I am convinced that
there are not many new ideas coming out. For the most part, folks take what
already exists and put it in new packaging or reword a phrase or two and then
say it’s new. Think about your cell phones. We’re bombarded with constant ads
that we need new ones that are better somehow. Really it’s the same thing, just
coming out of a new box.
At times, when we
follow the Church year it feels like there’s nothing new. We move from one
thing to the next because, as the Church, it’s what we do. The Church doesn't really think of time like we do in our everyday lives. Generally, we think of
time in a linear fashion; there’s a beginning, middle and end. So it’s already
a shift in thinking when the Church year, although it technically does have a
beginning (first Sunday of Advent) and end (Christ the King Sunday), is a
circle. With a perfect circle there’s no beginning or end. But what if I asked
you to rethink the church calendar once more? What if I asked you to think of
the Church year more as a spiral? We still get to go around in a circular
fashion but we don’t stay flat. Picture a spring - it goes around but also moves
slowly upwards in direction. We’re still growing and changing, even though it may
seem like we’re going around the same places. So what are we growing into then
if we shift our thinking into being a spiral?
This morning’s Gospel
reading we go back to the first chapter of Mark and we hear again of Jesus
being baptized. But there’s more to the story this time. Jesus is immediately
sent out into the wilderness for his 40 days of temptation. This is where we
get the number 40 for the 40 days of Lent, excluding Sundays. This section from
Mark is then paired up with 1 Peter and we hear more about baptism. We've had
John the Baptist’s version of the story, we just heard the writer of Mark’s
version of the story and now the author of 1 Peter is telling us again about
baptism. Oh the circles. But it’s not a circle – it’s a spiral. Each time we
hear the about Jesus’ baptism we get to hear about new meaning. Yes it’s all
connected but the community of faith in the times of these writings are growing
and changing. By the time that 1 Peter is written there’s a huge problem with
the early community. They firmly believed that Jesus was coming back in their
lifetimes. Salvation was really at hand. But guess what – people are getting
older and dying off and Jesus hasn’t returned. Now what do you do with the
story of baptism, the story of death and resurrection that was made to sound
like it was imamate in the “prepare the way of the Lord” language we have heard
so often? We hear this story at least once a church year so what’s something
new can we learn from this story?
First let’s address
the issue of waiting on Jesus to return. Jesus never said that we needed to sit
on our butts and wait. Jesus told people to go out and to live and to do – they
were called work to bring about the kingdom of God here on earth. They were
told to go out and bring people in and not just the people like them or the
people who should know about faith. They were called to bring in everyone.
There was work to be done and I’m sure folks were tired and their lives were
just as hard if not harder than ours today but they did it otherwise we wouldn't be here.
Let’s look at Peter’s
writing one more time. There’s a nice little phrase in the middle – “appeal to
God for a good conscience.” It’s sneaky how that’s in the middle because it’s a
loaded statement. A good conscience – being able to sleep at night, the
knowledge of having done the best you could. When it comes to your work in the
life of the Church, in being the kingdom of God in the here and now - how good
is your conscience? When pastors ask this question we often get answers in the
past tense. “I taught Sunday School. I brought my kids to church. I counseled
church camp. I served on a board.” You name it; the statement is in the past
tense. When we pastors ask folks what they’re currently doing one rebuttal is
“I’m tired. I’m on a break.” And the tricky part for us pastors is when we then
move to the next question – so how long is this break going to be?
How many of us have allowed
our break from doing the work of the Church, or truly living out our faith, to last
longer than any break? The Church has a part in this problem too. Once we find someone
who is willing and able to do the work of faith, we suck them dry. We use them to
the point of burn out and then wonder why they don’t answer our calls and emails.
Maybe it’s because they've finally realized that they need a Sabbath from being
used. The Church has to find ways to work with people and not suck the life out
of people. But how many folks have also walked away once they believe their time
is served? God never said that you stopped doing work in Genesis. Just because we’re
baptized, doesn't mean that the faith journey stops. While physical abilities and
time commitments may change, there is still work we all can do.
May we all, including the
Church, find ways to be healthy in its work and that we keep doing our part to faithfully
respond to God’s call to us.
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