This text shows us that all we can do is invite people to encounter Christ. Jesus is the one who closes the deal.
Philip is so excited to be a follower of Jesus that he tries to recruit another guy named Nathanael. But Nathanael is skeptical and responds, “What good could come from Nazareth?” Nathanael is what we would call xenophobic. He considers anything, and anyone, from a different culture, especially Nazareth, to be beneath him - dirty, unworthy of his attention. BUT, he is curious enough to at least take a look at Jesus.
And that curiosity is enough. He encounters Jesus and Bam! Jesus closes the deal. This physical encounter gives Nathanael a taste of something he could not imagine living without.
Too often we think evangelism is about getting people to take the step from unbelief to full trust in God. I can’t think of many things more intimidating than that. But scripture keeps reminding us not to worry about it. Our role is to invite.
I’ll be the first to admit that it is often hard to invite people to church, let alone invite them to experience a relationship with God. Especially given the mantra we continually hear from others; a mantra reminiscent of Nathanael’s question: “Can anything good come out of the Christian church?”
In all honesty, though, I can’t blame people for reacting that way. If you were not part of a church, if you didn’t have nourishing relationships with people in the Christian community, if you have not experienced God’s love firsthand; you might be inclined to ask, “Can anything good come out of the Christian church?”
If all you know about the church comes from televangelists, clergy abuse scandals, cars with fish stickers that cut you off in traffic, hateful speech from Christians towards people of other races and religions; you might be inclined to ask, “Can anything good come out of the Christian church?”
If you were asked to leave a church because of a divorce, if communion was denied to you because you are told you are not worthy nor part of the right group; you probably want nothing to do with someone who is a Christian.
I don’t blame people who are skeptical of Christianity; and there are many things we should apologize for. But here’s the truth that rarely makes it onto the front page of the newspaper: Christ loves us in spite of our failures.
We stand firm in our faith because we trust that God will work through us to make the world a better place. This is hard to communicate to people who are confident that nothing good can come out of the Christian church; but nevertheless, we still invite them to experience a relationship with Christ.
Here at Desert Cross, we invite them to help us resettle third-world refugees seeking a better life. We invite them to join us in giving food, clothing, and school supplies to those who do not have enough. We invite them to bring their children to laugh, play and sing with our children in a safe and nourishing environment. We invite them to serve the poor, the orphans, and the widows in the Valley and abroad in places like Mexico and Romania. We invite them to the Lord’s table to join us in celebrating the gift of life given to all people in spite of all our personal failures or shortcomings.
I hope you realize that we have something worth inviting people into; especially here at Desert Cross. This place is worth an invitation. Some may scoff at our invitation, but may be curious enough to take a peek at what Jesus has to offer. As we learn in this text, all we can do is invite; Jesus is the one who will close the deal.
That being said, I’m gonna close with one more illustration. I can’t pass this up given the big Cardinals football game coming up this afternoon.
There are two boys who are big football fans. Despite growing up in Arizona, they have never really rooted for the Cardinals. One day last year the youngest boy went to a Cardinals home game with his dad and was able to meet some of the players after the game. One of the players he met was Larry Fitzgerald, the 6’ 3” wide receiver with the long dreadlocks and electric smile. Fitzgerald thanked the boy for coming out to the game, told him to keep coming to the games, and gave him a present – his glove, which he signed. With that he walked away, leaving the boy in a state of shock, with a smile stretching from ear to ear.
When they returned home, the boy talked a mile-a-minute to anyone who would listen. He went on and on about the cool stadium, the excitement of the game, the cheering fans, and the gift that his friend, Larry Fitzgerald, gave him after the game. It didn’t take long for his older brother to get fed up with the excited ramblings. The older brother snapped, “Why do you like the Cardinals? They’re terrible. They’ve always been terrible. They’ll never win the Super Bowl!”
Despite not making the playoffs last year, the young Cardinals fan remained dedicated to his team. When summer rolled around, the father took both boys up to Flagstaff to experience the Cardinals training camp. The oldest boy was a little reluctant to take the long trip just to meet a bunch of “losers.”
