Wisdom is the Wellspring of Life

Matthew 5:38-48

Baptism of Wells
Elizabeth M. Deibert

O Wisdom of God, Spirit of Truth, Wellspring of Life, come to us, open our hearts and minds, so we may hear your Word of life and be renewed by your power, through Christ our Teacher, Savior, and Lord.

For several weeks now, those churches like us following the common lectionary readings have been wading in the wellspring of life, the wisdom that is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. These are no easy words, nor should they be. While we are baptizing a bouncy, beautiful baby boy today, we are not just Christening him or giving thanks for gift of his life. No, we are baptizing Wells into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a mysterious Sacrament of grace which marks him forever. We are claiming the promises of Christ’s baptismal covenant of new life for Wells, believing that he belongs to God, and promising by the power of the Spirit to help him know what that means. This is serious business. As we read this text I hope you will think with me about what it means for Wells to be baptized into the boldly forgiving kind of Christian life described by Jesus.

Much of the New Testament is composed of letters to the churches, so I asked the parents of Wells, both of them pastors you know, and the godfather of Wells, pastor-theologian-physician Richard, to write letters to Wells for this day. These letters, while addressed to Wells, are written to encourage each of you in your faith – to live out your baptismal promises with the confidence, the courage, and the compassion of the children of God. Listen now for what the Spirit is saying to her church:

Matthew 5:38-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;
40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;
41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
42 Give to everyone who begs from you,
and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Dear Wells,

There’s this Lee Ann Womack song that brings tears to your mom as it expresses the hopes of a mother that her children will not choose to sit out on the hard parts of life, but will choose to dance. She hopes you will never “fear the mountains in the distance nor settle for the path of least resistance.”

Your mom picks you up and you dance with her now every time that song plays. You have no choice. She holds you close and you are safe and you participate in the dance. You also join in the dance of life with her, trusting her to carry and protect you, which is all you can do right now. She wants you to know that in baptism it is God holding you close. God is your protector. God is the One with whom you dance. You will be safe in God’s arms – no matter the dance – and she prays that when you are older you will continue to dance with God, choosing to follow along the narrow, more challenging steps.

She wants you to choose the path of peace, to turn your back on the ways of the world, to undermine that power of an evil-doer by not dancing his violent dance or playing his game of give and take, which is mostly about taking and not giving. She wants you to go the extra mile and to love your enemy, and she charges you with this, knowing that it is a dangerous way to live. But she has the courage to tell you this, even after she and your dad waited for you for two long years, because of her faith in Jesus Christ and her belief that the life of Christ is greater than anything death can toss at us.

Your father wants you to know that Christ calls you to turn away from a worldview that says some people are more valuable than others. Turn away from a world that seeks vengeance and fights fire with fire. Turn away from a world that is cowardly in confronting injustice. Power should be exercised for people. Christ calls you, your dad says, to a third way – to fight fire with water. You are part of the sacred drama that celebrates love over hate, mercy over vengeance, and abundance over scarcity.

Your name Wellspring points to this third way of neither being in the world – neither being a doormat for abusers nor playing the game of abusing. A wellspring is a gathering place, a place where life flourishes, where thirst is quenched and the earth blooms. At the wellspring all are welcome, generosity flows, and peace reigns.

You dad says that none of us can undertake this third way of being in the world, this way Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount until we see the wideness of God’s mercy and the abundance of God’s love. He challenges you to be generous with your love, forgiveness, and prayers because in God you will see that there is enough sun and rain for everyone, enough mercy for the righteous and the unrighteous.

Finally Wells, your Godparents, Richard and I, want you to know that while it seems ridiculous that Jesus would tell us to be perfect as God our Father in heaven is perfect, we want you to know, that it is in your baptism that this is possible. In your baptism into the life and death and resurrection of Christ that you are given power to become the person God made you to be, a person like Christ. In your baptism, you are given transformative power to become compassionate toward evil people, like Christ was. In your baptism you are given diplomatic power to love enemies as he did. In your baptism you are given creative, non-violent power to undermine the ruthlessness of those who would seek to do you harm.

In your baptism, you are given new life – Christ’s life. In your baptism, you are called to die to the power-mongering ways of the world. This life is both a gift of grace and a challenging call to a new way of being. A gift and a call. It is a life that that is giving and forgiving toward all, in sync with the footsteps of Christ.

Wells, you are called now to the dance of your life with none other than the Lord of the Dance. Your parents will carry you on this dance floor for a while, but little by little, you will begin taking your own steps in the dance. And one day, when you are a teenager, you will be asked to confirm your intention to continue the dance with Christ that you started with your family. You have many people in your life – Mason and Fields, your parents, your grandparents, and many church family members from your two churches. They can show you a few steps of the dance. Learn from them. But above all, remember the One who is the Lord of the Dance, who is the Prince of Peace, who is your Lord and your Savior, Jesus Christ, into whose life and death you are baptized. Remember that God’s overflowing love is the wellspring of your life, the wisdom by which you live. And the Spirit of peace will make you a channel of her peace and you will live into your name, Wellspring.

Let us now pray as we sing. “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”

Relational Integrity

Matthew 5:21-30
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

In a gated country club neighborhood in Tampa a couple of weeks ago, a soccer mom named Julie Schenecker did the unthinkable to her talented, well-respected children 13 and 16. They were “mouthy” she said in her confession. We shudder with horror at a mother who could be so sick and so violent and then cover them with blankets. And Jesus tells us if we are angry with a brother or sister, we are liable to the same judgment as a murderer? Whoa!

Then he goes on to say that the flicker of lust running through your mind when a good-looking body walks through the room is the same as adultery. What does Jesus mean with these analogies? When he says, “You have heard it said, but I say to you…” he is connecting with the Ten Commandments and other law which his Jewish followers would have understood. He then turns the law, such that no one can boast of perfection. No one can judge another. He calls the disciples to look beyond the letter of the law to the meaning behind the law.

He teaches about relational integrity, about the fulfillment of the law, not cheap obedience. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is making it even more difficult to follow the rules. However, the teachings of Jesus in the gospel passage for this Sunday are not intended to create more external laws. They are not intended to create self-loathing and despondency. He is showing us the way to transcend legalism with love, with integrity. The gospel is not as much about rules, as about relationship. Relational integrity – the law of love.

