Answering The Call
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
In the time of year when daylight is the least, the brightest gift came to us, our Lord, Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Shine forth, Lord Jesus, lead us on! Carlos Wilton is writing the main article this week. Stephen McCutchan has written Another View. You will also notice that we have two different Worship Resources this week, as well as illustrations and a children's sermon.
Answering The Call
by Carlos Wilton
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
THE WORLD
News of the death of former President Gerald Ford has been leading many to reflect on the nature of leadership. As a long-term congressman, Ford was no stranger to Washington, but his name had been on none of the pundits' short lists of presidential hopefuls. When, scrambling to preserve his troubled presidency, Richard Nixon tapped Ford to become vice president, then resigned as president not long after, our nation suddenly had a head of state such as we had never seen before: a man appointed, rather than elected, to executive office.
By all accounts, Ford never sought either the vice presidency or the presidency. His highest aspiration had been to become Speaker of the House. Still, when the call came from a deeply divided nation to steer the ship of state on a straight course, Ford took the helm and acquitted himself faithfully and well. Not insignificantly, he was also a person of a modest and unassuming -- although evidently deeply held -- Christian faith. When the call came, he answered it.
When Jesus waded into the Jordan River in order to be baptized by John, he too was responding to a call (although, obviously, of a very different sort). Although neither Luke nor any of the other gospel-writers provide any hints as to Jesus' thoughts and feelings as he entered the waters, it was surely a significant milestone in his life
There are various moments in our lives, as well, when a call (sacred or secular) is before us. Whether it's a call to give a couple of hours a week delivering meals on wheels, or leaving everything behind to go to seminary, such a moment calls for faithful discernment. When each one of us next hears a call to serve God in some capacity, large or small, how will we respond?
THE WORD
Today's lectionary selection -- which pairs some prophetic preaching of John the Baptist with Luke's terse account of Jesus' baptism -- omits Luke's account of the arrest of John (vv. 18-20). Luke takes great pains, here, to differentiate between Jesus and John. He clearly makes John subordinate to his cousin, as the Baptist declares, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (v. 16). As with today's epistle lesson (Acts 8:14-17), here too there is a distinction between water-baptism and baptism empowered by the Holy Spirit. Not only that, but baptism is associated, here, with the fire of judgment (as seen in John's reference to the winnowing-fork in v. 17).
Most modern parents, presenting infants for baptism, would be hard-pressed to see the link between the sweet ritual of babies in frilly gowns and the rantings of this prophetic wild man -- although, in fact, the element of perseverance through suffering has always been part of the church's baptismal witness.
The theophany from heaven ("You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased," v. 22) is similar to the theophany that will later occur at Jesus' transfiguration (9:35). It sets Jesus apart for his unique vocation. Although Luke identifies
Joseph as "descended from the house and lineage of David" (2:4), this was in fact no great distinction. There were, by then, tens of thousands of direct descendants of Israel's greatest king. Jesus' ancestry through Joseph, an ordinary artisan, was unexceptional. The theophany at the Jordan, on the other hand, publicly identifies him as the son, not of Joseph, but of God. In the patriarchal society of first-century Judaism, ancestry is everything. As "the Son, the Beloved," with whom God is "well pleased," Jesus receives his prophetic commission.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
How can you tell a Christian apart from anyone else? The world has some ways of doing that. A person who wears a cross around the neck, or little crosses as earrings -- that's surely a Christian, isn't it? A driver whose bumper sticker says, "Christ died for your sins" -- that ought to be a dead giveaway. A living room embellished with one of the famous portraits of Jesus, or the well-known sculpture of the "praying hands" -- those are sure signs of Christian faith, right?
The earrings in the shape of a cross mean one thing when worn by a church-school teacher, and quite another when worn by the likes of Madonna. A "Honk If You Love Jesus" bumper sticker may give some drivers a warm feeling of recognition -- but only if they haven't just been cut off by the driver of that same car. No profusion of Christian art in the home means much at all, if that same home is torn apart by jealousies and conflicts.
So, what is the mark of a Christian? Not anything we can see. The mark of a Christian is the sacrament of Baptism.
In recent days, our nation has marked the death of a man who responded to a call to service at a critical time in our history. A letter to the New York Times identified Gerald Ford as "truly a man for all seasons. He was above all a healer for a country that truly needed healing. He held this country together when it seemed as if it was falling apart" (Letter to the Editor from John J. Pino, Dec. 27, 2006).
Even former adversaries of Ford, who faced him across the aisle in the House of Representatives, have hailed him as a true public servant. He was also a man of heartfelt, but unassuming, Christian faith -- a member of that ancient (but fast-disappearing) order of politicians who thought it unseemly to wear their faith on their sleeve as a means of getting votes. Ford never wanted to be president, but when the mantle was draped around his shoulders, he accepted it and acquitted himself well. Although his relatively short tenure in the Oval Office makes it hard for historians to identify a distinctive legacy, perhaps Ford's greatest gift to the nation is that his term was so ordinary. After the turmoil of Watergate, it was exactly what America needed.
Ford's words to the nation, following his inauguration, express his deeply felt sense of vocation, as well as his personal integrity:
"I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself.... In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end. My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."
There are all sorts of ways for the baptized to serve Jesus Christ. A few are called to ministry, or other publicly identifiable positions of leadership in the church. Yet, that's not the most common form of Christian calling, by any means. The call that comes to the vast majority of Christians is the call to serve God right where they are.
In the Disney animated film, The Lion King, the spirit of Mufasa, the dead king, speaks one night, out of the stars, to his prodigal son, Simba. Simba has been hiding out in the deepest, darkest jungle, reclining in his "hakuna matata" life of selfishness and ease.
He has quite forgotten that he was born to be king. The ghost of his father challenges him, in his complacency. "You," Mufasa scolds, "have become less than you are."