After one of their afternoon practices, the players stayed out on the field to meet the fans and sign autographs. The youngest boy immediately found Larry Fitzgerald and drug his brother over to where he was standing. The youngest boy said “hi,” reminded him of their encounter after the game last year, and reached out his fist to knock knuckles with the wide receiver. The older brother stood there and couldn’t stop staring at the football player. He reached out his hand, which held a Larry Fitzgerald football card, but couldn’t form the words asking for an autograph. Fitzgerald took the card, signed it, gave it back to the boy and said, “You think we’re gonna go all the way this year?” The oldest brother nodded in agreement, Fitzgerald smiled, said “yeah, we’re going all the way,” and then walked away.
On the way home the oldest brother asked his dad if they could stop by the mall so that he could buy a Cardinals jersey.
Both boys rooted for the Cardinals with all their heart this season, in good times and bad. And today they will eagerly watch their buddy, Larry Fitzgerald, play his heart out. Win or lose, the boys will probably always be Cardinals fans because of this personal encounter with a player.
This may seem like a dubious or petty example of Jesus’ promise, but when I hear this story of Jesus and Nathanael, I like to picture the excited faces of these two boys; two boys who experienced a personal encounter which changed them. All we can do is invite people to go to the game. The experience and the relationships will close the deal.
Amen; and Go Cardinals!
**update - the Cardinals defeated the Eagles this afternoon to advance to the Super Bowl on Feb 1! Larry Fitzgerald had 3 touchdown catches!**
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Baptism (Mark 1:9-11)
The week after Christmas, Lindsey and I went back to Ohio to spend time with our families. One of the first activities we did was to attend the baptism of our nephew, Matt. In all honesty, I was nervous about it.
You see, Matt’s parents have decided to raise him in the Catholic Church. I wondered whether the non-Catholic attendees would be allowed to stand at the font with Matt, or if we would be banished to the furthermost pew. I wondered if I would have any strong theological disagreement with whatever the priest would say during the baptism. But most of all, and again I’m just being honest, I was a sad that the decision to raise Matt Catholic meant both that Lindz and I were out of the running to be Matt’s godparents and that I would not be able to baptize him myself.
When I was baptized 28 years ago I was baptized by my uncle, who is a Lutheran pastor. I like that I can say that that I was baptized by someone in my family. I’m proud that my uncle was the first one who officially welcomed me into the church. I’m thankful that often when I see my uncle I am reminded of my baptism, with all the gifts and responsibilities it entails.
I really wanted to serve the same role for my nephew. I wanted to be the first one to welcome him into the church. I wanted to establish a faith relationship with the little guy. Years down the road I want Matt to see me, be reminded of his baptism, and to know that God loves him and has claimed him as his own child.
Unfortunately, when planning the baptism, no one thought of asking me what my needs were!
In the end, the baptism was a wonderful event. We were not banished to the dark corner of the church, but instead were welcomed to stand at the font for the baptism and even invited to stand near the altar for the blessing. There was laughter, smiles, approximately a thousand combined pictures taken, and a liturgy which I could not find much fault in. What really matters is that there was a lot of love in that church; a lot of love surrounding Matt and his parents. The whole family was welcomed and supported. It was a triumphant entry into God’s kingdom.
And that’s what baptism is all about – it’s all about love.
We learn about this love in today’s scripture. When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River, he is embraced by the Holy Spirit and he receives a revelation which tears apart the heavens: he is told that he is loved. The first thing that happens after Jesus has been baptized is God claims him as a son and says out loud, “I love you.”
It is not an accident that Mark begins his Gospel account with Jesus’ baptism. He skips over the infancy narrative and goes straight to Jesus’ baptism because it sets the tone for the rest of his Gospel. If Mark’s Gospel was a term paper, this paragraph would be his thesis statement.
In baptism, Jesus learns who he is and whose he is; and this will guide his ministry from that moment on. Every miracle he performs, every healing that takes place, every word from his lips, even his death on a cross, is a testament to the fact that God loves him, has claimed him as his Son, and has given him the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s love enables him to live a selfless life of service to those in need.
If we really want to appreciate Jesus’ humanness, we should understand that his baptism was necessary. Without it, he may not have received the Holy Spirit. He may not have known his true identity – the Son of God. He may not have even known that God loved him. He may have gone through his life focused only on his own well-being; hesitant to help others; and always in search of something to fill the void left by the absence of God’s love.