Hear this week’s portion of the Sermon on the Mount.


Matthew 5:21-37 (NRSV)

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.'
22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.


Now hear The Message translation by Eugene Peterson:
21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.'
22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
23 "This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you,
24 abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
25 "Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail.
26 If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine.
27 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' 28 But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29 "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile.
30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.


How many times have we judged a murderer and not considered our own mis-management of anger? Anger is a legitimate emotion. Anger needs expression, but dispassionate, careful expression. Anger is like a deadly chemical. If you have a dangerous substance in a container and the container is open, you know better than to sling it around carelessly. No, instead, if you need to dispose of a deadly substance, you would carry it carefully to the trash or sink or some other safe place and dispose of it. This careful management of anger must be practiced repetitively. From the time we are young, through the teen years and early adulthood, and even to old age, we are called to practice self-control and care-filled expression of anger. And when we blow it, we need to beg forgiveness for our weakness.

Speak your truth assertively, not aggressively, with intent to improve the relationship. Anger mis-handled is a deadly fire, whether someone is killed literally or whether a relationship is dis-figured or destroyed. “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” So says a Chinese proverb. And it is true that being patient for a moment, breathing and allowing God’s Spirit to enter your spirit more fully, will allow you to deal more creatively with your anger. There is not a person here who has managed anger well in every circumstance. You’ve lost your temper and said things that were damaging. Or you’ve held your tongue but let bitterness creep in and destroy your spiritual life. “Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words” Dr. Joyce Brothers

Anger management begins with your healthy relationship with God, where you know you are accepted and loved and forgiven. In that secure place, you can breathe deeply of God’s Spirit and discover the self-control to love and forgive others, while expressing your anger in ways that are fruitful, not fateful. “When you are offended at any one's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.” (Epicletus, Greek philosopher)

Jesus speaks of being angry with a sister and brother, meaning the family of faith. “Who is my brother or my mother but those who do the will of my Father in heaven” Jesus says in the Gospels (Matthew 12 and Luke 8). So for Jesus this new life in the Spirit of God requires treating people with utmost respect and dignity – not just obeying law, but fulfilling the intent of the law. The letter of the law says do not murder but the intent of the law is that every person be given the love, dignity, and respect of a child of God.

The essential teachings of Jesus challenged the way the Pharisees had replaced the essential interiority of a relationship with God and a covenant written on the heart and not in stone (Jer 31:31) with external legalism. The church took the Gospel of those challenges by Jesus and sometimes turns them into external legalism once again! Jesus came to restore our inner being, so that our outer behavior would be a true sign of an inward relational integrity. But we are still tempted to just look at the external rules, the law. Oh, how we love the law, especially when we can point a finger at others.

We fluctuate between wanting to live according to the love of law or the law of love. Sadly we impose the love of law on others as we see them breaking rules that we consider ourselves capable of keeping, and then we want others to use of the law of love with us. Because after all, we have our excuses for why we behaved irresponsibly, so they should understand our circumstances.

The Peace Prayer, attributed to St Francis’ of the 12th Century says it, O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

In our Couples Enrichment Class we were reminded of this week of the value of listening with true effort to understand – by clarifying, by paying close attention with eyes and ears, body language – by caring enough to attend to the one who is talking. And the talker being respectful enough not to talk constantly but checking with the listener to see if it is a good time to talk. How many relationships could be improved simply by the desire and the sincere effort to understand first, rather than to be understood!

Now moving on to the adultery challenge of Jesus in this passage, let me tell you the story of Saint Martinian of the 5th Century, who had lived alone for 25 years but one night in a storm, allowed a frightened prostitute in for safety. Then she began to seduce him. He did not pluck out his right eye, but he made a fire and then stood in it to avoid being tempted. This radical act of courage apparently not only guarded him from temptation but transformed her life as well.

I must admit that for years, I as a woman, not nearly so tempted by sight as most of you men, have always felt a certain self-righteousness regarding this verse about lust. But as I worked on the sermon this week, I wondered if Jesus’ word to people like me would be some sort of challenge about the infidelity of criticism. After all, a critical spouse can little by little do as much damage to marital health as a wandering eye. How many people – male or female – can sustain love when their spouse is never pleased, never affirming of anything? Seek to love, more than to be loved. Tomorrow’s the big love day – the feast of St Valentine, but for so many people, it will be about receiving love more than giving love. Seek to understand, not to find fault. Give affirmation tomorrow to someone – to a spouse or to another family member or to someone in this church family. Give the gift of affirmation or the supreme gift of forgiveness.

Jesus must surely be sad with how quickly we want to take people to court to resolve conflict. “Come to terms quickly” Jesus says before you get to court. Understand your accuser’s accusations. Be humble enough to receive them and learn from them. Understand your brother or sister’s ridiculousness and refrain from calling him or her stupid. Understand the bad driver on the road and be merciful. Have you not made a careless move before and cut someone off accidently? Be merciful toward a woman like Julie Scheneker because you understand that mental illness is complicated and that raising teens is often like mixing dangerous chemicals. Extreme care needed. Judge not, but seek to understand. Yes, use the court system when it is truly needed but try to resolve conflicts in better ways.

After all, God, our loving Creator, made us all to be loving, kind, and forgiving, just like Jesus. We are all created with the capacity to pray as Christ did from the cross he did not deserve “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Lord, forgive Julie Scheneker, for she knew not what she was doing.” Forgive my wife or husband, my brother, my daughter, my neighbor, my fellow church member, for they know not what they are doing. Help me to understand, more than be understood.

Let us pray: God, you tell us not to come to You with our offerings until we have made peace with those who might have something against us. So we pause now, as we should every Sunday when we hear the assurance of forgiveness and share the peace with one another. We pause now to ask you, “With whom, Lord, do we need to make amends? To whom have we been unkind? Unforgiving? Unfaithful? Critical? Hurtful? We give your Spirit time now to bring healing, as we breathe in the power and love your forgiveness. We thank you for receiving us as we are and desiring more faithfulness from us, while you pour out your faithful love on us. Speak to us now and show us the people with whom we need repair relationships…. We begin today by praying for them, you would heal them and that You would pave the way for our reconciliation. We will not rush into reconciliation casually, but prayerfully, asking for your guidance, making covenant to pray to you daily for the healing of this relationship. Give us the courage to seek the help of pastors, spiritual directors or mental health counselors who can guide us toward resolution in our troubled conflicts. Give us the courage to work actively and prayerfully with sincere humility and integrity to build the reconciliation you desire. Through Christ, our Savior, who forgave us our sin as he entered it with us and for us. Amen.

