When a pastor in our denomination—the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—is looking for a church to lead, the pastor is asked where they would like to have their profile sent.
The pastor can choose to have the profile sent to one region, several regions, or to all the regions.
Eighteen years ago, when I was looking for a church to lead, I updated my profile, and chose to have it sent to the regions that were closest to where I grew up, and where my extended family lived.
My kids were young, my nieces and nephews were young (some weren’t even born yet), and I wanted to be close to family. I wanted my kids to know their grandparents and know their cousins, and vice versa.
That’s how we ended up in Long Beach for 15 wonderful years, in a wonderful congregation with some of the best congregants a pastor could hope for. And my parents, and my sisters and their families, were all within about an hours’ drive.
At the end of those 15 years, I felt God calling me to say goodbye to that wonderful congregation; it was time for something new.
This time, when I pondered where to send my profile, I thought: my kids are grown. My parents have passed away. Two of my nieces are off to college, and my other niece and nephew from southern California are growing up… maybe this time, I should leave the location completely up to God…
And that’s how I ended up here in Bloomington, Illinois.
And even though I’ve been here over two years now, people still ask: Why’d you move to Illinois?
And sometimes I say it’s because I fell in love with this congregation. And sometimes I also say it’s because I fell in love with this community.
Both are true.
But I suppose that the real answer is that I came to Illinois because I was willing to let God do something new and different with my life.
It’s not easy to let God do something new and different with your life. Just those two words—”new” and “different”—bring a lot of anxiety. It’s challenging. It’s scary. It involves a lot of trust… and faith.
Today, I’m reflecting on today’s scripture, and the theme of baptism, and I realize that one thing baptism represents is a willingness to let God do something completely new and different with your life…
In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we recognize all forms of baptism, but we normally practice baptism by immersion, for those old enough to make their own decision to follow Christ.
And that decision to follow Christ—and the baptism that goes along with that decision—represent a willingness to let God do something completely new and different with your life.
*****John the baptist—a relative of Jesus—was in the wilderness, proclaiming: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
To repent means to change your ways; to embrace a new and different way of living.
To repent means to leave the old you behind, and embrace a new you.
To repent means to leave the old world behind, and embrace a whole new world.
And many, who longed for a new world, came to John, confessed their sins, and were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Then Jesus came to John, to be baptized.
John is confused by this, and—let’s be honest—we are, too. Right? Aren’t we confused, a little, by Jesus being baptized? Why did Jesus have to be baptized? What did he need to repent of? What change did he, the son of God, need to make?
But baptism isn’t just about repenting of one’s own personal sins. That’s a part of it; but baptism is bigger than that.
Baptism is about being willing to leave the destructive ways of this world behind, and embrace a new future, a new way of living; something that Matthew calls the kingdom of heaven.
Baptism symbolizes our willingness to leave our old home behind, and to live in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus, obedient to God, was baptized, which demonstrated his willingness to embrace and live in the kingdom of heaven.
***** One chapter back, when Matthew tells the story of the magi bringing their gifts to Jesus when he was still a baby, Matthew contrasts the magi with Herod.
The magi are captivated by Jesus and the new different world he represents; one could say that the magi also represent something new and different.
Herod, on the other hand, sees this new and different world as a threat, and Herod does everything he can to preserve his power as king of the old world……….
Next week, we’ll move forward a little bit in Matthew’s gospel, and begin reading through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes how one lives in this new kingdom. It is a completely new and different way of living.
In the kingdom of heaven, all things are made new.
And every day, I am challenged by this. I am challenged by the implications of my baptism. I am challenged by the decision I made, so many years ago, to be baptized, and to let God do something new and different with my life.
Following Jesus really means going against the flow; when the world goes one way, we are so often called to go the other way.
And that’s not easy.
***** We want to fit in. We want to be accepted. We want to be respected and admired.
But people who follow Christ are often called to go in the opposite direction.
We admire people who go against the flow. We admire people who are willing to let God do something new and different with their lives.
