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Date: January 9, 2011
Scripture Lesson: Matthew 3:13-17
Sermon: Water of Life
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

In July of 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander definitively identified water in a soil sample taken from the planet Mars. About two inches beneath the surface, the Phoenix exposed what looked like white sand, but after being heated, it was definitively identified as water. This confirms previous indications and observations pointing to the presence of water on Mars. And just why does this discovery have scientists and others so excited? Without evidence of water, scientists did not expect to find any signs of life. But now that water has been conclusively identified on Mars, the search continues for chemicals containing carbon and other raw materials which could lead to the discovery of life on Mars. Since there is water, there may be life. [“NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended,” 07.31.08, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080731.html%5D

We know the importance of water to sustain life. Areas without water are uninhabitable. Lack of water imperils life. In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond identifies environmental factors that lead to the decline of civilizations and cultures. One of the significant factors that can influence the decline of a civilization is drought. Lack of water affects the ability to produce and procure food to perpetuate life.

Because water is critical to life, it is not surprising that water has a significant place in various religions. It is honored and worshiped in ritual and rite. Cleansing and immersing in water are important in many religions. It symbolizes life and unity with the sacred. In ancient practices, water was considered a representation of the semen of a god, or the water of the womb of a goddess. So immersion was symbolic of being reborn and receiving new life. [Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Supplement, “Baptism,” p. 85] Water rituals represented transition from one state to another. Rituals with water also symbolized consecration, taking up a high calling, like an ordination or inauguration, though we saw no rituals with water amidst the pomp and circumstance of the inaugurations of this past week.

While secular society may have abandoned rituals with water, they are still prominent in religion. Orthodox Jews practice ritual washings. Muslims wash in certain ways, including ears and nostrils. In India, millions of pilgrims flock to the Ganges River to immerse themselves in what is considered its holy water. Hindus believe that life is incomplete without bathing in the Ganges at least once in a lifetime. The city of Varanase is scattered with steps leading into the water for people to engage in ritual immersion in the sacred water of the Ganges.

And, of course, for Christians water is important because it is necessary for baptism, the sacramental entrance into the Christian life. And people flock to the Jordan River today to be baptized in the very river in which Jesus is said to have been baptized by John as we heard this morning. Being baptized in the Jordan is big business, though the condition of the river is threatening this tradition.

Last summer, an environmental organization called Friends of the Earth Middle East issued a statement calling “on regional authorities to halt baptism in the lower Jordan River until water quality standards for tourism activities there are met.” The statement continues identifying issues that compromise water quality: “Sadly, the lower Jordan River has long suffered from severe mismanagement with the diversion of 98 percent of its fresh water by Israel, Syria and Jordan and the discharge of untreated sewage, agricultural run-off, saline water and fish pond effluent in its place.” [“Jordan River Too Polluted for Baptisms,” http://news.discovery.com/earth/jordan-river-baptism-pollution.html%5D

In Jesus’ day, evidently the water in the Jordan was flowing strong and clear. And baptism was practiced by Jews as a ritual of purification and self dedication to God. It had connotations of moral purification with ethical obligations as well. New converts were initiated through the cleansing ritual of baptism. The emerging Christian community continued the practice of baptism from the Pentecost story of the first century on.

Christian Baptism is linked with the holy spirit and the consciousness of relationship with the Divine. It represents reception into the faith community, the church, the body of Christ. Once part of that body, barriers that divide people are no longer of significance. For Christians, baptism is symbolic of hearing and receiving and responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the life giving word, the bread of life, living water. Baptism involves the commitment to love God, self, neighbor and enemy. Baptism marks a transition to a new life and a new identity with high ethical and moral standards.

Taking on this new life means emulating the life of Jesus. It is centered on the commitment to love and serve. It involves generosity and material simplicity. It is marked by devotion to spiritual disciplines and religious observance. The new life initiated at baptism involves investment in reconciliation and forgiveness, never retribution, vengeance or retaliation. New life in Christ involves commitment to non- violence. In fact, as we have been exploring through the Advent season, it a commitment to anti-violence and peace making. To live in Christ, is to live in a way that does not take advantage of others in any way, that does not create victims, that does not oppress – those in your family, community, in the fields, or in a sweat shop oceans away. Baptism is a transition to a completely new life and a new identity.

This week, there was an article in the Neighborhood Times [St. Petersburg Times, 1/5/11] about a woman who was ordained as a Buddhist nun. This lovely article discussed the commitment that entails, including taking a new name. Reading the article I noted how similar this transition is to Christian baptism, including some of the same commitments and values. When we are baptized into the body of Christ, we make a transition into a new life, with new commitments that involve a new lifestyle, and we are given our name for life as God’s beloved.