Flavorful and Bright

Matthew 5:13-20
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

Prayer: Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light,in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For two weeks, the Packers and the Steelers have been running plays, analyzing the other team via video, sorting through strengths and weaknesses and preparing a strategy to win the biggest game of the year. They tried to eat well and rest well, and today, the two coaches will do all in their power to inspire the team with words about who they are. We will make them play our game. We can do this! Locker room pep talks – who are we, what will we do, and how will we do it.

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ pep talk with the disciples. We read the opening words last week, the Beatitudes, which encourage the disciples not to get discouraged. They might be suffering. They might be persecuted, but they are going to win the game of life, according to Jesus. They will be blessed. They will rejoice. They will have the trophy of eternal life.

And in our reading today, Jesus declares them to be salt of the earth and light of the world. Now remember that in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the light of the world. But here in Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples that they are the light of the world.

The task of bringing flavor to the world was not a new one for Israel. Often they were reminded to preserve their offerings with salt and that their children were the salt of the covenant, as is preserving the covenant. As for light, they had long regarded God as the source of light – Psalm 27 – You are my light and my salvation. And Psalm 119: Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Isaiah spoke of the Servant of Yahweh, who was to be a light to the nations through redemptive servanthood (Is. 42:6: 49:6). Paul mentions in Romans 2, the notion that God’s people are a light to those in darkness. In Philippians 2he challenges them to shine like starts.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to her church:

Matthew 5:13-20

"You are the salt of the earth;
but if salt has lost its taste,
how can its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything,
but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

Salt -- In rabbinic language, salt connoted wisdom and value. Today, salt adds flavor to food, cures food, creates traction on icy roads, and can serve as an antiseptic in wounds. While salt is an inexpensive commodity now, it was considered very valuable until the mid 19th century. Without it, meats and fish would spoil, and infections would worsen. Salt is part of our blood chemistry to regulate our retention of fluid.

14 "You are the light of the world.
A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,
but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Light -- Jesus' listeners, living in the context of Roman domination, would probably have known that Rome saw itself as a "light to the world." Jesus' message to the disciples is that living by the Beatitudes is a light to the world, not living by an imperial domination system of Rome. The disciples are to take on the mission of the Servant of Yahweh from Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, to be a light to the nations. The statement that they are to give light to all in the house is probably, for Matthew, a reference to the reformation of Judaism from within.

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets;
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not one letter, not one stroke of a letter,
will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches others to do the same,
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever does them and teaches them
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

"You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." This word you is emphatic in both verses. The intent may be to contrast these Christians with their counterparts in the synagogue down the street. There is an implied imperative in both indicative statements. "Be salt. Be light. Be who you already have been called to be and are capable, by the power of God, of being in and for the world."

To be light is to participate in the identity of Christ, to reflect back his glory. While the rabbis saw Torah as mediator of God's light, Christians ascribed this role to Jesus. "I am the light of the world" (Jn. 8:12). Paul affirmed that he glimpsed the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6) as we will affirm in our call to discipleship later in the service. It is a waste of precious oil to light a lamp and then immediately to douse it, quickly putting it under a basket.

When Jesus tells his disciples to "be salt," he is drawing on a number of Old Testament uses for salt -- seasoning, preservation, and purifying (2 Kg. 2:19-22). It was used to ratify covenants (Num. 18:29; 2 Chr. 13:5) and in liturgical functions (Ex. 30:35; Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24; Ezra 6:9). To eat salt with someone signified a bond of friendship and loyalty (Ezra 4:14; Acts 1:4). Salt scattered on a conquered city reinforced its devastation (Jg. 9:45). Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt because she disobeyed and looked back as God’s holy fire was purifying Sodom and Gomorrah. Definitely saw too much of God and became too much salt.

Scholars have puzzled over whether salt can lose it flavor. Since salt is a very stable, non-reactive compound, the only way it can lose its flavor is by being diluted with water. Maybe coming coming on the heels of Jesus' exhortation to rejoice when persecuted in the Beattitudes, this is a warning to the disciples not to let their ardor (their spiciness) dissipate under the pressures of persecution. The word for "Lose its flavor" can also be rendered "become foolish." There may be a sense that if the disciples allow their wisdom (salt) to be diluted by the values of the surrounding culture, it will be indistinguishable from them and therefore worthless. Its ability to season, preserve, and purify will be lost.

Is it not interesting that the phrase "salt of the earth" has become a way of saying "really good person." When we say, they are the "salt of the earth," we mean they have good values and are people of integrity. But when Jesus hands us our receipt and says, "Go be salt," he means something much more specific and sacrificial.

Salt and Light for the Whole World. Jesus' teachings in the Sermon are directed far beyond the narrow circle of the disciples themselves. We are to be salt and light for the whole world, not just a shaker of salt in the center of the kitchen table. Not just keeping the lease paid and the church popcorn at Movie Night flavorful, but going out from here to sprinkle salt here and there. Now if you dump too much salt in one spot, you get a bad taste. Think of the evangelist who knocks on your door and wants you to get saved right then and there, in just the way he thinks you should be saved. Dumping salt. But a kind conversation here and there with the neighbor with an occasional invitation to participate in a church activity – that’s spreading salt in the world. These verses are intimately connected to the end of Matthew, the Great Commission. They are calling us, Peace, to be flavorful and spicy enough to create some interest, and to be light for people overwhelmed by darkness.

Salt and Light Give Glory to God, Not Ourselves. The goal of being salt and light is to give glory to "your Father in heaven" (see 5:17, 6:9, 11:25). These two metaphors are perfect for depicting a ministry that points beyond itself to God. Salt shouldn't call attention to itself in a well-seasoned dish. It enhances the combination of other ingredients. Light illumines other objects in the room beyond itself.

