Monthly Archives: January 2014

Third Sunday of Epiphany: Baptized in a Community

Reading

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Last week we discussed how churches often have different groups that cause friction within the community. Each group wants to run the show with their own ideas. Paul reminds the church community in Corinth about God’s grace, promise, and guarantee they will enter the kingdom of heaven. No matter what each group has planned, God is in charge and grants us all grace and the ability to spread the good news.

Today Paul focuses on what it means to be baptized. The various factions of Corinth are declaring that they belong to Paul, Apollos, or Cephas based on who baptized them (1 Corinthians 1:12). Paul is taken aback by such claims. First, Paul has baptized very few individuals. He has only baptized Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas (1 Corinthians 1:14, 16). Beyond those individuals, Paul has no memory of baptizing anyone else. Second, it is not about who baptized them, but it is important that they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is true for you today. Through your baptism, God the Father claims you as his child.’

Baptism creates a connection between the Triune God and us as well as well as among us and other baptized believers. When you are baptized, you enter into a relationship with God, and he claims you as one of his children. God knows you in the deepest way possible  and loves you unconditionally despite your flaws. God created this connection between you and him through Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. God loves his creation so deeply that he made the ultimate sacrifice by letting his son die on the cross. Nothing matters more to the Triune God than being in a relationship with you.

Baptism also creates connections among other individuals who are baptized. You become a part of the Christian community when you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ who died for your sins. God begs us to be in a relationship with one another to express his love throughout the world. Your actions to others reflect your relationship with the Triune God. If you are rude to others, are you rude to God? If you are angry with someone, are you angry with God? If you forgive others, do you forgive God for the pain in your life? If you love others, do you love God? Your relationship with God reflects in your daily life and how you treat yourself and others.

Baptism allows anyone who believes in the Triune God and who believes that Jesus died for their sins to be a part of the community of believers. This community has a breadth of diversity because baptism is not just for a select few but for all people. Christians are found throughout the world as the map below shows.

How does God expect us to get along? Jesus makes us accountable to God and one other by influencing us to be better individuals. Our fellow Christians help keep us from sinning intentionally and they motivate us to keep striving at being the individuals God calls us to be. Paul talks about the body of Christ as individuals being united through their baptisms. Not every part of the physical human body has the same function. The same is true for the body of Christ. God has unique callings for each one of us (1 Corinthians 12:12-20). God calls us at specific times and in specific places for specific reasons that we may or may not understand. Our job is to figure out how to work together to uncover God’s bigger plan.

The friction in our churches may never disappear completely. You are only human. Instead you should acknowledge each group is a part of the body of Christ and find ways for each group to work together for God’s bigger plan. Your calling is from the Triune God and each works towards the bigger plan of everyone being in the Kingdom of God.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for baptizing us in the name of Jesus Christ. Help us to remember we are called by you to spread your love throughout the world. Lead us to fulfill our unique callings. Make us mindful of your bigger plan. Thank you for calling us to work toward your bigger plan. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. Why is being baptized important to you?
  2. What does God call you to do?

 

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Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Second Sunday after Epiphany: God Understands and Gives Us Grace

Reading

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Devotion

Peace be with you!

All church communities have quirks, problems, and areas of dysfunction. There is always one group which causes drama for everyone else. Then there are the select few who unofficially make all of the decisions. There are the elders who refuse to break from traditions and the young adults who are pleading for change. There are the teens, confirmed and called full members of the church, but given no voice in how the church runs. Then there is the larger group who does the everyday stuff to keep the church open and sometimes struggle with feeling unappreciated. Lastly, there are the outsiders who come for worship and leave right away before others can say anything.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth about what is going on among its members. The letter is not the most pleasant to read, because Paul confronts Corinth on several things—for example, personality-based church factions (1:10-17), charges of sexual immorality (5), questions about lawsuits (6), proper conduct at the Lord’s Supper (11), and the interpretation of speaking in tongues (14). Since his letters were publically read and were property of the whole church, Paul had to address all of the issues so as not to single out just one group. Yet Paul opens the letter with thanksgiving for the church in Corinth. Despite its faults, Paul is thankful for the church in Corinth because the members are his brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

Paul acknowledges the grace of Jesus Christ, the gifts of the Corinthian church members, and the guarantee that the members will enter God’s kingdom despite their flaws.

Paul sees the power of God’s grace for a flawed and sinful church. The Gospel promise tells us no matter how much of a lost cause we were before meeting Jesus, through our baptism and communion we are forgiven and adopted into God’s family. We become sons and daughters of the heavenly Father and inherit the Kingdom of God. Instead of a sentence of judgment, we are given eternal life and loved unconditionally by the Triune God.

