"Living Our Baptismal Calling: Accept" - Sermon, March 12, 2017
Community UMC, Quincy
“Living Our Baptismal Calling: Accept”
March 12, 2017
Pastor Andrew Davis
John 3: 1-17
Back
in the mid-90’s and being a child of the media, I remember watching TV
in the afternoon after school and seeing the promos for the first of the “Mission
Impossible” series of movies in 1996 starring Tom Cruise. Based on the 1960’s and 70’s TV show, the movies started with the catchy
little theme song <> that then said from a tape recorder “your mission should
you accept it…” with some details sprinkled in before the tape recorder
self-destructed. Well today, our
mission, should we accept it is to “accept the freedom and power God gives us
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present
themselves.” Kind of a lofty mission should we accept it, but also worth
thinking about today as we continue our Lenten series, “Living Our Baptismal
Calling.”
As
we began our series and Lenten journey last week, we thought
about the first question from our baptismal vows, “Do you renounce the
spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this word, and repent
of your sin?” It’s the first question
that is asked when we are presented for baptism as infants or adults, but this
week we take this idea a little bit further when asked, “Do you accept the
freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in
whatever forms they present themselves." This weeks’ question about
accepting the power God gives us builds on last week in renouncing evil and
wickedness, but now adds injustice and oppression to what we are asked to
renounce and resist.
Now
I need to admit that I struggle a little bit when trying to
think of what is evil, what is injustice, and what is oppression. See, what might be evil, injustice, and
oppression in my eyes may be something totally different in someone else’s
eyes. In keeping things real, we live in
a world today where evil, injustice, and oppression can be found in many shapes
and forms around us. However, while
watching the news or perusing social media, it is hard not to see violence,
acts of vandalism, or looting which I see as one form of evil, or different
phobias and pure hatred, which can lead to injustice and oppression if left
unchecked. The list can go on and on and
on. Yet, it also seems that in this
recent election cycle, that we have seen a rise in violent rhetoric, acts of
violence, and various phobias
manifesting themselves in frightening ways, particularly because we have more
access to visual media today and it’s put before our eyes. Or, I think back to November when I arrived
to church one morning to find that someone threw an egg at our sign, then wrote
the words ‘devil idol’ using
peanut butter. Without flinching, a few
of us were able to clean up the vandalism before the congregation arrived, and
got a clean sign out of it. We could
have given the people who did this free publicity by going to the newspaper and
fighting an evil act with equally evil words about the people who did it, but
instead we resisted evil by acting quickly and praying that the people who did
this find peace. Even amidst different
ideas of what may constitute evil, injustice, or oppression, I am also thankful
that we are a community of faith here who are able to still love each other
while having different ideas, as it is a blessing to be a part of a
theologically and politically diverse congregation. However, it’s up to us to keep seeking what
is true and show others how to use the freedom that God gives us to resist the
powers of evil, injustice, and oppression, regardless of where we stand.
As
we encounter the text this morning, it might seem a little murkier to see how
the text fits in with this question on accepting the freedom of resisting evil,
injustice, and oppression. Although the
translation that Leslie, you, and I read together is slightly truncated, we
first encounter a Pharisee, Nicodemus who comes to Jesus at night. Being a Pharisee, which was a teacher of the
law in the Jewish tradition, Nicodemus obviously does not want
others to know he is coming to see Jesus.
It’s like trying to conceal something you don’t want anyone else knowing
about. Now this is our first encounter
with Nicodemus who we will only see in John’s Gospel, but Nicodemus is
obviously intrigued by the signs, or miracles that Jesus is performing,
although when he inquires more of
Jesus, Jesus tells Nicodemus about the idea of new birth, which
Nicodemus struggles with upon hearing.
In
some ways, I empathize with Nicodemus here, as new birth is something I really
struggled with for a long time the first time I heard it. Whenever I would hear the saying ‘born
again,’ it left me scratching my head, like Nicodemus, who asked how could we “enter
a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (Jn. 3: 4, NRSV). But as I got older and began understanding my
faith a little more, this kind of new birth that Jesus is talking about is
birth by the Spirit. As Jesus will
explain, it’s a re-birth of our faith and quite honestly, after spending those
eight months in the desert, away from the faith ten years ago, but then feeling
a change of heart about not being part of a faith community, I felt like I had
been born again when I re-engaged with the faith and with a community of faith.
And when we are asked to renounce the
powers of evil and wickedness, and resist evil, injustice, and oppression in
our baptismal vows, we are each taking part in this new birth through baptism
as we think about the vows we made or were made for us as infants. Furthermore, we have the power and choice
that God gives us to accept or reject the freedom to resist evil, injustice, and
oppression in any form that it takes.
When we do accept these powers, it becomes more about new life in Christ
that Jesus is trying to explain to Nicodemus, but also to us.
Also
in this text is one of the most beloved and well-known statements, “for
God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish, but have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Jn. 3: 16-17,
NRSV). Now this is one of those
feel-good verses that is often cited, as it speaks to God’s love for the world
and all of humanity. Hence why it is
vital for us to accept the freedom and power to resist evil, injustice, and
oppression because God still so loves the world. When we enter this baptized relationship as
infants or at another time in life, we have to keep doing our part in
renouncing evil and wickedness, as well as resisting evil, injustice, and oppression,
no matter what form they take. It’s all
a part of this life-long journey of faith.