So we really return to the idea that we are reflecting the image of Christ, who is the true salt (substitute preserver) and the true light. Jesus lived so completely for us that his righteousness became ours. We take it on as gift and grace, particularly when the law, as Jesus interprets for us in the Sermon on the Mount, is clearly not something we can fulfill perfectly. How could our righteousness ever exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees? Only by the brightness of Christ’s face shining through us, such that all that is seen is Christ, not us. And then we are truly blessed and are able to be evermore perfectly, the salt and the light that God made us to be, adding flavor and illumination to all of life.

And so Team Peace, get out of this locker room called church and go play the game of life in the world with confidence. You are salt. You are light. Remember what we practiced last week -- Doing justice. Loving kindness. Walking humbly with God. Doing. Being. Bowing. Remember that it is your job to show all the world, just how tasty our Lord is. Be flavorful Christians, not bland like milk toast. Give the world something to sink their teeth into, something that will get their mouths watering. Don’t try to cover your light, thinking that by shining brightly you will offend someone. Be the light shining in darkness and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, just like a solar light must receive power from light to give forth light, you too must receive your brightness by your closeness to Christ.

All right, Team Peace. You are salt and light. You’re going into the world with it. Not too much salt in one spot – shake some here and some there. And whatever you do, don’t cover your Christ light. Got the game plan? All hands in. “Let’s go – on three. 1, 2, 3 – “Let’s go!” Where are you going? “To the world.” What are you taking there? “Salt and Light.”

Parts of the middle of this sermon are adapted from came from this writer on Textweek.com:

Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She blogs at Knack for Noticing. McKenzie's column, "Edgy Exegesis," is published every Monday on the Preachers Portal.

The Quest for Quality Living

Micah 6:1-8
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Give us courage to follow where you lead. Amen.

Socrates said, “To be is to do.” Sartre said, “To do is to be.” Sinatra said, “Do Be Do Be Do” And we say, “Do Be Do Bow…A Do Be Do Bow.

To be do be do bow people is to live the quality life. It is to be the people God has called us to be. Micah saw how shallow the faith of the Israelites had become. They performing their outward religious practices dutifully but inwardly they are not engaged in acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God.

The message from God delivered by 8th century BC social justice prophet Micah delivers is that God is upset, disappointed, but by no means throwing in the towel, giving up on the people. God is ready to forgive, ready to give the people another chance to live with integrity. God models the justice and mercy called for in the people. These people lived in a religiously plural society like ours.

So as our text begins, God has, in effect by the words of Micah, summoned the people to account for why they do not appreciate all God has done for them. Then the people respond by pointing out all their sacrifices. Then God says, “Don’t you get it? What I really want is your character to reflect my character?”

Let’s hear through the Word what the Spirit is saying to her church.

Micah 6:1-8
Hear what the LORD says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the LORD has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 "O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."
6 "With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

To translate it into our congregation’s life, God might be saying, “Hey, Peace, what’s going on with you? Have you forgotten that I pulled this church together from scratch these last several years? Have you not remembered all the blessings I’ve given to you as a church and as individual people? Look around you and see your life. Remember how desperate you have been at times, and how I carried you through the darkness. Come on, people, you don’t even know why you’re carrying a rock in your pocket anymore. It’s a gratitude rock. You’ve forgotten all that I’ve done for you, the Lord says.” Then we respond, “So what was it I was supposed to do? Did I not give enough? Didn’t I bring snacks last week and don’t I put $100 in the weekly offering and am I not serving on a ministry team, giving my time and energy and on top of that I’m teaching a class on Sunday mornings? What do you want me to do – give up my whole life for the ministries of the church? Live at church?

Then God responds, “Come on, people, you know what is good. It’s your character I want to see. It’s not just your outward appearance of acting like Christians and doing church stuff. It’s not about superficial actions, but whether your spirit is connected to mine. It’s whether your heart and mind and soul are integrated enough to act justly and to love mercy. And whether you are walking with me, and turning to me for guidance and correction. A Do Be Do Bow life, a quality life of faith.

Let me tell you the story of someone who got Micah 6:8 – She began by loving kindness, then she pursued acting justly, and then continued walking humbly with God.

In 1982, Karen Olson, marketing executive, passed by a homeless woman and decided to buy a sandwich for her. The stranger accepted the sandwich but asked for something else - a moment to be heard, to be comforted, and to be considered as more than a mere statistic on a cold street corner. She could have limited her mercy and said, “This is a larger problem than one woman and I cannot solve that larger problem.” But she loved mercy, love kindness.

Soon, Karen and her two young sons began frequent trips to New York to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. As she came to know some of the city's homeless people, she began to understand the profound loss and disconnection that homelessness causes. That understanding turned into an enduring commitment. Now she’s moving toward the social justice action.

Olson learned that there were hundreds of homeless people, including families, in her home community of Union County, New Jersey. She turned to the religious community for help, convinced that there were many who shared her concern and that together they could do what they couldn't do alone. Within ten months, eleven area congregations came forward to provide hospitality space within their buildings. The local YMCA agreed to provide showers and a day center for families. A car dealer discounted a van. And on October 27, 1986, the first Interfaith Hospitality Network opened its doors. That network is now known as Family Promise, which has 162 outposts in 41 states, using the services of more than 130,000 volunteers and 5,000 congregations, Peace is one of them. Family Promise provides shelter, meals, and housing and job placement support to more than 47,000 homeless family members annually, 60 percent of them children.

There are other ways to seek justice and love kindness for homeless and hungry people. Bread for the World does it by seeking changes in the laws which will benefit the world’s hungry.

Way back in the 4th century, St Augustine said, “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.” Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners, a Christian organization shaped by Micah 6:8 themes, in his DVD Course Justice for the Poor has a session called, “Moving from Serial Charity to a Just Society” Some of us at Peace pack food weekly for the people of Beth-El – loving kindness. Some of us go to marches to protest the injustices suffered by poor farmworkers in this country – to try to help Florida tomato growers and food chains understand the need of the picker to receive a fair wage -- a penny more per pound of tomatoes – doing justice. Others of us pray for the people of Beth-El and for ourselves – keeping us walking humbly with God, remembering the reality of God’s justice and mercy for us, as well as for them.