Churches today are filled with stories like those in Corinth. We have no business being the chosen ones. We lie, steal, deceive, and cheat. We are a mess. Yet God the Father adopts us (horns and all) as his sons and daughters and extends grace to us. We are forgiven and raised to new life daily. Jesus redeems our brokenness and proclaims us as God’s children.

Each member of the church in Corinth possessed gifts to further the work of the Triune God. Despite Corinth’s pitfalls, God still called the members to use their gifts to proclaim the good news. The broken members in the church of Corinth were a bunch of misfits with no business doing the Lord’s work, yet God equipped them with the Holy Spirit to be members of his church.

Sometimes we place limits on others and on ourselves based on the past. We say or think we cannot do [whatever “it” is] because of our brokenness. We are unworthy. We limit others and ourselves because we do not know how to share the good news without strings attached or with our own agenda. Luckily, God does not expect us to know how and understands we will mess up every now and then. For this reason, God the Father sends us the Holy Spirit to teach, lead, and lift us up.

The members of the church of Corinth and members of churches today are guaranteed Jesus will return to find us made flawless. Therefore, we are guaranteed entry into the Kingdom of God—not because we earn it but by his grace and forgiveness.

Each church has its problems. No one member has all the answers. No one church has everything figured out. We will always be somewhat dysfunctional and broken. However, through the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we are raised to new life and led by the Holy Spirit each and every day.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for equipping us with the gifts to do your work in the world. Help us to be your humble servants in this broken world. Lead us by the Holy Spirit to new life each and every day. Thank you for promising Jesus’ return and our entry into your kingdom. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. Do we share God’s grace with one another? Or do we shame each other for our downfalls? How?
  2. What are your gifts? How do you use your gifts to spread the good news? Do you place limits on others and on yourself based on the past?

 

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Baptism of our Lord: God Identifies Us

Reading

Matthew 3:13-17

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Can you imagine having to walk a mile every morning to get water before breakfast? Most of us go about our day without taking much notice of a basic like water – well, until it is not there. We turn the faucet on, and water always comes out. However, despite water creating seventy percent of the earth, eight hundred million people around the world do not have access to clean water.

In Africa, a young girl gets up early to walk endless miles to a water pump where she fills her bucket. Then she walks back home to shower, cook, and clean. A few years ago, the young girls and women in Blantyre, Malawi would get water from a watering hole which carried disease and dirt before Charity: Water built six new wells and fixed ten others in the region.

Water means more than we can say or even understand. A human being can go three weeks without food, but only three days without water.

The simple element of water has a powerful meaning for God. In baptism, water is used to bless and mark a child or an adult with the cross. God claims us as his children when we are baptized.

In the gospel reading, John the Baptist is baptizing people in the Jordan River when Jesus comes to him to be baptized (Matthew 3:13). John is starstuck by Jesus and his request to be baptized because he knows who Jesus is. John says Jesus should baptize him, but Jesus explains he needs to be baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:14-15).  Through baptism, Jesus shows submission to God the Father whom he will obey to the death and beyond. Jesus’ baptism serves as his consecration for his mission and ministry. Once he is baptized, Jesus goes into the wilderness and is tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4:1-11), and then he starts his public ministry.

Through his baptism, Jesus shows solidarity with sinners. Jesus comes into the world to save sinners, which includes all of us, sinners who are broken and cannot save themselves. We could never have a relationship with God, if Jesus did not conquer death on our behalf. Jesus stands with us in the darkness and shines his light to show us the way.

When Jesus comes out of the water after being immersed, a dove comes down as the Holy Spirit and a voice says, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17 NRSV).  The Father singles out and names Jesus as his son. By God the Father naming him as his son, he calls Jesus to do his work in the world. In your baptism, too, God calls you by name and calls you to do ministry in your community, even as a child.

Just as the waters of baptism bring us new life and hope, Charity: Water gives individuals around the world hope by providing communities with clean water. This allows people to cook and clean with clean water. Children get to stay in school instead of missing school due to illness from the unclean water. The water systems Charity: Water builds in communities give local people jobs. Farmers can use the water systems to water their crops. Charity: Water trains local individuals to be mechanics to maintain and fix the water systems, supplying them with a steady income.

Charity: Water gives communities hope for the future. When we help communities to obtain clean water, we are giving individuals the opportunity to lead healthier lives and the ability to connect with the Lord. Water washes away the physical dirt and disease like baptism washes away our sins. Our baptisms give us hope through the forgiveness, love, and grace of Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for identifying Jesus Christ as your son. Help us to savor the simple element of water for everything we use and need it for. Lead us to tell the good news Jesus gives to us everyday. May you use our resources to bless others with clean water. Protect us from disease and illness and lead us to everlasting life. Thank you for adopting us as your children. Amen.