How many people today, in their working lives, have become less than they are? It used to be that work was widely believed to reflect who people are, deep down. There used to be a sense that work followed calling, an awareness of personal giftedness. If people were blacksmiths, or farmers, or teachers, or whatever, it was because that was what they were good at. Those were the skills to which they had been born and bred, or apprenticed to learn. That's what they had to offer back to the community.
To all too many wage-earners today, work is simply what one does between the weekends. The whole purpose of work, for them -- quite apart from deploying
God-given talents -- is to finance leisure. "Middle-class Americans," it has been said, "worship their work, work at their play and play at their worship."
Life, to so many people today, is like one colossal game of "The Price Is Right." Workers labor long and hard, pulling down those paychecks, so they can reach the point, by and by, when the great emcee in the sky calls them by name and croons, "Come on down!" Then, if they've played the game shrewdly, it's time to choose from among those "fabulous prizes": the sports car, the speedboat, the tropical vacation. Those who are so fixated on leisure have truly become "less than they are."
By contrast, there are those for whom success is judged not by material wealth, but by a sort of internal consistency -- a harmony of their various talents. "There are some people whom we envy," explains the poet, Elizabeth Bishop, "not because they are rich or handsome or successful, although they may be all or any of these, but because everything they are or do seems to be all of a piece, so that even if they wanted to they could not be or do otherwise."
Such are the people who are truly themselves -- who have discovered that, in the words of the folklorist Joseph Campbell, "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
When Jesus climbed out of the Jordan River, dripping wet, he probably felt more like the person he truly was than at any other time in his life. We, too, can aspire to the same sort of inner consistency, if we listen to -- and heed -- God's call.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Stephen McCutchan
"And the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah."
-- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Ed White, a former Presbytery Executive and consultant with the Alban Institute, used to like to ask the following question to a church group with a predominance of lay people present: "How many of you have been called to full time ministry?" When only the clergy raised their hands, he would stand there for a few moments with a perplexed look on his face and then say, "I thought that was what took place when you were baptized." The Sunday in which we celebrate the baptism of our Lord is an appropriate time for Christians to reflect on what it means to be called to full-time Christian ministry.
Unlike Matthew, our passage in Luke has a rather brief description of what happened at Jesus' baptism. Luke spends more time on what John had to say before Jesus arrived and was baptized. It is instructive for believers, both here and in the account in the gospel of John that the emphasis is on John's resisting the pressures of his own popularity in preparation for recognizing the truth about Jesus. A challenge for Christian churches, especially the ones that are experiencing growth and vitality, is how to be servants of the Lord rather than to bask in the glow of their own success.
What does it take to be the messiah? Or, to extend the question to our context, what does it take to be the messianic community? Many communities can draw attention to themselves through their powerful actions. The distinction that the gospel makes between a powerful organization dedicated to the improvement of society and the messianic community that reveals the very presence of God is the presence of the Holy Spirit. By John's powerful sermons, many were convicted of the need to change their lives. They were ready to follow John as their new leader. With remarkable insight, John saw that there was something still to come. People needed not only to repent, but they also needed to be purified in a way that human will power cannot bring about. John looked for one who could baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Pentecostal churches evoke the presence of the Holy Spirit as an authenticating power. This can make participants of many of our mainline religious communities very nervous. The power of the Spirit seems so uncontrollable. It appears to make people do strange things. Yet what both Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal churches need to experience is that purification of one's ego that enables one to submit to the direction of God. The community of faith that is willing to "not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" discovers in the servant nature of Jesus' ministry a model for their own cleansing and renewal. They begin to experience the power of God's spirit that affirms them as beloved children of God.
Since as a nation we will be reflecting on the death of former President Ford, it is interesting to reflect on his "ordinariness." As many commentators have mentioned in recent days, he was different from most of our contemporary presidents. It is said that he had no interest in being president or vice-president. If that were so, then it must have been a strange moment for him when he was asked to be vice-president to fill the space vacated by the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Then, stranger yet when events placed him in the presidency itself. Yet, from what we know about him, it is likely that his own love of country caused him to be willing to serve in these positions for the sake of the country. Then, once he became president, he came to a decision to pardon Nixon even though he realized that it would not be a popular move. Again, he chose to do what he felt was best for his country. Perhaps President Ford understood that by his baptism he was called to full time Christian ministry. The challenge for Christian congregations is to recognize that in responding to the call they are not seeking to look good or be popular but to serve the Lord who has called them.
BREAKING NEWS -- Object Falls From The Sky, Pierces Roof Of Home
(Those preaching on Epiphany texts, either on January 6 or January 7, may find this news item to be of use, perhaps as a sermon introduction.)
Epiphany is a time when we observe God's breaking into our world, in the form of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. A central New Jersey family had a different sort of epiphany this week, when a mysterious, rocklike object pierced their home's roof, bounced off a tile floor in the bathroom, then embedded itself in a nearby wall. While the precise nature of the object has not yet been determined, it does not appear to be an airplane part. It appears to be either a meteorite or a piece of "space junk" that fell out of orbit.
There was quite a bit of media attention, once news of the arrival of this celestial "visitor" became known. Here's an excerpt from a local newspaper story:
Freehold Township, New Jersey -- It came from the sky.
But from how far up the small, silver-gray, rocklike item with a metallic sheen came before crashing through the roof of a Colts Pride development home Tuesday afternoon is open to speculation.
The Federal Aviation Administration, after viewing the lumpy but smooth object, which measures about 2 1/4 inches by 1 1/4 inches and weighs about 13 ounces, believes it did not come from a conventional aircraft, township police Lt. Robert Brightman said.
"Their investigation leads them to believe it's not an airplane part," Brightman said.
So speculation of what did fall into the single-family house in the development off Route 537 between the Colts Neck and Freehold Borough boundaries turned out of this world.
"It could be a meteor," said Harry Conover, Monmouth County's emergency management director. "It could have been something floating around in space. We've had satellites fall to earth. What do they call it -- space junk?"...