The challenge, church, is to keep all this in balance – as a community and as individual people. Doing-- Loving-- Walking. Service – Compassion -- Devotion. Justice--Mercy--Humility. Doing-- Being--Abiding. Fairness—Kindness—Godliness. Outward- Inward- Toward. Task-oriented-- People-oriented-- God-oriented. Communal integrity – Family integrity – Individual integrity. Act right-- Be good—Bow to God. Justice—Righteousness-- Adoration. All these triads come together in divine tri-unity when we are living the quality Christian life.

Jesus’ life, as God-with-us, gives us a true picture of the do-be-do-bow life. He challenged authorities for their mis-treatment of people and their hypocrisy. He cared compassionately for individual people, teaching and healing them one by one as he traveled through each day, never letting laws stand in the way of love, but reinterpreting law in the way of love. He got away from the crowds to pray. He did not count equality with God a thing to grasp, but humbled himself, even to the point of death.

Now for a little modern Protestant church history: The mainline Protestants churches in the second half of the 20th century took a turn toward social justice and loving kindness, and in my opinion, we ignored the walking humbly with God part. Hey, we were strong in number, people listened to what our leaders said, people joined our churches, we were respected and strong. But we were not humble. Now in the 21st Century our growing edge is toward God – humility, prayer, and more spiritual integrity. We’re coming back to a deeper devotional life and a more evangelical, enthusiastic love for God, and I hope not forsake the other two.

Meanwhile, the evangelical churches began growing in the 80’s and they focused more on loving kindness and devotion to God, to the neglect of social justice. I now see them picking up the social justice piece but I’m worried about their humility as they become the dominant religious group in our country.

And can you not see how Micah 6:8 would help our society, our government and our media. Do right – hold your convictions. But love kindness – respect the convictions of others. And be humble – don’t think too highly of yourself. In most of the social, political, religious, and economic challenges of our day, we would do well to balance justice, mercy, and humility.

There’s a wonderful story of the church in Cordova, TN that welcomed the new Islamic Center which bought an adjacent property. The church was so friendly and the Muslims so grateful, that they eventually were invited to use the church for Ramadan prayers while the Islamic Center was being built. And when this story aired on CNN, a little group of Muslims in Kashmir were so inspired, they went straight to the local Christian church and cleaned it and promised to take care of it for the rest of their lives. The ripple effect: One group demonstrated love of neighbor and people around the world were moved to act justly and love kindness.

In our families as well as our societies, we would do well to balance justice, mercy, and humility. Someone does something wrong or hurtful in the family should be told assertively (not aggressively )and they should be held accountable for their offense (justice). Then there should be mercy, kindness, forgiveness from the family, especially from the one offended. Finally, the both offender and offended turn all their attention to God for the grace to become better people, by spiritual integrity to be more responsible and more loving. It only works in families when everyone is intentional about all three parts.

Great NT family example is the story of Martha and Mary. Martha, the justice-minded one is doing all the work and complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her. Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, loving him, devoting herself to him that she might walk in his steps. Jesus tells Martha gently to stop worrying so much and says that Mary has chosen the better part. Of course, everybody knows that if Martha wasn’t cooking, they all would have been hungry that night. Again it is the balance of all three emphases – doing, being, bowing.

Here’s the way Eugene Peterson, Presbyterian minister who wrote the The Message translation, a modern colloquial version puts Micah 6:8:

It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

This is our quest for the quality life – doing right, being kind, and bowing down. Or as it says on our screen, acting justly, loving tenderly, and walking humbly. Doing that with God, never thinking we can do it without God.

Let us bow our heads and our hearts in prayer: Holy God, it is You who have showered us with the blessing of your justice and mercy that never fail. So why wouldn’t we be delighted to walk humbly with You? To spend time with You, to be guided and corrected by You. Lead us into a deeper quest for the quality Christian life, a life marked by the just and merciful character of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Following through on Following

Matthew 4:12-23
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

So did you decide to follow Jesus? I did -- back when I was fifteen. I remember a particular week – a conference I attended, but I also remember the weekly youth group meetings, playing the guitar for youth group retreats. I remember picking up my Good News Bible by my bed, underlining verses which meant something, and singing in the choir weekly in worship. Maybe you decided when you were growing up and it was a gradual sort of thing or perhaps you have a specific date, a moment of confirming your baptism, of making a conscious decision to follow Jesus. Maybe you had faith pushed on you in some uncomfortable way and you’re still struggling with whether or not you do want to follow Jesus. But you’re here today and I’d say that for most of you that means, you made a decision this morning to follow Jesus, to be part of the body of Christ today, to worship God, to receive the sacrament, to pray, to respond to God’s grace today.

And while I don’t want to dismiss the significance of those major life decisions, I want to emphasize the importance of daily decisions. Twenty-six years ago Richard and I decided to get married. That major decision needed to be made carefully and prayerfully, but do you think we knew what we were doing? How could we? So I would venture to say that just as significant as that initial decision is the decision we make every day to live into the commitment. Will I be kind? Will I forgive? Will I be faithful and watch boundaries? Will I work at communicating well? Will I go to couples enrichment classes when I can? Will I read books on strengthening my marriage? And the questions and decisions points are endless. And for some of us, our marriages have folded for some reasons beyond our control. But suffice it to say, healthy marriages stay reasonably healthy only through constant attention. And sometimes they become unhealthy to the point of death without a serious and long period of resuscitation.

So it is with our decision to follow Christ – to be a Christian. The daily decisions we make really determine over time just how committed we were to the first, the one-time decision.

We’re reading the story of the call to the fishermen. I expect Jesus called many people, but the ones who stuck with him, who were still there, still making the choice to follow him three years later -- they got recorded in the Scriptures.

Hear how easy it was to make that initial decision. God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, was so compelling, they just dropped their nets, left their boats and the family business behind, and started a new life with Christ. I suppose they had heard his preaching about the kingdom of God coming near. I’m guessing they had been around him and sensed that God’s light was shining brightly in him. I figure they knew that there was something different about this prophet. We don’t know how long Jesus had been in Capernaum by the sea of Galilee, preaching a Gospel of repentance and forgiveness. In the story it seems rather sudden – this initial decision of the first disciples. But who knows – they may have been following John the Baptist previously. They may have known Jesus for some time, but however they came to the first decision to follow, we know that the subsequent decisions of these two sets of brothers, to continue following Jesus were life-changing for them and for many of us who have followed them. Listen for what the Holy Spirit is saying to you, the church:


Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea,
in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers,
James son of Zebedee and his brother John,
in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets,
and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.


