Made New (Matthew 3)

 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.

—------------------

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.

Weird, Wild, and Just Plain Wrong (Matthew 3:1-6)

 Sermon: “Weird, Wild, and Just Plain Wrong”

⬛ So, I’m preaching on the themes and scriptures from camp, and on this day at camp, the focus is on John the Baptist…

As a refresher, John the Baptist was Jesus’ slightly older cousin, born just a few months before Jesus himself was born. 

According to Luke’s gospel, before John was born, an angel appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, to announce the birth. 

The angel said that John would bring Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth “joy and gladness.” The angel said that John “will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and will turn many to the Lord their God.”

That all sounded great, I’m sure; but it seems to me that the angel left out a few details.

I wonder: what if Zechariah had asked for more details. What if Zechariah had asked the angel, “What kind of life will John live? Where will John live? In a nice, well-furnished house, perhaps? In the city, near the centers of power and influence, in order to accomplish what you have said?”

If Zechariah had asked that, the angel would have replied: “No. He’ll be out. Somewhere. In the wilderness. Wandering. Like a wildman.”

Zechariah would say, “The Wilderness? Well, OK... Well, What would he wear? Would he at least have robes made of fine silk, or linen? Something decent and presentable at least?”

And then the angel would have to say: “No. Camel’s hair…. And a belt.”

“That’s it? Well, angel, please tell me he’ll have something decent to eat, at least.  Lamb. Figs. Grapes. Wine. You describe this news as good news of joy and gladness; please tell me, angel, that my son will at least eat decently in his lifetime…”

“Bugs.”

“What was that, angel?”

“Bugs! He’ll eat bugs. Locusts, to be exact. And honey! But not the nice honey you buy at the market; wild honey.”

Well, what a strange way to live. Is this really how John would bring joy and gladness to Zachariah and Elizabeth, by living this type of lifestyle?

⬛ John was a prophet; and prophets did weird and wild things. They lived weird and wild lives. 

Isaiah once stripped off all his clothes and wandered around naked. What would you think of someone who did that today? Would you call them a prophet?

Jeremiah once took his underwear and hid it under a rock, then, after many days had passed, went back to retrieve it. (Weird.)

On another occasion, Jeremiah made a yoke, which is a harness that is normally strapped around the necks of oxen. Jeremiah placed that heavy yoke around his own neck, and wore it for many days, until another prophet—Hananiah—broke it and took it off him.

Then there’s Ezekiel. Ezekiel did lots of weird things. Ezekiel once ate a scroll that had been given to him. A scroll! 

He also laid on his side for over a year, then—when that year was over—rolled over and laid on his other side for a year.  After that, Ezekiel went on a diet of barley cakes baked over cow manure.

On another occasion, Ezekiel shaved his beard with a sword. (Kids, don’t try that at home.) He divided the beard hair that he shaved off into thirds; one third he set on fire, one third he scattered around the city, and the final third, he threw into the wind. But a few of those beard hairs, he saved, and sewed into his clothing. 

Prophets are weird! And they do weird things!

Why did the prophets do such weird things? Why did John, who is our focus today, dress in camel’s hair, eat locusts and wild honey, and go out to the wilderness to preach?

…

The things prophets did did draw attention, for sure. And the things they did were symbolic acts, meant to draw people’s attention not just to the prophet, but to the people’s own behavior. 

Because whenever the prophets acted out, they did so because something was very wrong in society. When the prophets acted out, it was to show how the people, how the nation, had gone astray; it was to show that the nation or that society was on the wrong path.

Generally speaking, it was because the people had forgotten to care for one another, and to care especially for the most vulnerable among them. They had neglected to show love to their neighbor, as God commands. 

Yet the people were so caught up in their way of living, that they didn’t even see what was wrong with it. The buzz around town was that everything was fine, that we’re all just doing what everyone else is doing. It would be weird, they thought, to do anything different.

Well, the prophets' weird acts were often meant to mimic the weird, wayward ways of world. The prophets would do something weird, and people would look and say: “look how weird he is!” And then the prophet would point out that his weirdness was really just a reflection of their own weirdness, their own abnormality, and so if they thought what the prophet was doing was weird or strange or just plain wrong, they were really, in a way, passing judgment on their own behavior.