About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, a family member heard an unusual noise, Brightman said. About five hours later, her adult son who also lives in the house, found debris in a second-floor bathroom, Brightman said. The son then found the object embedded in a wall, having bounced off the tile floor, Brightman said.
The son contacted police about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Brightman said.
The hole in the shingled roof was "not much more than the diameter of the object," Brightman said.
The county Board of Health found the object not to be radioactive, Conover said.
Police displayed the object in a clear plastic cylinder, allowing members of the media to feel it.
"We're proceeding methodically," Conover said. "And, if we proceed methodically, we can tell you what it's not. It's not an airplane part. It's not a public safety threat."
Neighbors' curiosity was aroused by the convergence of emergency vehicles and news media.
"I was wondering what went on because nothing ever happens here," said Danielle Choi, 16.
"Crazy," said her friend, Banke Ogunkanmi, 17, when told about the incident.
"It's very interesting," Choi said.
"Of all places, it lands here," Ogunkanmi said.
The full article may be found in the Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) newspaper edition of 1/4/07, at this URL:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS/701040356/10...
ILLUSTRATIONS
We are, it seems a cynical people when it comes to assessing our politicians. But look what we ask them to do. We want them to be honest and just in the context of a very hard-hitting world. It seems most of us are unwilling to answer the call to serve in politics. But if there is to be justice and honesty, somebody has to stand up to the plate. Reinhold Niebuhr said it best; "The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world." Perhaps more of us should consider answering that call!
* * *
"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." (Act II, Scene V)
Gerald Ford never sought greatness. He was a reluctant vice president and an even less willing president. But he found himself in the vortex of one of the most conflicted moments in American history. With the memory of Richard Nixon, waving farewell to a divided nation fresh in everyone's mind, Gerald Ford knew instinctively that what the nation needed was healing. In the face of a tidal wave of criticism, Ford did the right thing. He pardoned the man. The constitutional crisis was over. The long healing process had begun. And this nation has been forever grateful to that man of deep integrity ever since. A moment of greatness was thrust upon him and he embraced it.
* * *
Years ago a friend of mine in seminary complained that he just didn't seem to have a "call" to ministry like the rest of us seemed to have. He had some doubts about his suitability for ordination. Seizing the moment I told him to go to one corner of the room and face the wall. I went to the opposite corner, cupped my hand over my mouth and said; "Gary! Gary!" He turned around and looked at me quixotically. "There, I said, you have your call now. No more talk of doubts. You'll make a fine priest." And so he did, for many years. Sometimes a call to serve can come as much from a good friend as from God.
-- Paul Bresnahan
* * *
German theologian Hans Kung, in the concluding paragraph of his book On Being a Christian, answers the opening question of the book, "Why should one be a Christian?" with these words:
By following Jesus Christ
[we] in the world today
can truly humanly live, act, suffer and die,
in happiness and unhappiness, life and death,
sustained by God and helpful to [others].
-- Hans Kung, On Being a Christian, p. 602
* * *
When we decide to answer our Lord's call to follow him, we need to decide to have just one loyalty in our lives, and that loyalty is to him. He calls us to be faithful to him in every circumstance.
Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest:
The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us... God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
* Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, p. 353
* * *
Yes, God calls us to do his work with him. But the first call he gives us is into a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ. Our ability to work with God depends entirely on the relationship we have with his Son.
Oswald Chambers writes:
The thing that remains and deepens is the worker's simple relationship to Jesus Christ; his usefulness to God depends upon that and that alone.
-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, p. 355
* * *
The theologian, Oscar Cullman, observed that there was among the people of Israel a tradition that some were called to play the roe of the servant of God. (In Hebrew, the title was ebed Yahweh.) The servant of God was one who would be so completely committed to the purpose of God that God could work through that person to accomplish God's purpose. Moses, David, Isaiah, and the Jewish nation as a whole were seen to play that role. Eventually, vicarious suffering came to be associated with that service. Cullman teaches that Jesus must have come to believe that it was his purpose to play the role of the servant of God. It was at the time of his baptism that Jesus took on that understanding of himself and committed himself to it. That marked the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
* The Christology of The New Testament, ch. 3
* * *
The preacher, Richard Raines, once compared the people of his culture to plankton, the tiny organisms that live in the sea and are simply carried along by the currents wherever they went. For some, that seems like an attractive way to live. There is no stress, no expectations. But, ultimately, it is not much of a life. A person needs some purpose to live for. When Jesus calls us to take up our crosses and follow him, joining him in the ministry of the servant of God, he gives us a precious gift. He gives us a purpose that is worth living for.
* * *
An idealistic young social worker was talking to a gathering of spouses and caregivers of people with Alzheimer disease. She got a little carried away and told the people that they were very fortunate because they had been chosen for a task that would require their total commitment and make it possible for them to find the fulfillment of their lives in emptying themselves in the service of another. When she had finished, an older man in the group, evidently the husband of an Alzheimer patient, responded, "I hear what you are saying but I'm not there yet." He was involved in the exhausting and heart-breaking task of caring for one whom he loved while watching her personhood evaporate. He would do what he had to do. But he didn't see anything glamorous about it. We will be wise to be realistic about the fact that doing the work of love can sometimes require suffering.
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Carlos Wilton
Call To Worship
Leader: Today we gather to give thanks and praise.
People: Today we remember the waters of our baptism.
Leader: Today we come to salvation's fountain.
People: Today we drink of the water of life.
Leader: All who thirst come to the waters;
come, drink deeply of the stream of salvation.
People: Our gracious God beckons and blesses us.
Leader: With joy, let us worship!
Prayer Of The Day
Holy God, you sent your son to dwell among sinners, to receive the baptism of the lost. May we, who have been baptized in his name, never forget the weight of the mark we bear, nor the lightness of the forgiveness he has won for us. May we live always as his joyful people, freed and forgiven! Amen.
Call To Reconciliation (based on Isaiah 55:1)
"Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!"