Of course, any transition to a new life comes with its challenges and Christian baptism is no exception. This new life of devotion to God and others is a significant departure from the values of the world around us. It is an alternative to being consumed with greed, success in worldly terms, power grabbing, attention seeking, self absorption, addiction, material wealth, etc., all of which never fully satisfy the soul and leave people unsated, ever hungry for that which does not fulfill, but only drains and depletes. Baptism is a big life alteration.

Now there was a backslider in a certain congregation, and every time the church had a revival, this man would get religion. Then, it was down to the river to be baptized – again. After being baptized for the sixth time, the preacher put the man under the water three times, raised him up, and said, “You’ve been baptized so much that the fish know you by your first name!”

Because baptism involves such a drastic conversion, the new life in Christ initiated at baptism requires nurture and support. That is why we are baptized into the faith community; to be our support. Baptism is not a solitary matter. It is not about the individual alone. It is about entrance into a community, a community that is needed so that the full joys and blessings and relationships of this new life can be realized and appreciated. The faith community, the church, is needed to help us go deeper into our life in Christ, to grow in discipleship and to reap the harvest of comfort and joy that comes with the Christian life. The community is needed to help us maintain our commitment as temptations and challenges confront us.

Twelve step programs are noted for their success because of the community of support, the relationships, and the connections made that help people to pursue the life of sobriety. The people who founded Alcoholics Anonymous were Christian, and modeled AA on Christianity with its built in community of support to help people transition and live into a new way of life. The weekly meetings. The fellowship. AA was a way to emulate the role of the church as a community of support for the Christian, but for the alcoholic pursing a new life of sobriety.

Christian baptism marks the beginning of a new life, whether we are baptized as infants, children, adolescents, or adults. Baptism begins a new adventure. A total makeover. It is a moment of definition. Of transition. This is who you are. This is your primary identity. You are a manifestation of divine love for the world. And in that life, there is salvation, from selfishness, tyranny, bondage, oppression, greed, abuse, fear of death, and from all that diminishes and destroys life.

Given the magnitude and significance of Christian baptism, it is ironic that our tradition of the sacrament has evolved into a solemn ceremony with a mere sprinkling of water done with dignity and decorum. Unless, of course, the child has the impulse to cry and scream. Which brings us much closer to the image of John the Baptizer, crying out in the wilderness. Loud. Bold. Uncompromising. Full of power and passion. Far more fitting for the drastic nature of the commitment involved.

Baptism is a whole life commitment. A total transformation. It’s not about dipping your toe in, it’s about diving in, being doused head to toe. And not caring about clothes that are ‘dry clean only’ or about the chill or about the hairdo or about being seen in a wet T shirt. We belong to God. We are sacred. We are holy. We are love. That is life! Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

Date: January 2, 2011
Scripture Lesson: Isaiah 60:1-6
Sermon: Redeeming the Gift
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

How many of you have unused gift cards languishing in a drawer at home? From this past Christmas? Last Christmas? The Christmas before that? Your birthday? Several websites have emerged to help with this problem. Unused gift cards can be sold for partial value at websites such as PlasticJungle.com, Cardpool.com, GiftCards.com, and GiftCardGranny.com. [“Gift cards going to waste? Sites let you sell them for cash, pay bills,” by Cameron Huddleston Saturday, January 1, 2011; 5:38 PM,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2011/01/01/AR2011010102105.html%5D Or you can donate your unused/unwanted gift card at GiftCardGiver.com, a non-profit gift card website that will make sure your unused gift card goes to someone in need. [What to Do with Unused Gift Cards, http://www.suite101.com/content/what-to-do-with-unused-gift-cards-a308753%5D Experts estimate that in 2009, $5 billion worth of gift cards went unused. [Published by Joel, http://www.creditcardchaser.com/gift-card-inactivity-fees-will-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past-kind-of/%5D All of these gift cards wasted, worthless because they were unused.

