WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
January 7th 2007
Communion Sunday Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Baptism, it’s Not Just for Babies Anymore…”
Galatians 3:26-28; Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Many of you are aware that in the Presbyterian Church we consider the ancient rituals of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be considered sacraments. We believe that these two rituals reveal something to us about the nature of God’s grace. We also believe that they tell us something about how we should respond to the grace of God. It is not too often that we celebrate both sacraments on the same day. Today is no exception. However, we will at least talk about Baptism on the same day we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
In the early Christian community baptism was the initiation ritual. Only after being baptized could you be part of the entire life of the community. Baptism symbolizes our sharing of the death of Jesus and our death to the ways of the world. While this is still a belief in our confessions, it is not one which is often claimed. I believe this understanding, of sharing in Jesus’ death, is one which has the promise of real contemporary relevance.
It may seem strange to equate baptism with death. After all, baptizing babies hardly seems the appropriate time to bring up the issue of sharing in the death of Jesus. A day filled with a beautiful gowns, pretty pictures, and extended families gatherings would really get sidetracked if we brought death into the equation. However, like it or not, baptism is about the death of Jesus and our death to the ways of this world.
I believe the loss of this understanding of baptism has much to do with the ways the church in North America has accommodated itself to the culture. For a few generations churches were places to get married, baptized our babies, and burry our family members. However, we now live in an age where less than fifty percent of our culture will turn to the church for these functions. As such we can no longer expect that the world understands who we are and what we do. Our mission depends on our ability to reclaim and explain the rituals of our faith. A deeper understanding of our rituals, practices, and beliefs will enable us to understand and explain just how relevant the faith community of Jesus Christ is for our world.
In the early church, membership in the community only came after a long period of study and preparation. Since the new converts had not grown up in the community it was necessary that they understand the faith. On Easter, the new members were baptized and became members of the community. As the new believers would come up out of the water it is believed by some scholars that this passage from Galatians was read:
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
This is a powerful passage which actually undermined the social fabric of the ancient world. Historical context tells us that the choice of these pairs were not arbitrary. These pairs helped to define who had power and who had value in the ancient world. And what this passage says is that being baptized in Christ means you are dead to all of this. The passage makes it clear that being baptized into the community means that these divisions no longer reign supreme.
As we seek to understand what it means to become one in Jesus Christ we need to take stock of our own cultural baggage. For many generations our country has been seen as the great melting pot where all peoples of the world could come and be part of this new reality. In practice, this myth has meant that everyone must bow-down to the White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant ethos. As a result when the church makes claims about everyone being made one in Jesus Christ it is often looked upon with suspicion, and rightly so. Too often this call has meant that white culture would rein supreme and all cultural heritage and traditions must be discarded. Fortunately, this sort of thinking is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be a family of faith made one in Jesus Christ means that we must acknowledge the real differences and be deliberate in out life and witness. This is even more important for we who live in such a deeply racist culture. To give witness to our oneness in Jesus Christ in this culture, in this city, means we have to be willing to die to our white privilege or die to the belief that nothing will ever change which leads to retreat from engagement. The history of Westminster shows that the spirit of God has been at work for a long time breaking down the dividing walls of hostility; calling us to claim our baptismal identity; and showing us how to die to any identity or belief which is not child of God.
But the work of this journey does not end here. Our community has a witness and story to tell that the world needs to hear. This means that we must seek ways to let those who are just driving by the church know that we are a multiracial community committed to dismantling racism. Or, if someone was to walk into this building, and none of us were around, we must find ways to tell them about who we are as a community. It also means that the ways we make decisions, worship fellowship, sing, and all of our ministry must reflect the diversity with which God has blessed our community. We are certainly on the way but we are not their yet. The good news is that God has called us to this ministry, and God is not finished with us yet.
Our baptism into the community is a symbol of our identity as a child of God. Yet, our culture inundates us with messages about who we are as a people. These messages tell us about who we are and our value because of the color of our skin color, nation of origin, gender, sexuality, age, ability, education, and even our economic status. But in our baptism we are set free from all these messages. As we reaffirm our baptism today, as we reaffirm our calling as children of God, may we die to all that holds us back and holds this community back from being the witnesses that God has called us and is calling us to be each day of our lives. Amen.