Let us, whose inner resources have been drained by sin,
come to the Lord who is eager to forgive!
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Lord,
we acknowledge and confess
that we spend much of our lives,
our energies,
our substance,
on a meandering journey through the desert places,
chasing mirages of wealth and power.
Bring us, today, to the clear, refreshing stream
that is our memory of baptism.
As we rest by the whispering waters,
may we see things clearly again.
Forgive us, we pray,
for the sake of Jesus.
Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon (based on Isaiah 43:1,3)
Leader: "Do not fear," says the Lord, "for I have redeemed you";
People: "I have called you by name," God proclaims, "You are mine."
Leader: For the Lord is our God,
People: the Holy One of Israel, Our Savior.
Leader: Let us rejoice in the good news:
People: in Jesus Christ we have been forgiven. Praise God!
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: God's voice speaks to our chaos,
echoing in our empty hearts.
People: gathering us together
to remember our baptism
and to feast at the Table.
Leader: God's voice flows like
the living waters of grace,
People: our new name, "Beloved,"
resounding in our souls.
Leader: God's voice stirs
the waters of baptismal hope,
People: calling us to be bearers of peace
to a world of broken hopes.
Prayer Of The Day
You speak, Holy God, and your voice silences the chorus of chaos; you whisper, toppling the giant redwoods, and shattering our hardened hearts; you laugh, and little children play hopscotch in the kingdom. And we cry, "Glory!"
You speak, Word of Life, and the waters of the Jordan embrace you in grace; you call to us, your hope shimmering like stars in our darkness; you sing, and we join hands with you in the dance of resurrection. And we cry, "Glory!"
You speak, Spirit of Wonder, and we are given a new name; you cry out to us that we have nothing to fear, and we are filled with peace; you shout your joy for us, and we know we are loved. And we cry, "Glory!"
Speak to us, God in Community, Holy in One, as we lift our voices to you, praying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
To a world of brokenness, God speaks of healing. To a time of confusion, God tells of that future grounded in love. To a people longing for redemption, God comes to bring us home. Let us confess how we have not heard God speaking to us, as we pray, saying,
Unison Prayer Of Confession
God of Spirit and fire: baptized, we have not done a god job as your people. We are drawn to the shadows of sin, hoping you will not see our foolishness. We fall into the arms of temptation, letting it spin us until we are out of control. We selfishly cling to your hope and grace, convinced that others will misuse these gifts.
Forgive us, Bearer of Grace. Touch us with your Spirit, so we may be restored to new life; touch us with your grace, so we may offer forgiveness to all people; touch us with your peace, so we might be healers to our world. This we pray in the name of the One who went into the waters of baptism to cleanse us of sin, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: We expect the fire of judgment,
People: but are given the Spirit of grace;
Leader: we expect God to yell at us,
People: but we are called by a new name;
Leader: we expect God to stay angry,
People: but we are handed the dove of peace.
Leader: This is the good news for us!
People: Thanks be to God. Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Leader: May the God of glory be with you!
People: And also with you!
Leader: People of God, offer your hearts to God.
People: We give them to the One
who comes to redeem us.
Leader: Sing songs of praise and joy,
Children of God.
People: We lift our voices to the One
who journeys with us through
the waters of baptism and who feeds
us at the Table of hope.
With the waters of baptism reminding us of your love for us, Heaven's Voice, we lift our praises to you. Before you breathed the Word that tamed chaos, you named us your children, heirs of all the goodness you desired for us. You sang to us in Eden's fields, inviting us to glorify you forever. Yet, we walked into the shadows of the world, leaving the songs behind. You persisted in your hopes for us, knowing that where no life is anticipated, no hope is expected, no future is seen, there you gather us up to carry us into your kingdom.
So, with angel choirs in every region, with shepherds who caroled a homeless family, with those who came home singing from exile, we lift our voices in joy and hope:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Bearer of grace and Singer of truth.
When we lost our voice to sin,
you sent your Word
to teach us new hymns of joy and praise.
When our feet were muddy
from playing in life's puddles,
he stepped into the Jordan,
to make us clean.
When our ears were filled
with the lies of the world,
he spoke the truth
of your hopes for us.
When we were about to die,
he came running to us,
defeating sin and death,
marking us as your own
with the kiss of the Holy Spirit.
As we remember Christ's baptism,
as we recall his life and ministry,
as we follow him through death
into the resurrection of new life,
we proclaim that mystery called faith:
Memorial Acclamation
Holy Spirit,
fill us with the Bread of forgiveness
and the Cup of hope.
Flow through us with baptismal waters,
so we might become
a river of reconciliation;
grant us your peace,
so we might carry it to others;
set our hope on Christ,
so we might build such hop
in our neighborhoods and communities.
And then, when the river of time
stops flowing,
and we gather around your Table,
we will join our voices as one people,
singing "Glory!"
to God, Child, and Spirit,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Grace alone
Object: the baptismal font
When Jesus was baptized, a voice came from heaven. It said, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Now the question I have here is: What is it Jesus did or said that so pleased God? (let them answer) Was it the fact that Jesus gave lots of money? (let them answer) Did Jesus please God because he prayed a lot? (let them answer) What is it that Jesus did that pleased God? That's the question I'm wondering about today.
Maybe we can answer it here today. (At this point, if you can, move to the baptismal font of your church building.) What happened when you were baptized? How did you please God? (let them answer) If you were baptized as a small child, you probably did nothing to please God. God called you a son or daughter because God loved you. It was nothing you did!
When God gives freely like this, we have a name for it. It is called "grace." God gives and we do nothing to earn it. That is grace. Jesus was baptized and called God's "beloved" because of God's grace at work in Jesus. Likewise, Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins not because of something we did to earn Jesus' favor but because God's grace is shown in what Jesus did.