The Christmas season is the season of gift giving in celebration of the gift that has been given to us in Jesus Christ. As Isaiah prophesied, Our light has come. And the glory of God has been revealed. [Refer to Isaiah 60:1-6] We celebrate Jesus’ birth because we believe he is that light. We celebrate Jesus’ birth because of the life he lived, modeling for us uncompromising, unconditional love. We celebrate Jesus’ birth because of his ministry grounded in justice and peace. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because of his witness to full life and joy found in service. We celebrate Jesus’ birth in gratitude that he was willing to lay down his life for his friends. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because of the lifestyle of other centered living that Jesus has given to us. We celebrate Jesus’ birth because real life is not self-centered but God-centered, love-centered, peace and justice-centered. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because he shows us that life is found in giving, in generosity, in engagement with people who are oppressed, poor, forgotten, unfairly treated, suffering, or considered “less than.” We celebrate the birth of Jesus because of his teachings of love for your neighbor, love for yourself, love for your enemy, love for God. In Christ Jesus, we have been given the path to life in all its fullness and joy. We have been given the gift of real life. Of hope . Of possibility. Of meaning. Of new beginnings. Of fresh starts. A way of grace and mercy that satisfies and does not disappoint. The gifts we give each other at Christmas pale in comparison with the gift we have been given in Christ Jesus. The gifts we give are but faint reverberations of what has been given to humanity in the life, ministry and death of Jesus. A gift for all people, for all time. An embodiment of the love that all human beings are capable of incarnating, whatever their culture or religion. A blessing to all peoples, all nations, and all generations. And those who follow Jesus are meant to keep giving that gift to the world, generation after generation. The light has come. The darkness has not overcome it. The light of Christ still shines.

So each Christmas, we celebrate the amazing, precious, unfathomable gift that has been given to us in Christ Jesus. We worship and honor the babe born in Bethlehem. We sing and pray and praise his coming. But what happens after Christmas? We put away the decorations, the displays, the lights. Back in the boxes until next year. What do we do with the gift? Do we put it away? Unused? Perhaps even forgotten after the tinsel and pine needles are all cleaned up? Does the gift languish, like those unused gift cards, migrating to the back of a darkened drawer as the days go by?

The gift of Christ Jesus is something we should be using each and every day. It is something that should be with us and within us at all times. We should never leave home without it! We should be redeeming the gift of Christ day in and day out. A gift that does not loose value. That does not run out. That does not go bankrupt or fail. And that has no expiration date

A question for us to consider as the Christmas season draws to a close and the New Year begins is what are we going to do with the gift we have been given at Christmas? What are we going to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been given to us? Are we going to redeem it? Use it? Put it into service? Activate it? Or will it go unused like those $5 billion dollars worth of unused gift cards?

To help us think about this, I would like to share the story of Karen, who surely used the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of its fullness.

In 1989 Karen Ridd and four other international volunteers were working with a group called Peace Brigades International (PBI) in El Salvador. They were suddenly arrested by the Salvadoran military. Three of the five were Spanish nationals and were deported, leaving Karen, who was Canadian, and her friend Marcela Rodriguez, who was from Columbia. Karen had time to alert another PBI volunteer and the Canadian consul about what had happened. She knew that they would mobilize worldwide networks of support to secure their release. But how long would that take? What would happen in the meantime? Would they be killed?

Marcela heard the soldiers describing them as “terrorists from the Episcopal Church.” They were loaded on a truck with other detainees and taken to an army barracks, where they were blindfolded and interrogated for 5 hours about their connection to a guerilla group. During the questioning, sounds of torture and sobbing victims came from nearby rooms.

The immediate international outcry motivated the Canadian embassy to mobilize to secure Karen’s release. Canada brought pressure to bear on the Salvadoran government and within a few hours, Karen was walking across the barracks grounds toward a waiting embassy official, a free woman. As she was leaving, the soldiers removed her blindfold and she caught sight of Marcela, face to the wall, looking like “a perfect image of dehumanization.” While Karen was glad to be alive and relieved to have been freed, she felt terrible leaving her friend, Marcela, behind. She couldn’t do it. She made some excuse to the exasperated Canadian embassy official who had come all the way from San Salvador to retrieve her. Then she turned around and walked back into the barracks. She did not know what would happen to her, but she knew it could not be worse than deserting her friend.

The soldiers, too, were shocked and exasperated. They did not know what to do with Karen. They handcuffed her again. In the next room, a soldier banged Marcela’s head into the wall shouting that some “white bitch” [expletive deleted] was stupid enough to walk back in there, and, “Now you’re going to see the treatment a terrorist deserves!” But Karen’s return was having a strange effect on the soldiers. They talked with her, despite themselves, and she tried to explain why she had returned. “You know what it’s like to be separated from a companero.” That got to them. They released Karen and Marcela and the two women walked out together under the stars, hand in hand. [“The Story of Karen Ridd,” Engage: Exploring Nonviolent Living, A Study Program for learning, practicing, and experimenting with the power of creative nonviolence to transform our lives and our world, by Laura Slattery, Ken Butigan, Veronica Peiliaric, and Ken Preston-Pile, pp.71-72]

