You wake up in the morning. No work. No school. No plans. How do you decide what you’re going to do that day? What guides you as you plan your day? (And don’t say “Jesus.” That’s the obvious right answer, and I hope it is true for you much of the time, but I know it’s not true all of the time…)
I have to admit that, sometimes, I’m guided by what will look good on social media. What activity can I do, what destination can I go to, that I can post pictures of, and which will get me the most likes and follows on social media?
I like to hike, and a lot of people like hiking pictures. So that works. And my motivation to go hiking has nothing to do with social media. However, sometimes the destination I choose, I choose because of social media.
If you look on my facebook page, the cover image is an up-close picture of the backside of the Hollywood Sign. I have facebook friends and acquaintances and friends-of-friends following me on facebook from all over the country, and even some from other countries, and a picture of the Hollywood Sign from above it that I took on a hike sure earns me some “cool” points.
It’s also cool that I sometimes teach at Catalina, and post pictures from there. The ability to post pictures from beautiful Catalina on instagram is probably one of the factors that motivates me to accept teaching jobs there, if I’m being honest. I could teach anywhere; I don’t have to wear myself out going to Catalina. My decision to go there is guided by the possibility of getting a really cool instagram photo.
But that’s not the only thing guiding my decision. Because the school at Catalina is such a small school, I pretty much teach the same students every time I go, which means I’ve developed good relationships with them, and I can see that I’m having a positive impact on their lives. That doesn’t happen at many of the schools where I teach, where everyday, I’m with a new group of students. So that is also a motivation. That is also something that guides my decision-making.
It just goes to show that there may be multiple reasons why we make the decisions we make; why we choose the things we do. And those guiding factors may be a combination of good and not-so-good; a mix of selfless and selfish motives.
What else guides me? Well, probably a lot of the same things that guide you. My desire to be healthy guides me to exercise; my desire to experience comfort and enjoyment guides me to ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.
Maybe you’re guided by fashion. Time to go shopping for cool, trendy clothes!
Maybe what gets you moving is excitement, thrill, adrenaline. Let’s go bungee jumping!
Our decisions, the choices we make, the paths we follow, are all determined by a variety of factors.
I’ve just finished John Dominic Crossan’s newest book, Render Unto Caesar. There’s a section where he writes about Luke and Acts, which really are one book which has been divided into two parts. And he mentions how much God’s Spirit is the motivating force for Jesus and the disciples.
It is the Spirit who guides and directs and leads. So many times in Luke and Acts, it talks about Jesus or the disciples being led by the Spirit, or taken by the Spirit, or driven by the Spirit, or sent by the Spirit…
The Spirit is the motivating force; the guiding force.
And it is the Spirit who baptizes. We are baptized in the Spirit. We’re baptized in water, but we are also baptized in the Spirit.
Because when we are baptized, the Spirit takes over our lives. When we are baptized, the Spirit becomes our guide. When we are baptized, we accept the Spirit’s leading, and all those other motivations become secondary.
Well, they do still sometimes get in the way, don’t they? When the Spirit tries leading us one way, we do still have a tendency to turn and walk the other way… don’t we?
Which is why it’s so important to remember our baptism… and so important to practice being open to the power and guiding force of God’s Spirit.
Sometimes, the Spirit leads us to some surprising places. At Pentecost, the Spirit undid the separation of people that took place at the Tower of Babel, when people were divided by language.
At Pentecost, even though they spoke different languages, the people are brought together.
Later on in Acts, Peter is praying and meditating, and he receives an unexpected vision from the Spirit. The Spirit draws Peter’s attention to a group of people called Gentiles. Both Jewish and Roman society emphasized the importance of roles and boundaries, and the boundary between Jews and Gentiles was one that was firm.
Yet the Spirit told Peter to make no distinction between Jews like himself, and Gentiles.
At first, Peter resisted that leading of the Spirit. He was guided and motivated by the importance of boundaries and distinctions that existed in society.
But the Spirit persisted, and Peter kept his mind open, and eventually Peter was convinced.
But then Peter had to explain it to others. “I know it sounds crazy,” he said, “but this is what the Spirit showed me… and who am I that I could hinder the Spirit of God?”
And all the people were amazed at what the Spirit was doing among them.
The Spirit led the apostle Paul to a similar understanding. Paul, who was once a persecutor of Christians and a defender of traditional religious and cultural distinctions, eventually learns that, in the Spirit, there is neither Gentile or Jew, slave or free, woman or man.