Grace is a big word in the church. It's a little hard to understand, but think of it as something that God gives us that we don't deserve. That really is good news, isn't it? (let them answer) How can we celebrate that good news here today? (let them answer)
Dearest Lord Jesus: You made us God's children because of grace. Thank you! Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 7, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
Answering The Call
by Carlos Wilton
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
THE WORLD
News of the death of former President Gerald Ford has been leading many to reflect on the nature of leadership. As a long-term congressman, Ford was no stranger to Washington, but his name had been on none of the pundits' short lists of presidential hopefuls. When, scrambling to preserve his troubled presidency, Richard Nixon tapped Ford to become vice president, then resigned as president not long after, our nation suddenly had a head of state such as we had never seen before: a man appointed, rather than elected, to executive office.
By all accounts, Ford never sought either the vice presidency or the presidency. His highest aspiration had been to become Speaker of the House. Still, when the call came from a deeply divided nation to steer the ship of state on a straight course, Ford took the helm and acquitted himself faithfully and well. Not insignificantly, he was also a person of a modest and unassuming -- although evidently deeply held -- Christian faith. When the call came, he answered it.
When Jesus waded into the Jordan River in order to be baptized by John, he too was responding to a call (although, obviously, of a very different sort). Although neither Luke nor any of the other gospel-writers provide any hints as to Jesus' thoughts and feelings as he entered the waters, it was surely a significant milestone in his life
There are various moments in our lives, as well, when a call (sacred or secular) is before us. Whether it's a call to give a couple of hours a week delivering meals on wheels, or leaving everything behind to go to seminary, such a moment calls for faithful discernment. When each one of us next hears a call to serve God in some capacity, large or small, how will we respond?
THE WORD
Today's lectionary selection -- which pairs some prophetic preaching of John the Baptist with Luke's terse account of Jesus' baptism -- omits Luke's account of the arrest of John (vv. 18-20). Luke takes great pains, here, to differentiate between Jesus and John. He clearly makes John subordinate to his cousin, as the Baptist declares, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (v. 16). As with today's epistle lesson (Acts 8:14-17), here too there is a distinction between water-baptism and baptism empowered by the Holy Spirit. Not only that, but baptism is associated, here, with the fire of judgment (as seen in John's reference to the winnowing-fork in v. 17).
Most modern parents, presenting infants for baptism, would be hard-pressed to see the link between the sweet ritual of babies in frilly gowns and the rantings of this prophetic wild man -- although, in fact, the element of perseverance through suffering has always been part of the church's baptismal witness.
The theophany from heaven ("You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased," v. 22) is similar to the theophany that will later occur at Jesus' transfiguration (9:35). It sets Jesus apart for his unique vocation. Although Luke identifies
Joseph as "descended from the house and lineage of David" (2:4), this was in fact no great distinction. There were, by then, tens of thousands of direct descendants of Israel's greatest king. Jesus' ancestry through Joseph, an ordinary artisan, was unexceptional. The theophany at the Jordan, on the other hand, publicly identifies him as the son, not of Joseph, but of God. In the patriarchal society of first-century Judaism, ancestry is everything. As "the Son, the Beloved," with whom God is "well pleased," Jesus receives his prophetic commission.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
How can you tell a Christian apart from anyone else? The world has some ways of doing that. A person who wears a cross around the neck, or little crosses as earrings -- that's surely a Christian, isn't it? A driver whose bumper sticker says, "Christ died for your sins" -- that ought to be a dead giveaway. A living room embellished with one of the famous portraits of Jesus, or the well-known sculpture of the "praying hands" -- those are sure signs of Christian faith, right?
The earrings in the shape of a cross mean one thing when worn by a church-school teacher, and quite another when worn by the likes of Madonna. A "Honk If You Love Jesus" bumper sticker may give some drivers a warm feeling of recognition -- but only if they haven't just been cut off by the driver of that same car. No profusion of Christian art in the home means much at all, if that same home is torn apart by jealousies and conflicts.
So, what is the mark of a Christian? Not anything we can see. The mark of a Christian is the sacrament of Baptism.
In recent days, our nation has marked the death of a man who responded to a call to service at a critical time in our history. A letter to the New York Times identified Gerald Ford as "truly a man for all seasons. He was above all a healer for a country that truly needed healing. He held this country together when it seemed as if it was falling apart" (Letter to the Editor from John J. Pino, Dec. 27, 2006).
Even former adversaries of Ford, who faced him across the aisle in the House of Representatives, have hailed him as a true public servant. He was also a man of heartfelt, but unassuming, Christian faith -- a member of that ancient (but fast-disappearing) order of politicians who thought it unseemly to wear their faith on their sleeve as a means of getting votes. Ford never wanted to be president, but when the mantle was draped around his shoulders, he accepted it and acquitted himself well. Although his relatively short tenure in the Oval Office makes it hard for historians to identify a distinctive legacy, perhaps Ford's greatest gift to the nation is that his term was so ordinary. After the turmoil of Watergate, it was exactly what America needed.
Ford's words to the nation, following his inauguration, express his deeply felt sense of vocation, as well as his personal integrity:
"I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself.... In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end. My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."
There are all sorts of ways for the baptized to serve Jesus Christ. A few are called to ministry, or other publicly identifiable positions of leadership in the church. Yet, that's not the most common form of Christian calling, by any means. The call that comes to the vast majority of Christians is the call to serve God right where they are.
In the Disney animated film, The Lion King, the spirit of Mufasa, the dead king, speaks one night, out of the stars, to his prodigal son, Simba. Simba has been hiding out in the deepest, darkest jungle, reclining in his "hakuna matata" life of selfishness and ease.
He has quite forgotten that he was born to be king. The ghost of his father challenges him, in his complacency. "You," Mufasa scolds, "have become less than you are."
How many people today, in their working lives, have become less than they are? It used to be that work was widely believed to reflect who people are, deep down. There used to be a sense that work followed calling, an awareness of personal giftedness. If people were blacksmiths, or farmers, or teachers, or whatever, it was because that was what they were good at. Those were the skills to which they had been born and bred, or apprenticed to learn. That's what they had to offer back to the community.