Furthermore, we cannot fight evil with evil, injustice with injustice,
and oppression with oppression, as our resistance to such is in how we do good
in our community and through our kind actions with each other and with those
who are outside the walls of this church.
Each Sunday during the prayers of the people, we have been lifting up
the need for truth, for healing, and reconciliation in our country and even our
world, especially in light of the deep divisions of today. While I generally try to refrain from
politics while preaching and am trying to do so on social media these days as
well, I can’t help but address the elephant in the room.
A
couple weeks ago, I was watching one of my preaching professors’ sermons online
on YouTube. In this sermon on
discipleship, Rev. Dr. Matt Poole, lead pastor of Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott
City, MD pointed out that since this past election cycle, there has been more
conflict and division, both as a society and even within the church
(universal), an indication of the broken political system that we are living
in.[i] Being the thinking person and pastor that I
am, I have been chewing on the fact that if God so loved the world, God still
loves each of us, as broken as we may be and different and diverse as we may
be. But as I also said earlier, what I
personally may see as evil, injustice, and oppression might be something
totally different to someone else, which is perhaps a good way to open up
channels of conversation. I admit that
my reluctance to be able to address things that are happening in our nation and
world and how it intersects with our faith is like being Nicodemus coming to
Jesus in the cover of night. Even though
I get mixed messages, with some saying not to get into political stuff or some
saying I need to speak up more, I believes that we all need to be able to bring
things into the light, talk, pray, and work through such differences when we
accept the power that God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression,
whatever form they may take.
Now
I know that I probably hold some views that some of you will not agree with me
on, AND that’s okay. God still loves
each of us, even when we don’t agree politically or theologically. As we have lifted up prayers for healing,
truth, and reconciliation in our broken world, Rev. Dr. Dawn Chesser at
Discipleship Ministries writes that “the work of healing and reconciliation
must start in our religious communities. It begins in our local church
communities. But true healing cannot even begin unless we are able to be
completely honest with one another. Deep healing, reconciliation, and movement
toward unity will not happen if leaders act like Nicodemus and keep their true
beliefs hidden in the shadows.”[ii] And
doing such is risky and may ruffle some feathers here and there, although we
still have this opportunity for new life in Jesus Christ by being born of the
Spirit when we are willing to be saved by Jesus regardless of where we stand,
but we also need to continue seeking what is true and taking the high road by
accepting such power that God gives us.
At the same time,
It
is critical that we let the gospel of Jesus Christ speak to our world, not just
in the past, but today, and every day, every week, every year, every decade,
for every generation until Christ comes in final glory and we feast at his
heavenly banquet. Because what is at stake is great. It is greater than any
election. It is greater than any worldly success or any worldly failure. What
is at stake is life itself. What Jesus
offered Nicodemus was something much greater than anything the world could give
him. It is something much greater than anything the world can give us.[iii]
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is our primary means of resistance to evil, injustice,
and oppression. It
helps us tell Satan to take a hike!! After all, “God did not send [Jesus]
into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him” (Jn. 3:17, NRSV). Despite
acts of evil, injustice, and oppression that may happen around us, we have the
good news of a savior in Jesus Christ, and the opportunity to be born of the
Spirit when we choose to accept this power that God gives us. But we also cannot be like Nicodemus and do
it in the shadows of darkness, but we all can be open and honest. We can definitely disagree on what may
constitute evil, injustice, and oppression, but we can definitely love each
other out of the same love that God has for each of us and for the world. As we lift up the concerns in our nation and
world through our prayers, it’s going to be up to each of us, the body of
Christ to keep facilitating the process of telling the truth and working
towards healing as we work towards unity.
God so loves the world, God so loves our community, and God so loves
each of us so much, broken and messed up as things may be, that God sent his
son, Jesus to save us, not condemn us.
As New Testament scholar David Lose explains,
Notice that God does not ask the world if it wishes to be the
recipient of God's love. God just goes ahead and loves, and not only loves but
gives the world God's only beloved Son over to death. The one who dies for you
clearly has a significant claim on you, and John makes that clear. God's love
-- surprising, all encompassing, unasked for and undeserved -- is also given
unconditionally. God loves us, that is, whether we like it or not. In the face
of that kind of love, we will likely either yield to God's love or run away
screaming, for no one can remain neutral to such extravagance.[iv]
Like
we talked about last week, these vows that we make at our baptism are not a
one-time event, but an ongoing part of this journey, and we need each other on
this journey. Nicodemus took a great
risk in seeking out Jesus at night and as the body of Christ here in Quincy,
let us not be afraid to take a risk or two in sharing the love that God has for
this world and our community. Let us not be afraid to talk openly and honestly
about the things that affect our nation, world, and even our community as we
seek truth. Whatever the form of evil,
injustice, and oppression there is out there, we as the body of Christ can
accept the power that God gives us to resist it each and every day that we go
along on this journey. That is our
mission together, should we choose to accept it! <>
In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, let the church say, Amen!
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