…

And then the prophets would show an alternative way to live. They would show the people that the way they were living was wrong, and then they would show the people a whole new way to live.

John, out in the wilderness, was showing that the lifestyle and way of living promoted by those in power was not the only way to live. There was, and is, an alternative way to live, a way of living that is, in many ways, the exact opposite way of living that most in society were living… and that this alternative way of living is actually the life of blessing, the life of wholeness, the life of abundance that God desires for all of humanity.

Which is why John ditched his name-brand clothing, the clothing that people wore to show their status; the clothing people wore to show how cool they were. John did away with that, because worldly status didn’t matter to him. 

And food, too, could be a sign of status, so John did away with that. No trendy diet, no instagram-worthy meal of lamb and grapes and figs. Just locusts, and honey that he found in the wilderness.

Because worldly status meant nothing to John. John liberated himself from that pressure to be cool, that pressure to be trendy. He was free from that. He was not swayed by the pressure to be popular, to be rich, to be followed by tens of thousands of people on social media. He could care less about being an “influencer.” 

But for those who had ears to hear… For those who longed for an alternative way of living… John was ready to lead the way… and to prepare the way for the one who would more fully lead people into that alternative way of living.

…

Obviously, not everyone was convinced by the prophet’s message. Those who benefitted from the way the world was were especially reluctant. Those who were blessed by the way the world was structured, those who were able to accumulate wealth and power and influence in this world, were especially resistant to any sort of alternative world, where they might not have as much power and wealth and influence, and where they might lose out on some of their privilege, and end up being just like everyone else.

They didn’t want to be just like everyone else. They liked the privilege this world afforded them. So they resisted the prophet’s message, and fought against it.

They even used their power and wealth to attack the prophets, and those who followed the prophets. They said that the truth proclaimed by the prophets was really filled with lies and deception.

Which is why so many of the prophets ended up imprisoned or executed. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it…”

But those who are attracted to the prophet’s message, they are the ones who realize just how broken this world is, how dysfunctional society is, how corrupt, and how lacking in compassion and decency it is. 

These who followed John recognized the futility of their own pursuit of status, and the meaninglessness of their own attempts to set themselves apart from everyone else, to set themselves above everyone else. These are the ones who recognized that the way of the world just isn’t working, that it isn’t sustainable, that it isn’t creating the type of world we want to live in, or the type of world God wants us to live in.

So when John called on the people to repent from the sinful ways of this world, they were ready. They eagerly embraced this new way of living that the prophet proclaimed. And they rushed to him, out in the wilderness, ready to repent, ready to be baptized—ready to immerse themselves in the Jordan River—the very river that their ancestors passed through to begin a new life in a new, promised land—so that they could also start a new life—start their lives over—and live this new way of living that John proclaimed.

…

Most of us… we are attracted to this alternative way of living: the way that John proclaimed; the way that Jesus proclaimed

Yet we also feel attached to the way of living prescribed by the world. And we try to figure out a compromise; a compromise between the way of living God calls us to, and the way of living that the world defines as normal.

We envy those who are able to break free from the restrictions and limitations of society. We love to read stories about them, and watch movies about them. Those who break away from society’s harmful expectations, and are able to live freely, fully, the life they feel they are meant to live.

⬛ I think of Chris McCandless, whose life story was chronicled in the movie Into the Wild. He left everything behind, including the considerable wealth of his family, to live completely free. If you know anything about his life, you know there is quite a bit of foolishness there—genuine foolishness—and yet, despite ourselves, we can’t help but envy him, at least a little, because of how he was able to free himself from the pressures and demands of this crazy world.

John the Baptist was a sort of first-century Chris McCandless. Out in the wilderness, he was free. He had the kind of freedom most could only dream of.

⬛ Yet, of the many who ventured out to the wilderness to see him, to hear him preach his message of repentance, and perhaps even to be baptized by him… how many of them were able to actually cast aside all the things of this world that limit us and restrict us? How many of them cast aside their wealth, their status, their influence, to live completely free?

