Baptism's many Purposes

“[John the Baptizer]:  I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire….Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?”  Jesus replied, “Let it be so now.  For it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  So, John consented.  Matthew 3:11, 13-15

John’s mission on the Jordan river was well attended in his ministry.  The Jews had the practice of mikvoh, a Judaic ritual bathing that had language around what we understand as baptism.  People would step in and out: they went in unclean and came out clean.  They even used the language of “new birth,” especially for Jewish converts who wanted a marking ceremony. 

John the Baptizer expanded the meaning to include repentance and conversion, ladening the waters as an expressing of God’s forgiveness and grace.  This conversion was expressed in the Greek word metanoia, which means “change of mind”, but was expanded it to mean a change of heart, of values and of lifestyle.

For me, the burning question that arises around Jesus’ baptism is this:  Why did a sinless Jesus ask John to baptize him?  I think one answer lies in Jesus’ task on earth in living among people and bringing their identity into his.  He wanted to identify with sinful people – “The Son of Many came to seek and save the lost… (Luke 19:10)  So he started where they needed to start – at the place of repentance and conversion.  Since Jesus asked others to follow him, he included the baptism waters as a path.

But there is more.

Jesus’ baptism was a defining act of his obedience to God.  It demonstrated his commitment by the announcement of baptism, a public display of his truth and relationship with the Father.  Its import is announced by the Father, himself:

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love,  with him I am well pleased.”  Matthew 3:16-17.

Jesus used it to demonstrate his allegiance to God and God used it to announce to the world his relationship with Jesus. The dove is a symbol or metaphor for the visitation or inhabitation of God’s Holy Spirit.  

This was a turning point for Jesus.  Things would never be the same thereafter.

How was your baptism a defining act?

How was your relationship with God changed by your baptism?

With what symbol would you mark the receiving of the Holy Spirit in your life?

The Household of Faith

Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as a father; to younger men as brothers; to older women as mothers; to younger women as sisters - with absolute purity.   1 Timothy 5:1-2

Since we have been adopted as sons and daughters, the sibling relationship emerges as prominent in describing how the family of God should operate.  I am thinking that our own sibling groups may often fall short of a being a guide.  Some of the biggest contentions in our life might be with our siblings.  

Yet, in the New Testament the relationship between believers is referenced as "brethren."  It comes from the Greek word, delphos, which means "from the womb." It is cast as our commonness with Christ as if brothers/sisters by blood, hailing from the source of life of the Trinity:  a common bond intended to honored.

Since our sibling groups on earth aren't always the best example, how does the Bible describe this sibling group?

First, the sibling ethos rests in mutual love.  In John 15:12-13, "Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one's life for one's friends."  This means to go the distance for each other, to be in service to the ones we love.  Here are ways to do this:

    - be of service to your siblings (Galatians 5:13)

    - cause no one to stumble;  don't get in the way of faith for anyone 1 Corinthians 8:11-13

    - look to the interests of others (Romans 14: 15, 21; Philippians 2:4)

    - share resources (Heb 13:16; 6:9-10; 10:24 -25)

    - to the point resources are shared so there is equity (Acts 4:32, 34-35; Acts 11:29)

    - hospitality is a top priority, a core-value (3 John 1:5-8, 9-10)

    - act in unity, since in being one-minded and one-hearted (1 Peter 3:8  (Please note that this is "harmony" - of a blended chord not a single note and of same motivations - not self, but Christ's.)

    - Paul censures all rivalries - pitting one against the other - selfish ambition and disunity.  (Philippians 1:27-30; 4:2-3)

Paul's treatise on this unity is in Philippians 2: 1-5, finally declaring Christ as our ultimate example in verses 6-11.  The sibling question becomes one of who is really in charge and that equity is to rule our relationships because the honor or loss of one is felt by the entire kinship group, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.  "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

These seem to be the most demanding choices of the faith, to be in full allegiance with the family of God:  No black sheep, no first born privileges (except Christ), no exclusions.  We need this solidarity with each other is the ultimate expression of love when we all live a caste-based society with a hierarchy, which often results in the  sequestering of human sustenance and privilege.    

Also, we need this solidarity because it becomes the greatest tool for evangelism.

Taste and See

 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.  Psalm 145:5

We have long pursued the “knowing” of God. To truly connect with the reality of the divine is no small pursuit. Scripture gives us facts, and life offers us glimpses of his presence. Yet the question remains: can we hold those moments long enough for them to blossom into a deeper life with him?

Meditation is the doorway. Reflecting on God—his splendor, his miracles, his care—multiplies our awareness of him. For centuries, the church has tried to guide this pursuit. Stained glass windows, sacred icons, even modern films attempt to bridge the gap between human perception and divine reality.

And yet, no human creation can equal the presence of God himself. Consider the difference: a photograph of a mountain versus standing at its base; a video of waves versus feeling them crash against your body; a picture of a stadium versus lying on the 50‑yard line. Images can point, but they cannot replace immersion.

I remember lying at the foot of El Capitan—how holy and arresting it felt. I remember the tide lapping at my feet, and the terror of a riptide. I remember the roar of the crowd as my team burst onto the field. No picture or video captures those moments. They hold only a fraction of the emotion. No replica will do.