I guarantee it, we will have countless opportunities each and every day to use the gift we have been given by God through Christ. In our jobs, families, volunteer work, civic involvement, homes, church, and in all realms of our lives and experience, we can put the gift of the gospel to work. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Open it. Explore it. Put it to use. Enjoy it. Learn from it. Take delight in it. It is the most exciting and valuable gift you will ever be given at Christmas time or any time. Make sure you redeem this gift in 2011. Happy New Year! Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

Date: January 16, 2011, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
Scripture Lesson: John 1:29-42
Sermon: Come and See
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

In The Trumpet of Conscience of 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. discusses his opposition to the Vietnam War. He writes:
It is many months now since I found myself obliged by conscience to end my silence and to take a public stand against my country’s war in Vietnam. . . I cannot speak about the great themes of violence and nonviolence, of social change and of hope for the future, without reflecting on the tremendous violence of Vietnam. . .

Since the spring of 1967, when I first made public my opposition to my government’s policy, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my decision. ‘Why you?’ they have said. ‘Peace and civil rights don’t mix. Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people?’ And when I hear such questions, I have been greatly saddened, for they meant that the inquirers have never really known me, my commitment, or my calling. [The Trumpet of Conscience in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by James M. Washington, p. 634]

King blanched at his life’s work being restricted to the realm of civil rights activist. That was a small, narrow, confined description which denied the realities and interconnectedness of worldwide injustice and violence that King sought to bring to the light of day. For King, “Justice is indivisible.” [Ibid, p. 636] It was about all who were oppressed, all over the world. King was a universalist, and yet is known and is remembered primarily as an advocate for civil rights for African Americans in the United States.

In the scripture that we heard this morning from the gospel of John, Jesus has been baptized by John and is beginning his ministry. Followers of John are wondering about this new teacher. Who is he? What is his message? And Jesus invites them to, “Come and see.” Come and see where he is staying. Come and see what he is all about. Come and see how he lives. Come and see who he is. Come and see what he cares about. Come and see what he is like. Come and see what he teaches. Come and see the whole picture. “Come and see” is an invitation to full disclosure. Come and see. Then decide. Jesus was not a single issue savior luring people to his product with catchy sound bites. He rejects reductionism. The gospel is about real life, full life, whole life, all life. It is comprehensive and cosmic is scope. And Jesus invites people to experience the whole picture. Come and see.

So many people were attracted to the ministry of Jesus because it was broad in scope. He spoke to people in many different conditions and life circumstances offering compassion, grace, and community. Jesus reached out to the poor, to the sick, to the downtrodden, as well as those in positions of authority and power, and to the rich. He included those who were sidelined and redlined and maligned. Regardless of ethnicity, religious preference, gender, or job, Jesus had a word of comfort, new life, and hope. Come and see. Try it out. Then decide. And some walked away. The universal scope was too much. Or the personal cost was too great. People were never turned away by Jesus, they turned away of their own accord. Jesus never compromised on “Come and see.” He held nothing back in his radical commitment to universal love.

The ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. was based on a comprehensive understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. King was first and foremost a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. King took Jesus up on his invitation to “Come and see.” King saw the gospel in all of its fullness: love for ALL people; love of enemy; healing and hope for all; a message based on the sacredness of each and every person; a calling to anti-violence and justice. King was moved and motivated by the full gospel of Jesus Christ, not a reductionist version of Christianity, because he accepted Jesus’ offer to “Come and see.”

King embraced the full depth and breadth of the gospel. This is where King gets his commitment to racial justice, economic justice, and non-violence. This is where King gets his vision of an interconnected human family crossing all borders and divides. This is where King gets his spiritual strength that stands up to all opposition with love and understanding. This is where King gets his love that casts out all fear. It is from the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a response to Jesus’ invitation to “Come and see.” King has experienced Jesus’ full disclosure and responds with wholehearted commitment. King affirms his commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ, and explains, “To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war.” [Ibid]

Jesus invited people to “Come and see.” Experience the full breadth of his teachings and the transformation that ensues. King responded and his life was shaped and moulded by that experience. As the body of Christ today, as the community of faith entrusted with stewardship of the gospel, our calling is to invite others to “Come and see.” See the full breadth of life in Christ. In a world hungry for healing and meaning and justice and hope and an alternative to the path of destruction and death that captivates our society, we are called to invite others to “Come and see.” Come and see another way of life. A way of meaning and purpose. A way of healing and wholeness for ourselves and for the world. A way of peace and decency and respect. A way of power and grace.