And how many just returned back to their lives, trying to figure out how to compromise this idealistic vision of how the world could be, with their present reality, and all the social expectations that actually work to isolate people and confine them to living lives that are less than fully human?

Some of the seed falls on the path, some falls on rocky ground, and some falls among the thorns, and the hope that was there fades away…

The question is: how far are you willing to go when it comes to following Jesus? You’ve been immersed in the waters of baptism; how far are you willing to immerse yourself in the alternative way of living John and Jesus proclaimed? 

And what pressures from the world, and what symbols of status, will you continue to cling to?

When it comes to creating a better world, for yourself, and those around you, how far are you willing to go?

The compromises we make every day: we want to protect the climate, yet we still use fossil fuels. We feel called to care for our neighbor, yet we vote for politicians who promise to make things better for us, even at the expense of our neighbors. We want there to be justice in our land, and equality, and community, but we don’t really want to get too involved and risk rocking the boat for such things.

We’re always making compromises.

Yet the true prophets—like John the Baptist—are out there in the wilderness, calling us to repentance, calling us to a whole new way of living, to create a whole new world for ourselves and for all of humanity.

To many, they seem weird, or wild, or even just plain wrong.

What do you think?

Sermon: "A New Protest Movement" (Matthew 3:13-17)

Water is so common. It seems such a strange thing to use for such a holy act as baptism.

It’s not special in any way. It’s just water. One of the most common substances on earth. The water we use for baptism comes out of the tap just like the water you used to brush your teeth this morning.

Jesus’s baptism took place in “just water.” More specifically, it took place in the Jordan River, but despite what you may have heard, the Jordan River is not a great river. It’s not the Nile, or the Tigris, or the Euphrates.

It’s just The Jordan.

The Jordan River would be comparable to the L.A. River, at least before the L.A. River was lined with concrete. Much of the year, there isn’t even very much water in it, although occasional storms and floods could send it raging, briefly.

It’s just water. It’s just the Jordan River.

And yet, as common as it is, water is important. Water is life. Protesters in North Dakota have reminded us of this by camping out this winter in bitter cold, hoping to block the construction of pipelines that could potentially destroy the water they depend on. Pipelines rupture, break, and spill, and the oil that leaks out contaminates whatever it comes into contact with.

The water protectors know this. They also know that, to live, water is far more important than oil.

Water is sacred.

Native American storyteller Ray Buckley once described a day in which things did not go well for him, a day which left him feeling discouraged. He knew he had to reset his mood and his energy before moving on to his next task, so he took a shower (even though he was already clean), to remind himself of new beginnings.

I’ve done the same thing myself a time or two, when I needed a new beginning, a new start to my day.

Patrick Reyes, whose book I’m just now reading, described a time when he was a twelve year-old child, and he stood up to his mother’s boyfriend who beat and picked on Patrick and his younger brothers. The time Patrick stood up to him, the boyfriend beat Patrick so hard he passed out. When he woke up, he was sore and covered with bruises.

With no one around to comfort him, Patrick took a shower, and let the warm water soothe his twelve year-old body that had been beaten and bruised. It helped. It didn’t solve the problem, but it did provide some emotional healing that allowed him to face another day.

So water, as simple and common as it is, can be incredibly powerful.

Just like the Jordan River. This muddy stream was full of symbolism and history. Many generations before Jesus and John, it was where the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land, a symbolic, meaningful moment that symbolized a new beginning and a new nation.

It was at flood stage then. Of course it was at flood stage then, right? If you were telling the story, wouldn’t you have the river at flood stage, impossible to cross, so that God’s power could be displayed when the water stopped so that the people could cross it? You wouldn’t tell such a story with the river at drought stage, trickling its way downstream, no higher than your shins! That’s not very exciting!

The baptisms that John performed at the Jordan River drew heavily on the symbolism of the Hebrews crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land. Crossing through the water symbolized that they - as a nation - were being born anew, that the old was being left behind, and something new was about to begin.