Even God’s Word—clear, illuminating, and true—is not meant to replace the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The printed page comes alive only when the Spirit breathes it into our lived experience. Meditation becomes the bridge, carrying truth from the page into our hearts where Christ dwells.

Gratitude is a simple example. Think of a meal or drink you enjoyed this week. How does that provision reflect God’s care? Think of someone who showed you love today. Where do you see God in that gift? To pause and re‑enter those moments is to meditate.

The Psalm invites us: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Our senses—God‑given and deeply human—become conduits for knowing him. Through them, meditation moves us beyond words into presence, beyond description into dwelling, beyond knowledge into communion with Christ.

Let Freedom Ring!

 So Christ has truly set us free.  Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.  Galatians 5:1

It is time for the freedom, for which Christ died, to be part of the body of belief that we teach to those we lead and nurture.  I am reminded of my Romanian roommate’s stories of the years of release from communism after the revolution of the 1980s.  She said that the older people who had been accustomed to rules and dependence are not faring well in a free-market economy that requires initiative, personal commitment and hard work.  It was easier to be told what to do, to let someone else be creative and interactive with the system.  Now it requires personal responsibility. 

 How many Christians, too, would prefer rules, with others setting the standards and taking the responsibility for what they believe and how they behave?  I have been pondering and debating how a church, whose traditional format is to teach the rules of Christian behavior, might preach freedom and not have chaos, syncretism and sacrilege.  As my roommate would say, I would like to “help people to learn to walk in freedom.”  How much we have to change our view of religious practices when they are Spirit-based as opposed to rule-based! 

Jesus died for freedom’s sake.  Paul urges us to stay free (Galatians 5:1) and to pursue Spirit-led living instead of law-driven living (Galatians 5:16-25).  It might mean initiative, personal commitment and hard work, all required for relationship-building with any person, including our Lord.  And if it is true that “union with God” is our primary goal, would this not make complete sense.

The Outsider

 Jesus turned to his host.  "When you put on a luncheon or dinner, don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives and rich neighbors.  For they will invite you back and that will be your only reward.  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."

A man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, "What a blessing it will be to attend the breaking of bread in the Kingdom of God!"

[The famous Great Feast parable follows - including the surprised of who it will include.]

Jesus told this parable:  A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.  When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, "Come the banquet is ready." But all the guests began making excuses.  One said, "I have just bought a field and must inspect it.  Please, excuse me."  Another said, "I have just bought five pairs of oxen and I want to try them out.  Please, excuse me."  And another, "I now have a wife, so I cannot come."

The servant returned and told his master what they had all said.  His master was furious and said, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame."  Even after the servant did this, he reported, "There is still room for more."  

So, his master said, "Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.  For none of whom I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet."  Luke 14:12 -25

I have often heard this preached as a warning to the wealthy, the hosts.  Here we find that the original guests allowed other demands to take precedence over meeting the conditions of saying "yes" to an invitation.  In this shame and honor culture, such events were highly significant...and turning down such an offer was quite offensive to a host.  Yet, the first guests let economic opportunities, relationships and bad planning interfere with their first commitment.

What is the quirk of human nature that causes us 

to miss out on the greatest invitations?

Yet, I find myself in the crowd of those not usually invited to such galas.  The usual avenues to feeling like I am welcome, too, in religious circles feel awkward to me.  I feel like I am outside of the invitation circle.  I think all have felt like an outsider at some point, but God is intent on going to great effort to include us in his blessing banquet.

The servant, who is put in charge of the second wave of invitations, knows all the haunts to find people who really need the bread.  This host even uses references of homelessness I understand:  behind the hedges, along the roads.  I've been lost down the backroads, hiding behind the boundaries, too.

The host, God, wants a full house.  He has a table of plenty.  He is using his servants to lure the needy to the table.  Take your role.  Be part of the call or heed the call.  Make the table full!!

The Obvious and the Invisible

 Your way ran through the sea; your path cut through great  waters, yet no one can spot your footprints.  This is how you lead your people:  obviously and invisibly.  Psalm 77:19

So many are searching. Christians often live in a continual awareness of seeking the leading of God. He gives us his Word—solid, trustworthy, life‑giving—yet the movement of his Spirit within us can still leave us wondering. How do I know the “voice” I hear isn’t simply my own? How do I distinguish God’s way from the world’s way, beyond the obvious sins we know to avoid? What should my career be? Who should walk with me in life? Where does ministry fit in a world overflowing with need?

This metaphor from the Psalms steadies me. A path through the sea? Footprints in the ocean? I’ve seen something like that in real life. I come from an area where there are many gravel pits, the digs of the mounds of fill and silt dropped by the glaciers during the last ice age.  Before conservation laws came into effect, gravel was often dug right up to the riverbanks, swallowing sections of the river into the widening pit and leaving behind a lake where land once stood.  It looked as if the river had vanished.

But I learned something: if you stand in just the right place, at just the right time, you can see the river’s path running straight through that man‑made lake. Invisible from most angles, but unmistakable when you know where to look.