So let’s talk about what following Jesus means. Following Jesus means you’re looking to see where he’s going. Our family took a trip to Disney World one New Year’s Eve. While it was exciting to be there for the fireworks show that night, I do not recommend going at that time. From about ten o’clock onward, the Magic Kingdom was so crowded, we had to literally hold onto one another to keep from losing someone. We were one shove away from separation, due to the pressure from the crowd. Following Jesus when life’s pressure is crowding in around you means holding onto to him tightly, so you don’t lose track of him. Following Jesus in normal conditions means watching him, paying attention to see what he does and where he is going.

Judi Creneti had been struggling for six months to discern what God was calling her to do next – whether she needed to stay in her current position, spending 20 hours each week working for Peace to prepare bulletin and powerpoint for worship and to our keep membership database current, or whether God was calling her to do something different with her time and energy. Sometimes the answers are not obvious, sometimes circumstances help with decision making. She prayed and listened, talked to close confidants, paid attention to context, and sought clear direction from the Spirit of God in this process.

You cannot have any idea who Jesus is or what he’s calling you to do, or where he’s calling you to go, if you’re not listening to him. There are a lot of distractions. Prayer is more than talking. Knowing Jesus is more than talking to him. Think about it. You also have to listen. Are you doing all the talking? Can the Lord get a word in edgewise? If you’re doing all the talking in a relationship, your listener will know a lot about you, but you will know very little about him, if you do not stop talking and listen. How do you listen to Christ?

1. by being still and listening in prayer, by being actively tuned in to God in worship.
2. by reading scripture, you hear the words of Christ and the words of those who have also been seeking to follow Christ or to obey God before Christ came to earth.
3. by being an active part of a church’s life and trying to discern with others what Christ is calling you to be and do.
4. by being humble enough to accept the direction and advice of other Christians

And then, you act on what you know. You see, too often we Christians notice our leader, our Head, Christ going in a certain direction. We’ll talk about it. We’ll say, “Yes, to be a truly faithful Christian means to move in that direction.” But we do not act on the truth we know. Christ keeps moving in that direction and we stop and watch, ‘til he is distant from us. Oops! He did not want to leave us behind but we did not have the courage and discipline to keep following, to do what we know to be right and good and holy. “And they dropped their nets and followed him.” Are you still hanging on to some net you should have dropped? “And they left their boat and their father, and they followed him?” Is there some relationship or some possession standing in your way of following?

Jesus says to the fishermen, “I will make you fish for people.” Your primary vocation as a Christian is to fulfill the Great Commandment – loving God and loving people – no matter what you do. It is also to fulfill the Great Commission – fishing for people.

So to a roofer, maybe Christ would say, “Provide shelter for people, and help them know that I am the One who shelters them in the storms of life.”
And to a banker, maybe Christ would say, “Make people rich in the things of God, as much as in the things of this world.” And to a teacher, “Lead people toward God’s wisdom more than mere human knowledge.” And to someone in the insurance business, “Follow me and help people to know their real security is in my hands.” And to someone in health care, “Care for people with such compassion that they know that I love them -- heart, soul, and body.” Jesus used an analogy that made sense in their world of fishing. Jesus called them to turn their vocation into something that demonstrated the value of following him. And so I ask you – what are you doing to turn your everyday activities into acts of following Christ and invitations to others to do the same?

Jesus calls us all to serve him in whatever we are doing. We are called to a wide variety of tasks, but with the same goal – glorifying God in whatever we do. It is easy for us to compartmentalize and think that we do a job for the practical need for money and that then in our free time we serve God as much as we can. But no, our calling is to serve the Lord well in everything we do.

Athletes and musicians do not get better at what they are doing without hours of practice. Writers and artists do not compose perfectly the first time, but keep tossing paper and canvas in the trash and starting over. Serious academics and researchers do not get where they are without hours of study. Should it, could it be any different with our primary vocation as God’s children, as Christ’s followers? The word vocation comes from the Greek word vocare (to call). We have keep working hard to get better at following through on our calling.

My mom has always told me that the job of parents is summed up in setting boundaries and following through in love. She always emphasized the follow-through. It is easy to make a rule or decision or commitment, but hard to follow through on it with steady resolve. For those of us called to parenting, following through is elemental.

The Christian life is essentially about following through on our decision to follow Christ. We need to remind ourselves and one another of the healthy boundaries of the Christian life – to follow through by staying on the path. We need to remind ourselves and one another weekly, daily, even hourly, that our goal is to follow Jesus – to look and listen to see where He’s leading – and stop being distracted and pulled away by all the pressures and people of this life. We need the disciplines of worship, scripture reading, prayer, and honest Christian companionship – to keep us on the right track. If you think you can hold onto your faith while spending lots of time with people who don’t share your faith, watch out. Do you think Peter and Andrew, James and John, would have been strong disciples if they had just continued hanging out with their father and the other fishermen, the ones who did not follow Jesus. No, the renewing light of Jesus’ preaching and life would have faded in their memory, just like those mountain-top experiences of ours fade when we do not follow them with a disciplined, faithful Christian life.

But because they made a daily commitment to keep following Christ, to have the dust from his feet right there in their faces…Because every day no matter the temptation to be distracted, they kept listening to him, walking where he walked, doing what he said to do, they became known as the twelve disciples, the faithful followers, including the women who went to the cross and the tomb in their faithful following. Because of the time they spent following Jesus, they had the strength and power and wisdom to share their faith, even after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. He was gone, but they were filled with His Spirit to share good news with all the world.

And look, here we are 2000 years later, our lives transformed by Christ and by the faithful example of the first followers in following through. Let us make a new commitment today to follow though daily in following Christ, even if it means leaving certain people and some unfinished jobs behind …so we may keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, keep our ears tuned to listening to him, and keep our feet walking in his direction. And then we will be fulfilling our calling as followers of Jesus Christ.

