Jesus Is My Savior

There was a great deal that was disturbing about this week’s breech at the Capitol.  A full accounting of the day’s events will take time.  For many people of faith, one of the more painful parts of the day came from people who chanted and carried signs “Jesus is my savior.”  What makes this so painful for me is that participation in armed insurrection is antithetical to the Gospel.  While it is true that our faith calls us to stand for justice and work for and with those who are marginalized, it is equally true that we will be known by our fruits.  Furthermore, the witness to Jesus’ life and ministry makes clear that violence itself will beget violence.  The displays of Christian Nationalism we saw this week, and have seen increasing in the last few months, are an absolute affront to the cross of Christ.  Invoking the name of Christ in service to the lie of Nationalism is as equally reprehensible as its use to validate the lie of white supremacy.

Remember Who You Are

In these fraught times it is important to stay rooted in our most precious and fundamental identity in Christ.  Remembering that we have been baptized in Jesus name isn’t about invoking Jesus’ name as if it was a secret password to an exclusive club.  Worse yet, Jesus’ name is not the golden key, the get out of jail free card, that covers us so we can get away with our worst impulses.  To be rooted in Jesus name, through Baptism, is about staying aligned with the heart, the work and the purpose of Christ in the world.  This is a call to embrace the practices and values of love, mercy, compassion, justice, and forgiveness.  These values are to be engaged through the ongoing expression of self-giving on behalf of others.  To be rooted in this identity is to have a vocation:  To be a prophet.  Prophet is, perhaps the most misunderstood vocation in the community of faith.  It isn’t about predicting the future…it is about seeing and bearing witness to God’s vision for creation.  We call this vision Kingdom of God, or more inclusively, the Beloved Community.

The Grace to Be Remade

Entering into and renewal of the Baptismal covenant is a choice we make individually and collectively to open our self to the relationship which God offers us through God’s presence in our life.  We enter into this relationship with the desire to experience a change in our life.  In that openness to newness of life, the Spirit of God begins the work of renewal, healing and transformation.  John Wesley called this process ‘sanctification’.  This is the work of being remade more and more into the image of Christ.  This year, as we remember the Baptism of Jesus by John and reconnect with our own Baptism the need to be renewed in the Spirit seems more acute than at any other time in memory.  In the hands of the most experienced flipper, even the most run down, beaten down and neglected house can be remade and renewed.  It can become a home again.  Likewise, when we feel worn down, the Spirit makes a home with us so that we can be remade.  The practices of prayer, reading Scripture, speaking truth (in love) and acting for justice on behalf of others (just to name a few) are the experiences that immerse us in the Spirit’s work.  Join us for worship on Sunday as we celebrate this gift and embrace it to empower us for the work ahead.