NEW CLOTHES
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Yes, this morning we are back in Colossians 3. Again. I said that there was more than one sermon is this passage and we are back looking at Colossians 3 today. You had a hint why in our children's message a little over a month ago. This passage, among many other things is a passage that challenges us to remember our baptism. To remember our commitment when we came to Christ, and when we were baptized. It challenges us not to a sentimental remembering. Rather, it challenges us as a church to a remembering that effects the way that we live. The way that we eat and sleep, the way that relate to people every day.
As I shared in the children's message a couple of weeks ago, ancient baptismal traditions are a little different than our own today. One common baptismal tradition was to have people come to the bathroom with one set of clothes (a robe often in this case), to take off one's clothes for one's baptism, and as one came out of the water to be immediately covered by a new robe. This symbolized that they moved from an old life and put on a new life.
That is the decision that Holly and Megan celebrate today. They stand up and declare that they have made that decision. As they do this, we should celebrate with them. We should also remember that we have done the same. If we are disciples of Christ we have made the same decision. As they proclaim their commitment, we need to recommit to ours.
When we come to participate in a baptism, either as a congregation or as an individual person, we celebrate both a burial of sorts and a birth of sorts. A death to one way of life, and a birth to a new way of life.
You know, this is my first baptism with you, and my first baptism using a stock tank to immerse someone, but in other ministerial settings I have baptized someone. In the last church I served we had enough staff that if you were baptizing someone you just did not have to do that much the rest of the worship service. And so, the baptism was usually somewhere between the beginning and the middle of the service. So, I usually got to sit and visit with whomever was the baptismal candidate.
One time, I was baptizing one of the teenagers in our church. And as we got to visiting, I asked if he was scared or nervous. He said he was. The other person there to help him told him not to be worried or nervous. I told him I disagreed. This was an important moment. A public statement of a huge commitment. It is a moment that should come with a little anxiety and a little fear.
It comes with a new anxiety and a new fear because it is a kind of like a death. I have been with people as they are dying or are near death. I have sat in a few hospitals and by a few beds. And when you are there, at least for me, it never feels easy or safe or normal. It is never quite easy or comfortable when you are in that room.
It surprised me that when I visited with people near death, especially people who knew Jesus, that a lot of them were not anxious or worried about dying at all. Some are but many are not. It surprised me that many were worried about how their friends and family were going to manage after they are gone. The hard part for several people that I know is the letting go. The letting go. The being out of control.
Why do I share this? Because as you two, Holly and Megan, come to the waters of baptism, there is a death to an old way of life that requires a letting go. A death to worshipping your own agenda. A death to a way of life that is all about you. A death to a way of living that is all about being a slave to sin, to the world, and to the devil.
Colossians says that living the new life means that you have to put to death that old life. That old life that is full of a whole bunch of ways of living that bring regret. Regret about what we have said, who we have slept with, about how greedy and selfish we are and we can be. Even though we are imperfect, and we stumble, a baptism is statement to the world that we have chosen a different direction for our life, a different trajectory.
Romans 6 says it this way in THE MESSAGE:
1-3So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!
3-5That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.
Jennifer and I like watching a TV show called Clean House once in a while. The concept of the show is that there is this house that is a TOTAL DISASTER AREA. It is messy enough that there is hardly room to walk through the house. And at the end of the show the house is not only cleaned, it is professionally decorated. Usually with some sort of new furniture or flooring with it. But, before they can get to this huge benefit, they have to part with a lot of their junk. Because, most of these people are pack rats. And usually the owners of the place are attached to well—they are attached to some personal junk. And they know that there is something better on the other side, but they have a hard time letting go of their invaluable junk that they never use and hardly ever even see. Baptism is about finally letting go of all of that junk that causes all sorts of distress and clutter in our lives, and letting go in the hope of the new life that is ahead of us.
Baptism is about a death. It is also about a new way of living. Because baptism is not just about celebrating a burial. Even more it is about celebrating a birth.
It is about celebrating a birth that has happened in your hear and in your mind. It is a new life announcement to the whole world. It is like a spiritual baby shower of sorts.
In most churches I have been in, people react to seeing someone coming out of the water much like they do when they see with little children the first time With ooos and aaaahs. And most of the time when you come out of the water you come out of the water your hair is all wet and plastered to your face and you are blinking and taking a deep breathe and trying to get your bearings, just like a new child entering the world.
Baptisms are one of the most beautiful things in the world because they are all about new life.
Our Bible passage from Colossians talks about the new life. It talks about the new direction of our lives in following Jesus. A life that is about forgiveness and compassion, humility and grace, hope and love. And trust that when our life does not seem all that full of any of these that God gives us grace and love to keep going in that direction. And he gives us peace, and patience, and hope, and joy.
Baptism says that about us and our choices.
Baptism also speaks about a new extended family. This family does not replace your biological family. But you find a whole new spiritual family when you pass through the waters of baptism. Colossians says by going through a number of ethnic and social backgrounds that none of those matter in the family of Jesus. You don't have to have some special background to be a part of the family You just need to have decided to follow Jesus.
Holly and Megan, I want you to know that you have a whole church family here that wants to support you, to help you grow to be more like Jesus. To support you when you are having a hard time, and to celebrate with you when you are being blessed by the Lord. We want you to know that you have a place in our mission to share the love of Christ with the community and the world. We want you to know that if you have not already sensed it, we want to be like family to you.
We will stumble and need forgiveness just like you do. But we all have God as our father. And we all have Jesus as our Master and Leader. And the Holy Spirit and our Guide. And we are here to follow Jesus together And we are thankful that we have you to serve with and love and to care for
Baptism says a lot about us. It says a lot about the group of people we joined together with. It says even more about our Lord
If you remember our study of the book of Colossians, it is all about how Jesus is our all in all. About how Jesus is the center of everything. It gets to chapter 3 and it talks about this resurrection life.
When you come to these waters of baptism, you tell the world about a choice you have made for your life. You also tell the world a choice you have made about your relationships. Particularly your relationship with Jesus. Both the passage that we have read in Colossians and the other one talk about resurrection life. They talk about what happened with Jesus on the cross, and with the empty tomb.
When you come to these waters of baptism, Holly and Megan, you come saying that you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to offer you eternal life. You are saying that you believe that enough that you are willing to stand up in front of all of us here and go through a baptism that tells people that Jesus died for our sins, and that he rose again. That is what baptism says you know.
You are telling the world more than this though. You are telling the world that Jesus has come into your life. That he has touched your heart. That you have surrendered your life to Jesus. That when you could not do anything to earn or deserve God's love and grace he reached out and loved you. Even more he treasured you, and each one of us, as if we were his favorite child.
And when you do that, Holly and Megan, it speaks to all of us.
It gets us back to basics.
It helps us to remember that church isn't all about all of the business that we do as an institution called a church. That is all a means to an end. Church is all about this. This relationship with Jesus. This call to new life of hope and faith that starts even now. This eternal life Christ has given to us if we choose to trust in. him.
And so we remember our commitment to Christ as a church. To follow him and believe him and trust him. We remember our commitment to one another as a church. To be the hands and feet of Jesus. Loving and forgiving. We remember, even more, Christ's love for us. Christ's grace in our lives. Christ rising from the dead and offering us new life. Even now.
1 comment:
this is lovely.
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