No Body But Yours

John 1: 29-42
Tricia Dillon Thomas

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.1

Nails.

Toenails. Fingernails. Feet. Hands.

That's what I think of when I hear the poem by Teresa of /A'-vu-la/. It exemplifies incarnational theology. At its foundation, incarnational theology reminds us that God became incarnate-became flesh in Jesus Christ-to fully embody God's love for the world. We are called to be Jesus Christ to the world.2


What did Jesus' hands look like? What did his feet look like? I can't even imagine with all the walking.


I can tell you what my grandmother's looked like. My grandmother, I can only describe, as the closest person I witnessed being the Body of Christ. And her hands. They were awful. She never, ever got a manicure.

Her nails? Cracked. Uneven. Torn. Oh, and she had these ridges all along the nail. Like they weren't curved, but flat, tilt, flat, tilt. When I was a child I hoped I never inherited those nails. Those hands.

-----------------------
1 Terea of Avila (15‐15‐1582), "Christ Has No Body."
2 Rodger Nishokia, "John 1:29‐42: Pastoral Perspective." Pages 260‐ 5 in Feasting on the Word. Year A Volume 1 of Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. Edited by David L.Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press,2010.




And her toes? They were her fingernails and then some. When I was young Grandma had a Black Recluse bite her toe, and the nail got all gross and rotted. It was like the infection never healed and half of the toenail on the big toe was always kind of missing.

And I remember in the hospital room before Grandma was moved to hospice, my mom was cutting Grandma's toenails, which was just horrible because we both have this phobia of feet. And anyway, she just skipped right over that nasty ole big toe. And I mouthed to my mom, "Cut the big one, it's gross." Now it was gross and long. And my mom did that face where she's mouthing "no" with a clenched jaw to hush me up so Grandma wouldn't know mom had skipped over Big Nasty.

But what my grandmother did with those feet and those hands. She used those feet to bring her closer to whomever needed her. Her friends mourning the loss of spouses. Her children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren when we just couldn't do it alone. She used those hands to drive friends and neighbors to doctor's appointments and to feed their cats and dogs when they were out of town. She used them to prepare each of our favorite meals and make her famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Her hands were used them to answer phones at the church, count offering after worship, to help edit the bulletin. She used those hands to embrace the world¼ and scratch my back and head.

I've noticed in the past 10 years that my nails have started to flat, tilt, flat, tilt, and I don't even mind. In fact it's a blessing of a reminder, than I am a child of God, and I am called to be the hands and feet of Christ, no matter the burden. That I'm called to be the mouth, the tongue, the breath, no matter the sacrifice. No matter how ugly my hands and feet may get.


Let us hear now how the Spirit is speaking to her church.


READ SCRIPTURE-John 1:29-42


My new favorite biblical character, John the Baptist sees Jesus walking toward him. He declares, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" He's the one I was talking about when I said, "After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me." Remember how I told you the one who sent me to baptize with water said the Messiah would be the one the dove descended on and stayed there?" That's him. He's the one! Jesus is the Son of God!"

And the next day, John is with his disciples when he sees Jesus again. Did you catch that? HIS disciples. John's Gospel is the only one that claims the disciples were his before following Jesus. We'll get back to that. John the Baptist is the first to witness to Jesus the Christ, perhaps the original evangelist. He proclaims, "Look, here is the Lamb of God." So the two disciples here this and they follow Jesus. Now Jesus, aware he's being followed turns and says, "What are you looking for?" And they say, "Where are you staying?" Jesus responds, "Come and see." This response from Jesus, "Come and see" seems weighty to me. It is beyond location to conduct. Come and see. And so they do. The disciples leave John and follow Jesus.

We learn that one of the disciples who left John and followed Jesus was Andrew. After spending the day with Jesus, Andrew is convinced and runs to find his loved ones to tell the good news. The first person he runs into is Simon Peter, his brother. And he announces: "We have found the Messiah!"

I'm not quite sure about the family dynamics of the sons of John, but in my family, there might have been a big smile to the tone of na-nana-na-na. And YOU didn't. But they were probably way more mature than our family.

So he announces we have found the Messiah, and they take off together towards Jesus.

We have found the Messiah!

So now what?

We have found the Messiah. You and me, and now what? Do we leave here and get back into our cars and go home, and do homework, and make dinner, and come back the next week?

Nails. Hands. Feet.

If the story ended here it would be a cliff hanger. You have found the Messiah and what? Nails? Hands? Feet? What are you going to do now that you have "Found the Messiah?" Isn't that the question for us all? What are we going to do now that we have "Found the Messiah?"

You know what else I love about this story? I love how it ends. Jesus meets Simon Peter, takes one look, and says, "You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas.

It means Peter.

Some of you know that names in the biblical tradition were really important. Peter means Stone or Rock. But here's something else. It can also mean rock-y.

Rocky. As in not perfect, not smooth, but flat.tilt.flat.tilt.

Peter was rocky. Not perfect. Always trying to please Jesus, and often messing things up. And if that doesn't make you feel good about being able to follow Christ...if he can do it flat.tilt.flat.tilt, then I can certainly try.

And Rocky. As in a little off? Flat.tilt.flat.tilt.

Well, Peter's brother was a follower of John the Baptist, and maybe he was too. And we know that guy was strange. Remember locusts? Honey? Camel's hair?

But I think Jesus means that we need to be rocky to follow him, too. Look, following Jesus Christ is risky business and it's foolish. I took a class once called the "Foolishness of the Gospel." If we hear what the Bible has to say, and we try to follow, we need to be a little rocky. We can't live how our peers and all the books, magazines, and TV shows tell us how to live. We can't live by the world's standards. We have to live as Jesus showed and taught us. He called us to word and deed. And this living, this foolish living it is both blessing and burden. It is reckless devotion. And it is rocky. Nails. Hands. Feet. Lips. Tongues. Breath. Rocky.

But it's not really a new concept to this church is it? Rocky. Rocks. Gratitude. It is our grateful response for the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that moves us to be these nails and hands and feet.

May we be Christ's body on this earth.

May we be his hands and feet on this earth.

May we be the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

And may we each be a little rocky.