Like you and me, Jesus needed to know that someone loved him. Like you and me, he needed the gifts that are bestowed at baptism so that he could live a life of service to others.
Baptism is a relationship based on God’s love for us. In baptism, God’s permanent and unconditional love is explicitly made known to the one being baptized. When parents bring their children to be baptized, they are saying, “we love you.” We love you so much that we want you to grow up surrounded by as much love as possible. We especially want you to know that God loves you and will always love you.
With regards to my nephew’s baptism, I lost sight of my role in his life. My desire to baptize him myself may have been well intentioned, but it was selfish nonetheless. I lost sight of the fact the most important relationship in baptism is between God and the one being baptized. Years down the road Matt may not look at me and recall his baptism, but I will try my hardest to make sure he looks at me and is reminded that God loves him.
You see, Matt’s parents have decided to raise him in the Catholic Church. I wondered whether the non-Catholic attendees would be allowed to stand at the font with Matt, or if we would be banished to the furthermost pew. I wondered if I would have any strong theological disagreement with whatever the priest would say during the baptism. But most of all, and again I’m just being honest, I was a sad that the decision to raise Matt Catholic meant both that Lindz and I were out of the running to be Matt’s godparents and that I would not be able to baptize him myself.
When I was baptized 28 years ago I was baptized by my uncle, who is a Lutheran pastor. I like that I can say that that I was baptized by someone in my family. I’m proud that my uncle was the first one who officially welcomed me into the church. I’m thankful that often when I see my uncle I am reminded of my baptism, with all the gifts and responsibilities it entails.
I really wanted to serve the same role for my nephew. I wanted to be the first one to welcome him into the church. I wanted to establish a faith relationship with the little guy. Years down the road I want Matt to see me, be reminded of his baptism, and to know that God loves him and has claimed him as his own child.
Unfortunately, when planning the baptism, no one thought of asking me what my needs were!
In the end, the baptism was a wonderful event. We were not banished to the dark corner of the church, but instead were welcomed to stand at the font for the baptism and even invited to stand near the altar for the blessing. There was laughter, smiles, approximately a thousand combined pictures taken, and a liturgy which I could not find much fault in. What really matters is that there was a lot of love in that church; a lot of love surrounding Matt and his parents. The whole family was welcomed and supported. It was a triumphant entry into God’s kingdom.
And that’s what baptism is all about – it’s all about love.
We learn about this love in today’s scripture. When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River, he is embraced by the Holy Spirit and he receives a revelation which tears apart the heavens: he is told that he is loved. The first thing that happens after Jesus has been baptized is God claims him as a son and says out loud, “I love you.”
It is not an accident that Mark begins his Gospel account with Jesus’ baptism. He skips over the infancy narrative and goes straight to Jesus’ baptism because it sets the tone for the rest of his Gospel. If Mark’s Gospel was a term paper, this paragraph would be his thesis statement.
In baptism, Jesus learns who he is and whose he is; and this will guide his ministry from that moment on. Every miracle he performs, every healing that takes place, every word from his lips, even his death on a cross, is a testament to the fact that God loves him, has claimed him as his Son, and has given him the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s love enables him to live a selfless life of service to those in need.
If we really want to appreciate Jesus’ humanness, we should understand that his baptism was necessary. Without it, he may not have received the Holy Spirit. He may not have known his true identity – the Son of God. He may not have even known that God loved him. He may have gone through his life focused only on his own well-being; hesitant to help others; and always in search of something to fill the void left by the absence of God’s love.
Like you and me, Jesus needed to know that someone loved him. Like you and me, he needed the gifts that are bestowed at baptism so that he could live a life of service to others.
Baptism is a relationship based on God’s love for us. In baptism, God’s permanent and unconditional love is explicitly made known to the one being baptized. When parents bring their children to be baptized, they are saying, “we love you.” We love you so much that we want you to grow up surrounded by as much love as possible. We especially want you to know that God loves you and will always love you.
With regards to my nephew’s baptism, I lost sight of my role in his life. My desire to baptize him myself may have been well intentioned, but it was selfish nonetheless. I lost sight of the fact the most important relationship in baptism is between God and the one being baptized. Years down the road Matt may not look at me and recall his baptism, but I will try my hardest to make sure he looks at me and is reminded that God loves him.
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