24th
Sunday after Pentecost B –
Daniel
12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8
Pastor
Gayle M. Pope
Not Just “Jesus and Me”
There’s a sense of excitement here this
morning – of anticipation – of joy – of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
It’s not unlike the sense of excitement and
anticipation and joy last July when Grace Irene Poland was born into this
world, and John and Amy and Grace became a family. It was a beautiful thing. It was wonderful
that these two young people who were united in marriage right here in this very
spot had given birth to a daughter.
Out of their great love for one another and
God’s love for them, new life, new love was created. God is all about new life,
new birth, resurrection, restoration, redemption. Whenever and wherever those things happen, we
sense the presence of God and there is joy and wonder.
And so it is this morning. In just a few minutes we will all witness
another new birth as Amy and Grace are born into the family of God through the
waters of Baptism.
But we will be more than just witnesses in
this new birth. As members of God’s
family ourselves, we have a stake in this event because our own family is
growing. We are receiving two new sisters in Christ and this is a happy
occasion for ALL of us!
A new life is a beautiful thing, but where
would that new baby be without a family to care for it?
With new life comes new
responsibilities. With love comes
commitment to the well being of the beloved, which entails putting our own
needs aside for the sake of the other. And yet, as the sacrifices are made and
love is lived out in relationships, it grows stronger and deeper.
This is true of the
Our second reading today is a wonderful
Word for the occasion of Baptism because it lifts up both the individual and
the communal aspects of new birth into God’s family.
In the first part of the reading from
Hebrews, Chapter 10, we are reminded of the absolute, unqualified effectiveness
of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. Our
sin makes it impossible for us to be united with God because God is pure
goodness. But God has made a way for us
to come home again. By his death and resurrection, Jesus ripped through the
curtain of sin and death that separates us from God.
Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on our
behalf, we are able to enter into God’s presence with confidence that our guilt
is covered over by the blood of Christ.
“This is the
covenant I will make with them,” says God.
“I will remember their sins no more.”
In Baptism, we enter
into this covenant. We are joined to Christ’s death and resurrection. By these waters, “our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water,” as the writer of Hebrews so aptly describes. And
so we are invited to approach the throne of God – to enter God’s presence with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, “for he who has promised is faithful.”
But, this new life is not just about “Jesus
and Me.” We are not alone before God’s
throne. In our Baptism we are not only connected with God, but we are united
with ALL the saints – all those who believe.
We have brothers and sisters
and we ARE brothers and sisters.
This membership in God’s family is essential to our spiritual well-being
during our time here on earth. And so,
the very next thing we hear in this reading from Hebrews this morning is this:
“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
A lot of people believe they can have a
relationship with God without having to put up with the whole rest of the
church – the hypocrites and sinners who demand and expect things of one another,
like time and money and serving on committees and getting up on Sunday morning
to be together whether you feel like it or not.
Who needs that? We do.
Where would God be in the world without the
church? Well – God would be wherever God
wants to be. But God has chosen to be
present in the Church. God has chosen to
put his children together in assemblies like this and in a human organization
o
through which God’s Words of promise and forgiveness can be
proclaimed;
o
where the story of God’s relationship with us can be passed
down,
o
where God’s grace can be delivered through the means of
water and bread and wine connected to God’s Word,
o
and from where the saints of God can be sent out to do God’s
work in the world.
And even though this whole “church” thing
can be inconvenient and frustrating and even hurtful at times – just like our
earthly families – at times like this morning, it is beautiful.
Here is a new family surrounded by people
who love them. Here is a father who
himself was baptized in this place, as was his own mother and father. And isn’t it interesting that this father’s
father was baptized here as an adult, having married in to this congregation,
just as Amy has.
On a day like today, we see the beauty of
God’s family in its local, earthly and earthy expression, gathered at this
font. And I give thanks that so many
have been faithful not only to God, but also to one another in God’s name, not
neglecting to meet together and to pass on the faith from generation to
generation.
This is important. It is so important that it is part of the
Baptismal rite for sponsors and the whole congregation to promise to nurture
the newly Baptized in the Christian faith by the power of God’s Spirit, to help
them live in the covenant of baptism and in communion with the church, and to pray
for them in their new life in Christ.
When you are asked to make those promises
this morning, I pray you will take them seriously and be faithful to them, as
God is faithful to you. And in doing so,
I know you will be blessed.