Baptismal Identity

Acts 10:34-48
Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Elizabeth M. Deibert

This is the day that Presbyterians and many other Christians focus on the Sacrament of Baptism. We remember the story of Jesus’ baptism and we remember our own Baptism. I wonder how many of you can name your own baptism date. Some of you were old enough to recall the event. Others of you were baptized as babies so you don’t remember it any better than you remember your own birth. But you do celebrate your birthday, so why not your baptism day? If you consider baptism an important event (and you should) then why not celebrate it every year? Make it a special day. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Read a scripture. Be thankful for the gift of God’s grace in your life.

Jacob Jordan was baptized on this Sunday one year ago and Troy Ballou two years ago on this Baptism Sunday. I was in the church where I was baptized last Sunday. I sat so close to the baptismal font, I could view the water inside. I had this urge to reach out and touch it. Sacraments are touchable, visible, physical reminders of a spiritual reality.

Baptism is the moment of inclusion for Christians. It is moment when we say, “You belong to God.” Of course, it is not that God loves us only after baptism, but baptism is an important moment of marking us as God’s children, of celebrating how great is God’s love toward us.

When Jesus was baptized by John, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved. With him I am well pleased.” That’s what God says to you too. There’s nothing you have ever done or can ever do to separate yourself from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Our scripture lesson from Acts recounts one of the most significant stories in the early church after Jesus’s death and resurrection. It is the story of the baptism of Cornelius and his relatives and close friends. Cornelius was not a Jew. He was a God-fearing Gentile. The encounter between Peter and his fellow believers and Cornelius and his household is monumental. It is hard for those of us in the 21st Century to understand how awkward a faithful Jew, even one who loves and follows Jesus like Peter, feels when he is asks to associate with a Gentile. It was against all that Peter had been taught in the temple. It just wasn’t right.

But Peter has this vision and was told to do what his family and religious authorities had always told him was wrong. Peter thought he understood God’s love and God’s commandments, but now he was being told to break the rules he had learned and faithfully obeyed. He was being told to associate with, to include people whom he had previously considered outside the circle of God’s grace.

Hear what Peter (the insider) had to say:



Acts 10:34-48

Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality,

35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel,

preaching peace by Jesus Christ-- he is Lord of all.

37 That message spread throughout Judea,

beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God

anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power;

how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.

39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;

40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,

41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses,
and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42 He commanded us to preach to the people
and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.

43 All the prophets testify about him
that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.

45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded
that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,

46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people
who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they invited him to stay for several days.



Peter had lived and served with Jesus. He knew Jesus, but he still needed to learn that God doesn’t leave anyone out. Peter said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.” He summarizes the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ from Jesus’s baptism to his ministry of healing and good works, to his death on a cross, his resurrection on the third day, and his appearance and communion meals before ascending into heaven. I love the way Peter speaks about preaching peace by Jesus Christ. That what we are called to do – to preach peace by Jesus Christ. Preaching peace happens by Jesus Christ. We do not need to leave out the truth we know in Jesus, nor do we need to ignore that the message is about peace.

Your baptismal identity is that you are named beloved, but not favorite. You are God’s Beloved, but you’re not in an exclusive club. You are Beloved, not so you can do whatever you want, but beloved so you can be all you were meant to be. Too many Christians think God has favorites. God does not love Presbyterians more than Baptists or Catholics. God does not love people in large well-developed churches with beautiful building more than God loves people in small developing churches with no building of their own.

God does not love Christians and Jews more than Muslims and Buddhists. God does not love Americans more than Iraqis or Sudanese or Haitians. God doesn’t love young people more than old people, or married people more than singles, widowed and divorced folks, straights more than gays. God doesn’t love the rich more than the poor, the hard-working more than the lazy, or the A student more than the failing student.

God doesn’t love a particular political party and would chastise both Democrats and Republicans for their (for our) ridiculous polarizing tactics. God does not love upstanding tax-paying citizens more than prisoners or drug-addicts. Preachers more than pimps, pediatricians more than pedophiles. Like a perfect parent, God loves all us children just the same. God wants the best for all of us, and asks the best of all of us. And sometimes is very disappointed by us, by the way we ignore who we really are – beloved children of God. God wants to be in close relationship with every one of us, building in us Christ-like character.

Peter’s lesson was so difficult for the early church, and the challenges of appreciating the breadth and depth of God’s love continue to our day. While we have made strides in understanding people different from us, we continue to polarize and divide ourselves into camps, failing to appreciate that God intends us to live as one human family, united by love. We, of all people, should understand that Christ came to throw open the doors, break open the covenant, to touch the whole world in such a way that it will never be the same again. That’s the message we have to pass on and it is great news, nothing exclusive, just an endless ocean of God’s impartial love for the whole world with waves rolling in, one after another, after another.

As you begin a new year, remember who you are. You are the people marked by baptism as beloved sons and daughters of God. You are the people who know about this endless ocean of God’s love, which washes over every one of us.

No matter who we are, no matter where we’ve been, no matter what we’ve been doing, no matter how we’ve been thinking. God’s love surrounds us, fills us, restores and makes us clean. Come to the font today, as you come to communion table. Touch the water and remember that you belong. You have been washed clean. You can begin again. Live as a new person. Be the Christian you are called to be.

Think of your baptismal identity in this way. You are a Christian. Parse the word like this. Christ – IAN – I am new. In Christ you are new. You are a new creation. Come to the font, as you come to the table. Dip into the water, make a sign of the cross on your forehead or splash in the water with your hand. Remember your baptismal identity and be thankful. Say to yourself, “I am God’s beloved. I am a new creation, marked by Christ.”

With all our warts and our broken-ness and our terrible failures and our shameful embarrassments, we can come to the baptismal font and the communion table, and know that we are a new creation and continually being made new by a powerful and loving Lord. We’re truly beloved. We’re truly accepted. We are part of the family of God. And you know what? So are they.

Faithful God, in baptism you claimed us; and by your Spirit you are working in our lives,
empowering us to live a life worthy of our calling. Remind us today of the depth of your unconditional love for us and your high calling on us to live faithfully. Establish us in your truth,
and guide us by your Spirit, that, together with all your people, we may grow in faith, hope, and love, and be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit
be honor and glory, now and forever.