jazz hands.  It is certainly a frustrating tendency in the church and in worship.  

Too many babies done got thrown out with some arguably tepid & grey bathwater.

Is this what Jesus' intended with this parable?  Is Jesus an advocate for new and relevant?  

Well now, I don't think Jesus is OPPOSED to new and relevant.  I just don't think of Jesus as American enough to swoon over such things. And I definitely think that co-opting this text for that purpose is a distortion of Scripture and skews our view of the rest of Jesus' ministry.  So that's a problem.

Rather than fleshing the parable out this way:

new = rockin' drum set & old = dumb pipe organ

new = movie clips in church & old = preacher's dry/dusty 3 point outline

What if a more faithful rendition starts with this premise:

old = "earthly nature" & new = "Christ in you, the hope of glory." 

old = "old ways, the life you once lived" 

& new = "new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator"

(All language from Col. 3, by the way)

'Cause now, see, I think we've got ourselves a ball game.  

Or at least a sermon:

We are not in the business of patching together old lives with scraps of Jesus.

We are in the business of being clothed in the new life of Christ.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

I had fun on Sunday!  It was fascinating to see how the text (Luke 5:27-32) fell open with all these parallels and connections to other Gospel accounts of Jesus' ministry.  A mircocosm of Jesus' ministry in 6 verses!

But, of course, in retrospect, I wonder a few things:

* In pushing back against the "holiness" myth (that holiness amounts to avoiding the world and all it's corruptions) I wonder if I sent the pendulum flying to far in the other direction.  So Jesus partied with "tax collectors & sinners" but he never was a participant in their sin.  He "made the beer run" for the wedding at Cana.  But he was probably also the designated driver. Holiness does, indeed, mean "set apart."  But not that we set ourselves apart but rather that, no matter where we are, God has set us apart. Preaching to counter-act a long-held, deep-seated assumption is balancing act.  Thoughts on this, anyone?

* I brought in the example from Chik-fil-a with some trepidation.  My point wasn't to have an opinion on either side but simply to point out the deep division that resulted.  On either side of the dividing line, folks came off pretty self-righteous and smug about their chosen ethic of eating/not eating chicken sandwiches.  And I certainly want us to think that holiness -- as Jesus demonstrated it -- requires more than an opinion about a chicken sandwiches.  Holiness -- as Jesus demonstrated it -- requires coming to the table with respect and love even when there are strongly divergent opinions held there.

* The final wondering whether I struck the right balance is that I never want to end a sermon with an ethical imperative, as though the Kingdom of God will come in all it's fullness if we simply learned how to play nicely with one another. I have far to dour opinion about human nature to think that if we all just tried harder, we'll get it right.  The sermon should always end on the grace of God.  God is active, sometimes through us, but far more often despite us.  God is active and we can choose to join in where God is already at work.  So it was important to me, as a preacher, to move us to the table.  Yes, we ought to share our tables and share our lives with others.  But only ever because Jesus Christ showed us how.  Jesus Christ shared his life, death and resurrection with us.  And it is at Jesus' table that we remember our deep connection with Christ and, through Christ, with one another.  That seems an altogether different motivation for kindness and grace toward one another.  Something that goes much deeper than "being nice."  This is such a remarkable, earth-shattering truth that I always leave Sunday mornings wish I could have done it better justice.  Ah, but then I suppose this preacher needs to practice her own words -- we cannot simply try harder to get it right.  We need to depend on the grace of God.