Works Cited

Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. List everything you use water for.
  2. How do you access water?
  3. Will you make a donation to Charity: Water?
  4. How do you remember your baptism? If you were an infant, does your family have a tradition to celebrate your baptism?

 

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Charity: Water – The Baptism of the Lord Campaign

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For the next ninety days, I am challenging my readers to raise $1200 for Charity: Water to provide water systems in Rwanda, Uganda, India, Honduras, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Malawi. 800 million individuals around the world have no access to clean water. This means children drink and bathe in contaminated water, which means they cannot go to school or focus in school due to water-borne disease. It also means farmers do not have clean water to take care of their crops. Clean water makes the overall health of the community better. It allows children to stay healthy and focused in school.

Charity: Water builds different water systems based on where the community is located. These include: hand-dug wells, drilled wells, rainwater catchments, gravity-fed systems, piped systems, water purifications, BioSand filters, and spring protections, based on where the community is located. These water systems allow communities to flourish in their environments.

Not only does Charity: Water build water pumps for communities, it also trains individuals to be mechanics to maintain and fix the water pumps. Not only does this allow the water pumps to keep working, it gives the mechanics a steady income and ownership.

In Northern Uganda, Helen used to ask herself everyday “How should I use this water today? Should I water my garden so we can grow food? Should I wash my children’s uniforms? Should I use it to cook a meal? Should we drink this water?” Before Charity: Water built a water pump in her community, Helen would have to make a choice between walking a mile and a half to stand in line for hours to get clean water or taking her chances with contaminated water and boiling it. Now Helen gets as much clean water as she wants and needs to get all her chores done. On top of that, Helen has time to bathe regularly, which makes her feel beautiful.

Not only does Charity: Water build water pumps for communities, it also trains individuals to be mechanics to maintain and fix the water pumps. Not only does this allow the water pumps to keep working, it gives the mechanics a steady income and ownership.

As Christians, we are called to share the good news with others. One way we can do that is to donate money to Charity: Water and help build water pumps in communities. The water pumps provide clean water for communities and help to wash away harmful diseases just as our baptisms wash away our sins.

Join me in the Baptism of the Lord Charity: Water Campaign. Together we can change lives with clean water.

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Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Epiphany: Poetry of God’s Plan

Reading

John 1:1-18

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Life is one great mystery. You start out as a little baby, dependent on everyone. As you grow, you become more independent and less willing to be controlled. You begin forming your own personality and making your own decisions.  Over the years, you transform into an adult with changing responsibilities and dreams. You never know where God will lead you; just when you have life all figured out, God throws you a curveball. The mystery of life is discovering how you will impact the world when you are gone.

As a Biblical scholar and a creative writer, I love the opening of the Gospel of John – the mystery, the poetry, and the deep sense of being connected. The rich opening draws you into the story, naming God the Father as the main character. The author of the Gospel of John opens with “in the beginning.” We remember these words from the creation story in Genesis 1; they cause us to reflect on the beginning of time. When the author adds “was the Word,” we begin to imagine Jesus Christ being with God the Father since the beginning. The possibility of Jesus always being with the Father seems far-fetched, yet the mystery of the Gospel lies in God making the impossible possible.

Jesus is born from a virgin. Jesus is the light of the world who will give us grace upon grace. Jesus is the Word made flesh. In the mystery of the Word, God makes the impossible possible.

The mystery of the Christian faith is not if Jesus walked the earth but how God made it possible and how it impacts us. Christianity is largely about having a relationship with God and about building a community with other believers. We walk on the earth with God by our side to guide us through the darkness. Our relationship with Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – impacts how we live our lives and how we impact others. One of life’s greatest wonders is how our small acts of kindness (opening a door for a stranger, paying a person’s bus fair, or giving out chocolate) can change how others view us as people.

The real answer to answering the great mystery of life is looking at our relationships with each other and with the Triune God. How we treat others through our relationships will determine how we will impact the world.

God so loves the world that he sends his only begotten son to walk with us and to die for our sins. God desperately wants to be in a relationship with each one of us. The only way that relationship is possible is through the death and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. God the Father opens up our phone lines to him through Jesus Christ.

The mystery of God’s master plan is not for us to solve; ours is simply to discover and answer our own individualized callings. You may never understand how you have an impact in making God’s plan possible, but he is using your relationships to impact the world around you to carry out his plan.

Come, O Lord, come!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for making the impossible possible. Help us to impact the world through our relationships with others and with you. Lead us to build communities where we lift up your name and where we can impact the world. Be with us as we walk the earth. Thank you for leaving your master plan a mystery and yet helping us to be faithful to our part in it. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. What mysteries do you wish could be solved?
  2. How do you hope you impact the world?
  3. How do your relationships with others impact you?