To all too many wage-earners today, work is simply what one does between the weekends. The whole purpose of work, for them -- quite apart from deploying
God-given talents -- is to finance leisure. "Middle-class Americans," it has been said, "worship their work, work at their play and play at their worship."
Life, to so many people today, is like one colossal game of "The Price Is Right." Workers labor long and hard, pulling down those paychecks, so they can reach the point, by and by, when the great emcee in the sky calls them by name and croons, "Come on down!" Then, if they've played the game shrewdly, it's time to choose from among those "fabulous prizes": the sports car, the speedboat, the tropical vacation. Those who are so fixated on leisure have truly become "less than they are."
By contrast, there are those for whom success is judged not by material wealth, but by a sort of internal consistency -- a harmony of their various talents. "There are some people whom we envy," explains the poet, Elizabeth Bishop, "not because they are rich or handsome or successful, although they may be all or any of these, but because everything they are or do seems to be all of a piece, so that even if they wanted to they could not be or do otherwise."
Such are the people who are truly themselves -- who have discovered that, in the words of the folklorist Joseph Campbell, "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
When Jesus climbed out of the Jordan River, dripping wet, he probably felt more like the person he truly was than at any other time in his life. We, too, can aspire to the same sort of inner consistency, if we listen to -- and heed -- God's call.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Stephen McCutchan
"And the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah."
-- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Ed White, a former Presbytery Executive and consultant with the Alban Institute, used to like to ask the following question to a church group with a predominance of lay people present: "How many of you have been called to full time ministry?" When only the clergy raised their hands, he would stand there for a few moments with a perplexed look on his face and then say, "I thought that was what took place when you were baptized." The Sunday in which we celebrate the baptism of our Lord is an appropriate time for Christians to reflect on what it means to be called to full-time Christian ministry.
Unlike Matthew, our passage in Luke has a rather brief description of what happened at Jesus' baptism. Luke spends more time on what John had to say before Jesus arrived and was baptized. It is instructive for believers, both here and in the account in the gospel of John that the emphasis is on John's resisting the pressures of his own popularity in preparation for recognizing the truth about Jesus. A challenge for Christian churches, especially the ones that are experiencing growth and vitality, is how to be servants of the Lord rather than to bask in the glow of their own success.
What does it take to be the messiah? Or, to extend the question to our context, what does it take to be the messianic community? Many communities can draw attention to themselves through their powerful actions. The distinction that the gospel makes between a powerful organization dedicated to the improvement of society and the messianic community that reveals the very presence of God is the presence of the Holy Spirit. By John's powerful sermons, many were convicted of the need to change their lives. They were ready to follow John as their new leader. With remarkable insight, John saw that there was something still to come. People needed not only to repent, but they also needed to be purified in a way that human will power cannot bring about. John looked for one who could baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Pentecostal churches evoke the presence of the Holy Spirit as an authenticating power. This can make participants of many of our mainline religious communities very nervous. The power of the Spirit seems so uncontrollable. It appears to make people do strange things. Yet what both Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal churches need to experience is that purification of one's ego that enables one to submit to the direction of God. The community of faith that is willing to "not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" discovers in the servant nature of Jesus' ministry a model for their own cleansing and renewal. They begin to experience the power of God's spirit that affirms them as beloved children of God.
Since as a nation we will be reflecting on the death of former President Ford, it is interesting to reflect on his "ordinariness." As many commentators have mentioned in recent days, he was different from most of our contemporary presidents. It is said that he had no interest in being president or vice-president. If that were so, then it must have been a strange moment for him when he was asked to be vice-president to fill the space vacated by the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Then, stranger yet when events placed him in the presidency itself. Yet, from what we know about him, it is likely that his own love of country caused him to be willing to serve in these positions for the sake of the country. Then, once he became president, he came to a decision to pardon Nixon even though he realized that it would not be a popular move. Again, he chose to do what he felt was best for his country. Perhaps President Ford understood that by his baptism he was called to full time Christian ministry. The challenge for Christian congregations is to recognize that in responding to the call they are not seeking to look good or be popular but to serve the Lord who has called them.
BREAKING NEWS -- Object Falls From The Sky, Pierces Roof Of Home
(Those preaching on Epiphany texts, either on January 6 or January 7, may find this news item to be of use, perhaps as a sermon introduction.)
Epiphany is a time when we observe God's breaking into our world, in the form of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. A central New Jersey family had a different sort of epiphany this week, when a mysterious, rocklike object pierced their home's roof, bounced off a tile floor in the bathroom, then embedded itself in a nearby wall. While the precise nature of the object has not yet been determined, it does not appear to be an airplane part. It appears to be either a meteorite or a piece of "space junk" that fell out of orbit.
There was quite a bit of media attention, once news of the arrival of this celestial "visitor" became known. Here's an excerpt from a local newspaper story:
Freehold Township, New Jersey -- It came from the sky.
But from how far up the small, silver-gray, rocklike item with a metallic sheen came before crashing through the roof of a Colts Pride development home Tuesday afternoon is open to speculation.
The Federal Aviation Administration, after viewing the lumpy but smooth object, which measures about 2 1/4 inches by 1 1/4 inches and weighs about 13 ounces, believes it did not come from a conventional aircraft, township police Lt. Robert Brightman said.
"Their investigation leads them to believe it's not an airplane part," Brightman said.
So speculation of what did fall into the single-family house in the development off Route 537 between the Colts Neck and Freehold Borough boundaries turned out of this world.
"It could be a meteor," said Harry Conover, Monmouth County's emergency management director. "It could have been something floating around in space. We've had satellites fall to earth. What do they call it -- space junk?"...
About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, a family member heard an unusual noise, Brightman said. About five hours later, her adult son who also lives in the house, found debris in a second-floor bathroom, Brightman said. The son then found the object embedded in a wall, having bounced off the tile floor, Brightman said.