A recovering alcoholic commits to a life of abstinence; in a world where there is much pressure to drink, pressure that he used to give in to, he has chosen to follow a new and different path.
A teenager who, like all his friends, eats junk food, studies only when he has to, and spends way too much time on his phone, decides to do something new and different; he decides to turn his life around by eating right, exercising, studying hard, reading his bible, and taking good care of himself.
These are two real people I’ve found on instagram by the way. And one thing they both have in common is that they both admit that making the change in their lives was—and is—hard. Creating a new and different version of themselves—or, allowing God to create something new and different in them—is not easy.
It requires discipline and focus. It’s a decision that one has to make every day.
Which brings me to another point. You may have heard someone ask, “When did you get saved?”
As if your salvation was a one-time event.
But salvation is something that happens every day. Every day we are called upon to remember our baptism, and remember the change that God has made in us, and to commit ourselves to that change, every single day.
Because every day we face the challenge of choosing between going with the flow, and following along with the world; OR going against the flow, and following along with God.
***** It would have been easy for the magi to go along with Herod. Herod probably would have even rewarded them, if they had returned to him like he asked. “Just come and tell me where the newborn messiah is,” Herod said.
They could have obeyed his command. And then, when Herod went to where they said Jesus was, and killed Jesus, those magi could have said, “We didn’t know! We were only following orders! Herod is the king, after all!”
But they chose the harder thing. They chose to disobey Herod. They did NOT tell Herod where Jesus was… and scripture doesn’t say what happened to them after that. They returned to their own country, but then what?
Did Herod send troops after them? Did they go into hiding? I’m sure they never set foot in Judea again, at least not as long as Herod was alive and on the throne…
Every day, we are faced with decisions like that. Do we follow the crowd, or do we follow Christ?
Remember the decision you made the day you were baptized… and let that decision guide you today.
***** There are three aspects to baptism. The first is personal. In baptism, we recognize that God has created a new person; so there is a personal aspect.
In baptism, one has been born anew, or born of the Spirit, as Jesus says in John’s gospel.
Like those people I saw on instagram, who have made personal decisions to improve their lives, baptism is a personal decision to be a new you, to turn away from the person the world tries to make you into, and to be the YOU God wants you to be, the YOU God created you and calls you to be.
But there is also a social aspect to baptism. You aren’t just embracing a new version of you; you’re embracing a new world—the kingdom of heaven. It’s a world with new and different priorities.
Again, we’ll hear more about this when we read through the Sermon on the Mount.
And then there is the institutional aspect. Ideally, baptism takes place in the midst of the congregation, because we aren’t just individuals who have been baptized; we are part of a community of baptized believers who, together, are willing to embrace the new and different way Christ calls us to. We are a community, a church, that is willing to be changed, and willing to be an agent of change.
I know; churches are not always known for being places willing to change, or embrace change, or be agents of change. Right?
Yet don’t you think God is calling the church to be something new and different than the church has been in the past?
It’s not that everything in the past is bad. I love learning about and celebrating the history of First Christian Church, and the history of our denomination, and the history of the universal church.
But God is always calling us to grow and change, to move beyond where we’ve been and where we’re at, so that we can then help the Spirit in creating that new and different world, that kingdom of heaven, the kingdom that—every week—we pray will come on earth, as it is in heaven.
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This year, we at First Christian Church will embark on “New Beginnings,” a process that will help us discern how God is leading us, and what changes the Spirit might have in store for us.
My past experience with New Beginnings has shown me that it is Spirit-filled, Spirit-guided, and that it focuses on the many ways that a congregation is a blessing to both its members and to its community. It is a joyful experience!… as we examine the many wonderful ways that God has already changed us and changed others through us.
Now, maybe for some, just the name “New Beginnings” is… scary… because they don’t want to begin again.
But God is always beginning something new in us and among us. That’s the very nature of the kingdom of heaven. And that’s the very essence of what our baptism represents.
For the one who is baptized, every day is a new beginning.
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