Look deeply into the waters of baptism, and you can see this. You can see the Hebrews crossing into the Promised Land, and starting something new.

But that’s not all you can see.

Look harder, and you will see the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea, long before they ever arrived at the Jordan.

Look harder, and you will see the story of Noah and the Ark, when waters cleansed the earth of evil, and humanity was reborn, allowed to start over.

Look harder, and you can also see Creation itself, when the earth was nothing but a formless void, with the Spirit hovering over the waters.

It’s all there, in the waters of baptism. And it all symbolizes a new life, a new beginning.

In Matthew’s gospel, John objects to Jesus’s request to be baptized. In Matthew, John says: “I need to be baptized by you! Yet you come to me?”

Matthew wrote this little dialogue into his baptism story because some people didn’t understand why Jesus needed to be baptized, if he was without sin. Isn’t that what baptism is for, to cleanse one of their sins? So if Jesus didn’t have any sin, why did he need to get baptized?

Jesus answered that he must be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness.”

What does this mean?

Remember from Advent, righteousness is one of the three Hebrew words that are synonyms, the words that describe life in the kingdom of God: mishpat, tzedek, and shalom - justice, righteousness, and peace.

They refer to a world where everything is as it should be, where everything is right, where peace and justice prevail, where no one needs fear another person because every person has respect for everyone else’s humanity.

Jesus needs to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness.” So the “righteousness” Jesus is to fulfill isn’t just a matter of personal piety or personal sin. It’s about the sin and brokenness of the world which Jesus came to make whole. It’s about making the world right again.

In his baptism, Jesus demonstrates that he stands with John and what John stands for; and what John stands for is a revolution that seeks to overturn a world of oppression & injustice, a revolution that seeks to overturn the world as it has been created by the leaders & authorities in the church and in the empire.

Baptism is a revolutionary act, an act that symbolizes the creation of a new kingdom, just as the Hebrews were about to create a new kingdom when they crossed the Jordan River many generations before. For Jesus, it is very clearly a political, revolutionary act.

Jesus, like John, is set on creating a revolutionary movement for social justice. This is a movement that does not pledge allegiance to Caesar; rather, it pledges its allegiance only to God. It is a movement intent on overturning the oppressive ways of the empire. It is a movement whose members declare that they will no longer collaborate with oppression, with injustice, with policies that benefit the few at the expense of the many.

So baptism clearly is not just about personal piety or personal sin. It’s about identifying yourself as one who stands on God’s side, the side of freedom, the side of justice, the side of righteousness and peace.

Brad Braxton, writing online at the African-American Lectionary, says this about his own baptism: “Those baptismal waters marked me as a person standing on God’s side. Standing with God … means standing against forces that deny God’s justice and peace. My baptism, while an intensely personal moment, possesses profound political implications. It declares on whose side I am standing.”

So baptism, because it is a political act, can be a dangerous act. Keep in mind that neither John nor Jesus lived to old age. They were both killed by the state (with collaboration by corrupt religious leaders).

Jesus would never have been crucified if baptism was only about confessing one’s personal sin and promising to live a moral life. Governments don’t execute people for promising to be good! Governments execute people for challenging the social order. Jesus was executed by crucifixion because what he taught and what he stood for was subversive.  

And Jesus calls upon us to be subversive as well, to “take up our cross and follow” him.

So look again at the waters of baptism. Look closely, and see that those waters are calling you to take a stand, to speak out, to not sit quietly in the face of injustice.

Those who take seriously their own baptism will speak out when the rights of others are being denied, even if their own rights are still intact.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when voting rights are denied.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when the criminal justice system unfairly targets people because of their race.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when immigrants are threatened with deportation.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when Muslims and other minority religious groups are intimidated and victimized.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when others condemn or ridicule people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Those who take baptism seriously will speak out when rich legislators try to take away health care from millions of poor citizens.

To be baptized in Christ means to stand on the side of justice, the side of what’s right, the side of equality, the side of everything that leads to peace for all of God’s people.

To be baptized in Christ means to work actively so that wholeness can come to all of God’s people in this broken, fragmented world.