The son contacted police about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Brightman said.
The hole in the shingled roof was "not much more than the diameter of the object," Brightman said.
The county Board of Health found the object not to be radioactive, Conover said.
Police displayed the object in a clear plastic cylinder, allowing members of the media to feel it.
"We're proceeding methodically," Conover said. "And, if we proceed methodically, we can tell you what it's not. It's not an airplane part. It's not a public safety threat."
Neighbors' curiosity was aroused by the convergence of emergency vehicles and news media.
"I was wondering what went on because nothing ever happens here," said Danielle Choi, 16.
"Crazy," said her friend, Banke Ogunkanmi, 17, when told about the incident.
"It's very interesting," Choi said.
"Of all places, it lands here," Ogunkanmi said.
The full article may be found in the Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) newspaper edition of 1/4/07, at this URL:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS/701040356/10...
ILLUSTRATIONS
We are, it seems a cynical people when it comes to assessing our politicians. But look what we ask them to do. We want them to be honest and just in the context of a very hard-hitting world. It seems most of us are unwilling to answer the call to serve in politics. But if there is to be justice and honesty, somebody has to stand up to the plate. Reinhold Niebuhr said it best; "The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world." Perhaps more of us should consider answering that call!
* * *
"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." (Act II, Scene V)
Gerald Ford never sought greatness. He was a reluctant vice president and an even less willing president. But he found himself in the vortex of one of the most conflicted moments in American history. With the memory of Richard Nixon, waving farewell to a divided nation fresh in everyone's mind, Gerald Ford knew instinctively that what the nation needed was healing. In the face of a tidal wave of criticism, Ford did the right thing. He pardoned the man. The constitutional crisis was over. The long healing process had begun. And this nation has been forever grateful to that man of deep integrity ever since. A moment of greatness was thrust upon him and he embraced it.
* * *
Years ago a friend of mine in seminary complained that he just didn't seem to have a "call" to ministry like the rest of us seemed to have. He had some doubts about his suitability for ordination. Seizing the moment I told him to go to one corner of the room and face the wall. I went to the opposite corner, cupped my hand over my mouth and said; "Gary! Gary!" He turned around and looked at me quixotically. "There, I said, you have your call now. No more talk of doubts. You'll make a fine priest." And so he did, for many years. Sometimes a call to serve can come as much from a good friend as from God.
-- Paul Bresnahan
* * *
German theologian Hans Kung, in the concluding paragraph of his book On Being a Christian, answers the opening question of the book, "Why should one be a Christian?" with these words:
By following Jesus Christ
[we] in the world today
can truly humanly live, act, suffer and die,
in happiness and unhappiness, life and death,
sustained by God and helpful to [others].
-- Hans Kung, On Being a Christian, p. 602
* * *
When we decide to answer our Lord's call to follow him, we need to decide to have just one loyalty in our lives, and that loyalty is to him. He calls us to be faithful to him in every circumstance.
Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest:
The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us... God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
* Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, p. 353
* * *
Yes, God calls us to do his work with him. But the first call he gives us is into a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ. Our ability to work with God depends entirely on the relationship we have with his Son.
Oswald Chambers writes:
The thing that remains and deepens is the worker's simple relationship to Jesus Christ; his usefulness to God depends upon that and that alone.
-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, p. 355
* * *
The theologian, Oscar Cullman, observed that there was among the people of Israel a tradition that some were called to play the roe of the servant of God. (In Hebrew, the title was ebed Yahweh.) The servant of God was one who would be so completely committed to the purpose of God that God could work through that person to accomplish God's purpose. Moses, David, Isaiah, and the Jewish nation as a whole were seen to play that role. Eventually, vicarious suffering came to be associated with that service. Cullman teaches that Jesus must have come to believe that it was his purpose to play the role of the servant of God. It was at the time of his baptism that Jesus took on that understanding of himself and committed himself to it. That marked the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
* The Christology of The New Testament, ch. 3
* * *
The preacher, Richard Raines, once compared the people of his culture to plankton, the tiny organisms that live in the sea and are simply carried along by the currents wherever they went. For some, that seems like an attractive way to live. There is no stress, no expectations. But, ultimately, it is not much of a life. A person needs some purpose to live for. When Jesus calls us to take up our crosses and follow him, joining him in the ministry of the servant of God, he gives us a precious gift. He gives us a purpose that is worth living for.
* * *
An idealistic young social worker was talking to a gathering of spouses and caregivers of people with Alzheimer disease. She got a little carried away and told the people that they were very fortunate because they had been chosen for a task that would require their total commitment and make it possible for them to find the fulfillment of their lives in emptying themselves in the service of another. When she had finished, an older man in the group, evidently the husband of an Alzheimer patient, responded, "I hear what you are saying but I'm not there yet." He was involved in the exhausting and heart-breaking task of caring for one whom he loved while watching her personhood evaporate. He would do what he had to do. But he didn't see anything glamorous about it. We will be wise to be realistic about the fact that doing the work of love can sometimes require suffering.
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Carlos Wilton
Call To Worship
Leader: Today we gather to give thanks and praise.
People: Today we remember the waters of our baptism.
Leader: Today we come to salvation's fountain.
People: Today we drink of the water of life.
Leader: All who thirst come to the waters;
come, drink deeply of the stream of salvation.
People: Our gracious God beckons and blesses us.
Leader: With joy, let us worship!
Prayer Of The Day
Holy God, you sent your son to dwell among sinners, to receive the baptism of the lost. May we, who have been baptized in his name, never forget the weight of the mark we bear, nor the lightness of the forgiveness he has won for us. May we live always as his joyful people, freed and forgiven! Amen.
Call To Reconciliation (based on Isaiah 55:1)
"Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!"
Let us, whose inner resources have been drained by sin,
come to the Lord who is eager to forgive!
