A Question of Identity January 13, 2019 The Reverend George Anastos

Transcription

1 SERMON A Question of Identity January 13, 2019 The Reverend George Anastos

2 Text: Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. Quite a number of years ago when serving a different church than this, a parishioner came to me with a profound spiritual problem. A divorced, single father of two, he was tired of the loneliness of raising a daughter and a son without a mate, and he was tired of not having a companion with whom he could share his life. In his 40s now, he had just been contacted by his high school sweetheart. She was suggesting that they get together to see if there was any spark left between them. The only problem was that she was still married to someone else. Over a period of weeks, and then months, our conversations took some surprising turns. He was self-aware enough to understand that a relationship with his former teenage girlfriend, alluring as it was, would be emotional comfort in a time of stress and midlife challenge. He was moral enough to resist the temptation of an affair. We came to realize he needed a profound spiritual grounding to see him through this time. As we explored the identity issues that inevitably arise during a midlife transition, he came to understand that part of his internal pain had to do with unresolved behaviors from his past. To say this a bit more bluntly: he had done some significantly unkind things in his past. He had hurt others and taken advantage of them. He found that going forward as a whole human being meant going back to those behaviors and events and healing them. Said differently, until he brought his past to a healthy completion, he could not move forward into a new future. The past, with all its weight and baggage, was pushing from him behind down a path of unresolved sin. He longed for a future that beckoned him from ahead toward a life of yet-to-be-realized potential. His identity was locked in a painful past. He needed to heal that in the present in order to be able to live a different future. A couple of sentences ago I used the word sin. Due to bad theology associated with that word and the abuse in people s emotional and spiritual lives as a result, many of us have stopped using the word altogether. Whereas that is understandable, it potentially robs us of an important vehicle for healing. And that vehicle is confession. OMG! Another loaded word! Sin and confession! What s the church coming to?!? It s alright, you flaming liberals. Hang in there with me for a few minutes, and let s see if we can introduce some healthy theology here and reclaim some important spiritual practices. The man with whom I was meeting came to realize that in order to live into a future identity that beckoned him rather than one that pushed him from behind, he needed to forgive himself. He needed to let go of his past and bring it to a completion. He needed to have the humble audacity to let go of past sins to be able to live into future grace. In other words, he needed to confess to God the sins of his past so that he could become a new creation in Christ in the present and future. I never asked what the specific sins were and he never told me. But he took the time to write out by hand those things that haunted him. Once they were written down we did a service of confession during which we left the chapel, went outside, and ritually burned his sins. He watched them go up in smoke. I said the ritual words of forgiveness ( May God have mercy upon you, forgive your sins, and grant you the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit ) and we completed the service. Page 1 of 4

3 One of the etymological derivations of the English word sin is from the German sonder, or sunder. When we sin we sunder a trust, a relationship, an ethic, a moral code. Sin creates alienation. Sin creates a rupture of healthy interaction. To confess is to have the emotional maturity and the spiritual depth to admit where we have sundered a relationship or ruptured a moral code, and to take the steps to heal that. This is why in the Christian scriptures reconciliation is such a big deal. If we are to live as Jesus lived that means that when we leave this church we will need to love our enemies. As C.S. Lewis noted, Jesus did not make loving our enemies a suggestion, he made it a commandment. He did not give us a choice in the matter; he did not mean to. If we cannot practice reconciliation inside the circle of established relationships with family and friends, we cannot possibly love our enemies outside those boundaries. To confess is to have the emotional maturity and the spiritual depth to admit where we have sundered a relationship or ruptured a moral code, and to take the steps to heal that, thus claiming our identity as baptized Christians. Part of the reason for going to church, for being present week after week and thus being steeped in the master stories of scripture, is to learn to be free, to learn to be wholly ourselves, to learn that we are children of God, created in God s own image of Love. This is why we regularly renew our baptismal vows: to claim this identity as beloved of God. Part of what we do in baptism, and in the renewal of our baptismal vows, is to be spiritually washed of the sins that stain our soul and taint our sacred identity. This means girding up our spiritual loins and having the guts the courage to admit to ourselves (and if need be another) where we have sundered the image in which we are created, and to offer that admission to God that we might be washed clean to the very depths of our souls. When I did the service of confession with the man he wrote them down and then watched them go up in smoke. It s probably not a good idea to start 250 fires in our sanctuary today. So instead... we will write our sins and watch them dissolve in baptismal waters. Upon entering the sanctuary each of you was given a small piece of paper, paper that dissolves in water. For the next few minutes you will have an opportunity to remember things you regret sins and to write them down. We will participate in the liturgy of renewing our baptismal vows. You will then be invited forward, with your named sins, drop them in the cleansing baptismal waters, and receive a blessing from clergy who, with the touch of water, will remind you that you are God s beloved, and with you God is well pleased. In these next few minutes let us take time name our sins so that we might offer them to God, and claim our identity as God s beloved. Then, as the ushers release your rows we invite you forward. RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS Minister: Dearly Beloved, friends in Christ, we have been received into the church through the sacrament of baptism. In baptism we die to all that is unrighteous and are reborn in newness of life. All: We have found nurture and support in the midst of the family of Christ. Through prayer and study we have been led by the Holy Spirit to mature in our faith. Although others may once have spoken for us, welcoming us into the Church, we speak now for ourselves, affirming our commitment to the way of life taught us by Jesus and covenanting with God and with each other to serve all creatures as we are guided in love and in wisdom by the Spirit. Page 2 of 4

4 Minister: We do take it upon ourselves to renew those solemn vows of Holy Baptism by which others (for us) renounced evil and all its works, and promised for us to serve God faithfully in all places and times. [The Congregation stands and the Minister continues with the People responding:] Do you renounce evil, its power, and all its works, renewing your commitment to Jesus Christ? I do. Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer? Will you persevere in resisting wrongdoing, and, whenever you fall into brokenness, will you repent and turn to God? Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God as taught us by Jesus? Will you seek to serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every living creature? Let us pray together: Almighty God, who in baptism received me, your servant, into the church, forgave my sins, and promised me eternal life, increase in me the gifts of thy Holy Spirit. Grant me love for others, joy in serving you, peace in adversity, patience in suffering, kindness toward all creatures, purity of soul in times of evil, faithfulness in temptation, gentleness in the face of opposition, wisdom in all things. Strengthen me in the ministry to which you have called me in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. May God Almighty, who has given us new birth by water and the Spirit, keep us in eternal life. Amen. INVITATION TO RENEWAL THROUGH WATER (adapted, Book of Worship (UCC)) You are invited to come forward, put your sins to be washed in the waters of the baptismal font, and receive as a sign of God s blessing an anointing with water. CLOSING OF THE RITUAL Page 3 of 4

5 Many of you asked why we turned the sanctuary backwards this week, why we are facing west and not east. In many churches, as in this one, the baptismal font is at the front entrance. It is meant to be a visual reminder as you enter the sanctuary that in your baptism you claimed your identity as a child of God, a servant disciple of the servant Christ. We are facing it as a reminder. I did a good bit of reading about this, this past week. I was surprised that no one took it a step further. So... It is at the entrance of the sanctuary so that we can be reminded of who and whose we are, not only as we enter to worship, but as we leave to serve. Amen. Page 4 of 4