January 7th 2007
Communion Sunday Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Baptism, it’s Not Just for Babies Anymore…”
Galatians 3:26-28; Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Many of you are aware that in the Presbyterian Church we consider the ancient rituals of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be considered sacraments. We believe that these two rituals reveal something to us about the nature of God’s grace. We also believe that they tell us something about how we should respond to the grace of God. It is not too often that we celebrate both sacraments on the same day. Today is no exception. However, we will at least talk about Baptism on the same day we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
In the early Christian community baptism was the initiation ritual. Only after being baptized could you be part of the entire life of the community. Baptism symbolizes our sharing of the death of Jesus and our death to the ways of the world. While this is still a belief in our confessions, it is not one which is often claimed. I believe this understanding, of sharing in Jesus’ death, is one which has the promise of real contemporary relevance.
It may seem strange to equate baptism with death. After all, baptizing babies hardly seems the appropriate time to bring up the issue of sharing in the death of Jesus. A day filled with a beautiful gowns, pretty pictures, and extended families gatherings would really get sidetracked if we brought death into the equation. However, like it or not, baptism is about the death of Jesus and our death to the ways of this world.
I believe the loss of this understanding of baptism has much to do with the ways the church in North America has accommodated itself to the culture. For a few generations churches were places to get married, baptized our babies, and burry our family members. However, we now live in an age where less than fifty percent of our culture will turn to the church for these functions. As such we can no longer expect that the world understands who we are and what we do. Our mission depends on our ability to reclaim and explain the rituals of our faith. A deeper understanding of our rituals, practices, and beliefs will enable us to understand and explain just how relevant the faith community of Jesus Christ is for our world.
In the early church, membership in the community only came after a long period of study and preparation. Since the new converts had not grown up in the community it was necessary that they understand the faith. On Easter, the new members were baptized and became members of the community. As the new believers would come up out of the water it is believed by some scholars that this passage from Galatians was read:
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
This is a powerful passage which actually undermined the social fabric of the ancient world. Historical context tells us that the choice of these pairs were not arbitrary. These pairs helped to define who had power and who had value in the ancient world. And what this passage says is that being baptized in Christ means you are dead to all of this. The passage makes it clear that being baptized into the community means that these divisions no longer reign supreme.
As we seek to understand what it means to become one in Jesus Christ we need to take stock of our own cultural baggage. For many generations our country has been seen as the great melting pot where all peoples of the world could come and be part of this new reality. In practice, this myth has meant that everyone must bow-down to the White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant ethos. As a result when the church makes claims about everyone being made one in Jesus Christ it is often looked upon with suspicion, and rightly so. Too often this call has meant that white culture would rein supreme and all cultural heritage and traditions must be discarded. Fortunately, this sort of thinking is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be a family of faith made one in Jesus Christ means that we must acknowledge the real differences and be deliberate in out life and witness. This is even more important for we who live in such a deeply racist culture. To give witness to our oneness in Jesus Christ in this culture, in this city, means we have to be willing to die to our white privilege or die to the belief that nothing will ever change which leads to retreat from engagement. The history of Westminster shows that the spirit of God has been at work for a long time breaking down the dividing walls of hostility; calling us to claim our baptismal identity; and showing us how to die to any identity or belief which is not child of God.
But the work of this journey does not end here. Our community has a witness and story to tell that the world needs to hear. This means that we must seek ways to let those who are just driving by the church know that we are a multiracial community committed to dismantling racism. Or, if someone was to walk into this building, and none of us were around, we must find ways to tell them about who we are as a community. It also means that the ways we make decisions, worship fellowship, sing, and all of our ministry must reflect the diversity with which God has blessed our community. We are certainly on the way but we are not their yet. The good news is that God has called us to this ministry, and God is not finished with us yet.
Our baptism into the community is a symbol of our identity as a child of God. Yet, our culture inundates us with messages about who we are as a people. These messages tell us about who we are and our value because of the color of our skin color, nation of origin, gender, sexuality, age, ability, education, and even our economic status. But in our baptism we are set free from all these messages. As we reaffirm our baptism today, as we reaffirm our calling as children of God, may we die to all that holds us back and holds this community back from being the witnesses that God has called us and is calling us to be each day of our lives. Amen.
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