That’s the key—knowing when and where to place myself so I 

can catch God’s truth. That becomes the work: searching for that 

vantage point, positioning myself with intention, waiting for the 

moment when the hidden becomes clear. Just like an eagle who must 

put themselves in the right place to soar and catch the wind, so must 

I. And when I do—when I wait, observe and ready myself - God's 

leading becomes astonishingly obvious. The revelation comes, and 

with it, the action that follows.

Prayer:

Lord, teach me where to stand.

Quiet my striving so I can see the path you cut through the waters.

Help me trust your leading even when your footprints are hidden.

Make me ready for the revelation—and the obedience—that follows.

Amen.

 

Emmanuel - God with Us

 Look! The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel, which means "God with us."  Matthew 1:23

"With" in the Greek is "meta," which simply translated means "among."  It has other intonations, though, that includes participation, proximity, association and union.  It signifies a personal union of the human and divine, symbolizing a symbiotic presence of the divine with humanity.

Do you remember the definition of symbiosis from biology class?  Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms, denoting a mutually beneficial relationship.  This really usurps ideas about "it's all God" I have heard.  God intends a give-and-take.

This raises a huge amount of questions.

How does this mutually beneficial relationship develop?  How are God and I impacting each other? God benefits from being in relationship with me?  

I think about the very definitive description of "God is love."  With him, love is not a one-way street.  Love is God's way of being with someone.  To return the gesture (symbiotically), how do I "be" with God?  How do I place myself into God's desires?

So, how about this comparison (and expand it for yourself):

God "with" me                                Me "with" God

Presence - availability                    Seek out his Presence

Offer of the Holy Spirit                Be aware of the movement of                                                                       the Holy Spirit

Purpose                                           Seek out his purposes

Triune-nature:  community             Seeking community of others

I'm not trying to fit the eternal and expansive God in me, but rather find my place in Him, his presence.  I am not going to confine God to a "God-shaped-hole" in me, but rather find, live and grow into the space in God's presence and creation that he has for me.

God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us:  for in Him we live and move and have our being..."  Acts 17:  26-28b.

I love the metaphor of water: submerged, I find I am in the water and it is in me.

Lord, submerge me in you, your ways, your presence, your movement. Let me bear no resistance to the full presence of You!  Carry me and sustain me.  Amen

Psalm 74

 Psalm 74

A lament during the exile to Babylon

What is our exile?

It feels as if the democracy “experiment” has failed.  It is crumbling from within.  Its one success was that it spawned an ideal of self-governance and liberty around the world, but now it fails to protect itself.

Though it did not hail from religious beginnings, it was from the faith of men wanting self-rule.  A flawed beginning held together by a construct/a mythology that slowly spread, sporadically and imperfectly, to all people within the boundaries that freedom mattered.  That mythology did not hold, though, because forces of old – greed and power – used an inherent hierarchy to reinvent a system of control over the masses. Freedom and equity (whether of power, sustenance, health, opportunity…) would no longer exist, if it ever did.  

Maybe the Republic was just a false front.

Did we invest too much in the man-made structure of democracy?  Is that our torture now?  Did we make freedom and self-governance a sanctuary that only served those who thought to sequester the power, pretending it was for all? 

We claimed our identity around the altar of democracy.  Did the Republic even define our “religion”?  Self-governance took you, O God, out of your rightful place among us.  We valued freedom and happiness as first pursuits when You should have been our first pursuit – then you would have defined and given freedom and happiness in a more encompassing way.

Is this what the Republic has done?

·       Was it a lion that claimed the inner sanctum (of being and import) in each of us for itself?

·       Did the Republic rip to shreds culture groups’ and people groups’ purpose and protection? (Ask the American Indian, African slave and the immigrant.)

·       Did the democracy “scorch” all the places where God can meet His people?  (In the name of advancement and financial growth, did earth pay the price for settlement and expansion?)

And now the experiment of democracy crumbles.  Will it soon go up in flames with only ash and smoke remaining?

The deconstruction of the American Republic might be God’s effort to reorder the culture and bring people back to the right place of salvation on the land, with God in the lead.  What power is needed to finish off bad governance, misdirected ideology?  We are watching inherent evil do it for us.

Power belongs to God.  Can’t you see it in the cycle of life on the earth?  Even the cycle of the universe – day and night – belongs to God. 

Don’t forget that the enemy has taunted You and we, as a company of fools, have snubbed you, O Lord.  Bring back our focus and renew our spirits such that we turn again to You.  Don’t forget us and Your true intention for all. Put us again in a position to give You praise!

Lord, rise up and defend your cause.  Reveal and remove our foolish pursuits. 

#34

 

I dare not say what I might write

if just left to pen and light.

I dare not think of what I’d do

if bereft of love and thought of you.

I’m overtaxed with sight and sound

And filled with dread of greater wrongs.

 

So, I move my attention

         give attention

         pay attention

pay the price by moving my thoughts into the debit column of your offering.

 

It’s in your hands now

and with head bowed,

divested of being in the center,

I lay at the edge

no longer in torment.