Many people who need the message of Christ have nothing to do with the church because they just don’t know all that life in Christ has to offer. No one has invited them to come and see the whole picture. Others have turned away from the church because the church has chosen to follow, endorse, proclaim, and perpetuate only a portion of the teachings of Jesus. Maybe it’s about grace and love for “us,” but not for “them.” So they haven’t been exposed to the full disclosure practiced by Jesus. Often the church has offered only a reductionist version of the gospel, and not the full breadth of the Christian message. This is a temptation for every church. Perhaps the focus is on liturgy and worship, to the neglect of personal and social ethical transformation. Maybe the message is narrowed to social activism, with little sense of personal responsibility or piety. The church may be focused on the next life to the neglect of the present one. The promises of God may be stressed and their fulfillment in the lives of some but at the expense of others. There are countless ways for the church to become diverted from the full disclosure practiced by Jesus: Come and see. It is very easy for the church to narrow its focus and distort the gospel leading to deception and often abuse in the name of Christ. And it is disempowering to the very message that has the power of life. Every church faces this challenge.

Dr. King resisted this aberration. He sought to embrace the totality of the gospel message. Yes, he was a civil rights leader seeking to bring justice to American society by pursuing racial equality. But his commitment was greater than that. He sought to make the connections between injustice in this country and around the world. And he was committed to non-violent social change. Not just here in American society, in our domestic realm. But King was committed to non-violence, anti-militarism, and pacifism. It doesn’t take much imagination to project the condemnation that King, were he alive today, would have for America’s warring madness. In 1967, King identified “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.” [Ibid] And when you consider US military expenditures, money and arms sales, not much has changed. King’s message still has not been fully heard or appreciated.

Some say that this is in part because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday we celebrate this weekend: That the holiday was created to narrow the focus of King’s dream to racial equality in this country, a concept which is now widely accepted in theory, if not in practice. And with the holiday and the exclusive civil rights focus, King has been mainstreamed and co-opted thus disempowering and diverting attention from the more radical aspects of his vision. The celebrations and orations of this weekend will make precious little reference to King’s commitment to economic justice, non-violence, anti-militarism, and pacifism. In fact, there are usually vendors selling toy swords and guns at the MLK Parade here in St. Petersburg.

So what do we do with the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday? If we were paying attention to the full message of Dr. King, maybe we would fly the flags at half mast in recognition of the violence and injustice that continues to plague our society and black bunting would festoon the halls of government. Maybe MLK Day would be treated as a national day of mourning and repentance. Maybe the “I Have a Dream” speech should be banned so that people read King’s other speeches and sermons and books and interviews and are exposed to the full breadth of this commitment. Come and see. The full nature of King’s witness and not the narrow, truncated, distorted version that only addresses racial justice for African Americans in this country.

King saw the full implications of Jesus’ teachings: Love for all people. Equally. Honoring the dignity of each and every human being. In Jesus, King saw a God who so loved the whole world and everyone in it. King saw Jesus’ gospel of peace, not achieved through violence, but through non-violent reconciliation and love. Maybe the way to honor Dr. King is to hold non-violent training sessions like King did. And promote the commitment made by those who participated in the demonstrations organized by King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Alabama. “Every volunteer was required to sign a a commitment card that read:
I HEREBY PLEDGE MYSELF – MY PERSON AND BODY – TO THE NON-VIOLENT MOVEMENT. THEREFORE I WILL KEEP THE FOLLOWING TEN COMMANDMENTS:
1. MEDITATE daily on the teachings and life of Jesus. REMEMBER always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks
justice and reconciliation – not victory.
3. WALK and TALK in the manner of love, for God is love.
4. PRAY daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
5. SACRIFICE personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
6. OBSERVE with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy. 7. SEEK to perform regular service for others and for the world.
8. REFRAIN from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
9. STRIVE to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10. FOLLOW the directions of the movement and of the captain of a
demonstration.

I sign this pledge, having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.” [Chapter 4, Why We Can’t Wait, in A Testament of Hope, pp. 537-538]

In addition to adding name and address, the volunteer signing this commitment form had to give the name and address of his or her nearest relative, because it was understood that this commitment involved risk. Maybe some of you here this morning signed such a pledge card.

Can you imagine countless newspapers printing this set of 10 commandments tomorrow instead of the “I Have a Dream” speech? Can you imagine children in school being taught about these 10 commandments of Dr. King and the civil rights movement? Can you imagine organizers handing out commitment cards like this at the MLK parade tomorrow? They would be left as litter for the city sanitation workers to pick up.

Come and see. Full disclosure. Let our sights not be narrow or limited. Let us not accept distortion or diversion. Like Dr. King, let us respond to Jesus’ invitation to experience the full gospel of love. Come and see. Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.