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Lord,
we acknowledge and confess
that we spend much of our lives,
our energies,
our substance,
on a meandering journey through the desert places,
chasing mirages of wealth and power.
Bring us, today, to the clear, refreshing stream
that is our memory of baptism.
As we rest by the whispering waters,
may we see things clearly again.
Forgive us, we pray,
for the sake of Jesus.
Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon (based on Isaiah 43:1,3)
Leader: "Do not fear," says the Lord, "for I have redeemed you";
People: "I have called you by name," God proclaims, "You are mine."
Leader: For the Lord is our God,
People: the Holy One of Israel, Our Savior.
Leader: Let us rejoice in the good news:
People: in Jesus Christ we have been forgiven. Praise God!
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: God's voice speaks to our chaos,
echoing in our empty hearts.
People: gathering us together
to remember our baptism
and to feast at the Table.
Leader: God's voice flows like
the living waters of grace,
People: our new name, "Beloved,"
resounding in our souls.
Leader: God's voice stirs
the waters of baptismal hope,
People: calling us to be bearers of peace
to a world of broken hopes.
Prayer Of The Day
You speak, Holy God, and your voice silences the chorus of chaos; you whisper, toppling the giant redwoods, and shattering our hardened hearts; you laugh, and little children play hopscotch in the kingdom. And we cry, "Glory!"
You speak, Word of Life, and the waters of the Jordan embrace you in grace; you call to us, your hope shimmering like stars in our darkness; you sing, and we join hands with you in the dance of resurrection. And we cry, "Glory!"
You speak, Spirit of Wonder, and we are given a new name; you cry out to us that we have nothing to fear, and we are filled with peace; you shout your joy for us, and we know we are loved. And we cry, "Glory!"
Speak to us, God in Community, Holy in One, as we lift our voices to you, praying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
To a world of brokenness, God speaks of healing. To a time of confusion, God tells of that future grounded in love. To a people longing for redemption, God comes to bring us home. Let us confess how we have not heard God speaking to us, as we pray, saying,
Unison Prayer Of Confession
God of Spirit and fire: baptized, we have not done a god job as your people. We are drawn to the shadows of sin, hoping you will not see our foolishness. We fall into the arms of temptation, letting it spin us until we are out of control. We selfishly cling to your hope and grace, convinced that others will misuse these gifts.
Forgive us, Bearer of Grace. Touch us with your Spirit, so we may be restored to new life; touch us with your grace, so we may offer forgiveness to all people; touch us with your peace, so we might be healers to our world. This we pray in the name of the One who went into the waters of baptism to cleanse us of sin, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: We expect the fire of judgment,
People: but are given the Spirit of grace;
Leader: we expect God to yell at us,
People: but we are called by a new name;
Leader: we expect God to stay angry,
People: but we are handed the dove of peace.
Leader: This is the good news for us!
People: Thanks be to God. Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Leader: May the God of glory be with you!
People: And also with you!
Leader: People of God, offer your hearts to God.
People: We give them to the One
who comes to redeem us.
Leader: Sing songs of praise and joy,
Children of God.
People: We lift our voices to the One
who journeys with us through
the waters of baptism and who feeds
us at the Table of hope.
With the waters of baptism reminding us of your love for us, Heaven's Voice, we lift our praises to you. Before you breathed the Word that tamed chaos, you named us your children, heirs of all the goodness you desired for us. You sang to us in Eden's fields, inviting us to glorify you forever. Yet, we walked into the shadows of the world, leaving the songs behind. You persisted in your hopes for us, knowing that where no life is anticipated, no hope is expected, no future is seen, there you gather us up to carry us into your kingdom.
So, with angel choirs in every region, with shepherds who caroled a homeless family, with those who came home singing from exile, we lift our voices in joy and hope:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Bearer of grace and Singer of truth.
When we lost our voice to sin,
you sent your Word
to teach us new hymns of joy and praise.
When our feet were muddy
from playing in life's puddles,
he stepped into the Jordan,
to make us clean.
When our ears were filled
with the lies of the world,
he spoke the truth
of your hopes for us.
When we were about to die,
he came running to us,
defeating sin and death,
marking us as your own
with the kiss of the Holy Spirit.
As we remember Christ's baptism,
as we recall his life and ministry,
as we follow him through death
into the resurrection of new life,
we proclaim that mystery called faith:
Memorial Acclamation
Holy Spirit,
fill us with the Bread of forgiveness
and the Cup of hope.
Flow through us with baptismal waters,
so we might become
a river of reconciliation;
grant us your peace,
so we might carry it to others;
set our hope on Christ,
so we might build such hop
in our neighborhoods and communities.
And then, when the river of time
stops flowing,
and we gather around your Table,
we will join our voices as one people,
singing "Glory!"
to God, Child, and Spirit,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Grace alone
Object: the baptismal font
When Jesus was baptized, a voice came from heaven. It said, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Now the question I have here is: What is it Jesus did or said that so pleased God? (let them answer) Was it the fact that Jesus gave lots of money? (let them answer) Did Jesus please God because he prayed a lot? (let them answer) What is it that Jesus did that pleased God? That's the question I'm wondering about today.
Maybe we can answer it here today. (At this point, if you can, move to the baptismal font of your church building.) What happened when you were baptized? How did you please God? (let them answer) If you were baptized as a small child, you probably did nothing to please God. God called you a son or daughter because God loved you. It was nothing you did!
When God gives freely like this, we have a name for it. It is called "grace." God gives and we do nothing to earn it. That is grace. Jesus was baptized and called God's "beloved" because of God's grace at work in Jesus. Likewise, Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins not because of something we did to earn Jesus' favor but because God's grace is shown in what Jesus did.
Grace is a big word in the church. It's a little hard to understand, but think of it as something that God gives us that we don't deserve. That really is good news, isn't it? (let them answer) How can we celebrate that good news here today? (let them answer)
Dearest Lord Jesus: You made us God's children because of grace. Thank you! Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 7, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