This statement was actually an early baptismal creed, and it expresses an idea that went against everything people understood about society! Jews and Gentiles were to be kept separate; Men and women each had their own, distinct, separate roles; and slaves were clearly inferior to those who were not slaves.
Roman culture maintained these distinctions. Jewish tradition maintained these distinctions. But now, guided by the Spirit, Paul affirmed that there are no distinctions for those in the body of Christ.
And when the earliest followers of Jesus were baptized, they affirmed that in the body of Christ, all are equal. Radically equal. Gentile and Jew: equal. Men and women: equal. Slave and free: equal!
Guided by our own interests, our own motivations, we often resist the radical inclusivity of God’s Spirit. Guided by our own desires, we often hinder the work of God’s Spirit.
Maybe we, too, need to spend a little more time in prayer and meditation, like Peter, so that when the Spirit presents us with a radically new idea, we, too, will say: “Who am I that I could hinder the Spirit of God?”
When it comes to ministry, there are times when I am guided by my own wants and desires and preferences. And there are times when I’m guided by all that I learned in seminary, about the “right” way to do things.
But sometimes the Spirit leads in a direction that is different than my own wants and desires… and sometimes, the Spirit even leads in a direction that is different from the “right” way I learned in seminary.
And I continue to be amazed at what the Spirit is teaching me and where the Spirit is leading me, at least when I allow myself to be open to being taught and led.
In seminary, and through the church, I was taught that there is one baptism. This, I still believe to be true. You are baptized into the body of Christ, no matter if you were baptized as an adult, a youth, or an infant; and no matter if you were immersed or sprinkled. God’s Spirit is not limited or hindered by the mode or method or timing of one’s baptism.
If someone comes to me wanting to be baptized, but they’ve already been baptized (whether or not they were old enough to remember that baptism), I will suggest to them an alternative - a confirmation or reaffirmation of that baptism.
But if they are insistent, and it really does seem to me that they are being led by the Spirit, I will relent, and agree to the baptism.
Because who am I to hinder God’s Spirit?
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been having conversations with one of our young people about baptism. It turns out that he was already baptized in another church, but in a manner that didn’t seem “real” to him. He says he wasn’t even sure what was happening.
“So I asked: “Do you want to be baptized again?”
He said: “Yes.”
But then, he thought about it, and later, he said that being baptized a second time didn’t feel right. On his own, he came to the same conclusion that I had been taught in seminary: that a baptism is valid, and that God’s Spirit works through any form of baptism, no matter where, or what form, it takes.
We might be tempted to say that the human motivations involved were less than sincere, but who are we to say that the presence of the Spirit was inadequate? How can we possibly say that?
So I said to him, “What about a confirmation?”
In churches that baptize infants, a person is confirmed when they are old enough to make their own decision; to make their own the promises that were said on their behalf when they were baptized.
He said, “Yes, that sounds good.”
And I realized: throughout this whole ongoing conversation, and throughout all this young person’s thinking and mental wrestling and discernment, the Spirit was present. I could tell that God’s Spirit was working in this young person, as he struggled to figure these things out. And I admit, it was beautiful to see.
So, today, Rajal Sardar comes to be confirmed in the Christian faith, to add his “yes” to the baptism that has already taken place in his life.
It is a “yes” by which he agrees to allow the Spirit to continue leading and guiding his life - the Spirit that is already present and at work in him.
It is a “yes” by which he affirms his commitment to the way of Jesus.
It is a “yes” by which he expresses his support for the ministry of this wonderful congregation, this Spirit-filled and Spirit-led congregation - a congregation that is one part of the body of Christ, seeking to enact God’s wholeness here in our neighborhood, and around the world.
Those who say “yes” to the ministry of the church support the work of the church through participation, prayer, giving, and a commitment to mission - that is, working to bring wholeness to our fragmented world.
Rajal will be joined by his sister Rahail. [invite forward] When I was talking with Rajal about these things, Rahail asked if she, too, could be confirmed. I said that maybe we could do a reaffirmation of faith for her instead of a confirmation, although, to be honest, there isn’t much difference; a confirmation is for someone who hasn’t yet had the opportunity to say “yes” to their baptism; a reaffirmation is for someone who wants to say “yes” again.
Rahail is inspired and motivated by her love of Jesus as well as her love for her brother. Of all the signs of the Spirit’s presence - of all the gifts of the Spirit - love is the greatest gift of all. And who are we to hinder the Spirit of God?
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