Pastor Tom Johnson, August 18, 2013
Jesus describes his own baptism by fire. He already feels
the stress and weight of this baptism. Soon, he will sweat drops of blood. He
will pray for the cup to pass him by—to avert this fiery bath—but he will yield
to the will of God the Father. It is a baptism of fire. And like all fire, it
is a consuming fire. It is a cleansing fire. It is a baptismal washing that
incinerates the power of evil, our sin, and death itself. It is the raging
blaze of Jesus’ Cross and resurrection from the dead. Jesus passed through this
furnace of death, hell, and the gateway back to life for us. And so, it should
come as no surprise that, since we are baptized into Christ’s baptism, we will
also feel the heat and bite of those flames. John the Baptizer prophesied that
although he baptized with water, Jesus the Lamb of God would baptize with fire
and the Holy Spirit.
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?”
Jesus asks, “No, I tell you, but rather division.” Do you think the Gospel
always strengthens the ties that bind us? No, Jesus warns, sometimes our
relationship with God pulls us apart. Do you think that Jesus, the Prince of
Peace, brings peace as understood by human standards? No, Jesus cautions,
sometimes the truth causes discord and strife. This is no threat from a
detached, uncaring prophet. Jesus’ words help us take an honest look at what
can happen when we join him on our spiritual journey: “Father against son and
son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against
mother-in-law.”
I cannot help but wonder, “Jesus, did you forget about those
difficult son-in-laws and father-in-laws? Or how about sisters and brothers can
lash out each other?” “Two against three and three against two? What about six
against one?” Of course, Jesus’ words are not meant to be an exhaustive list of
dysfunctional family relationships. Nor is he trying to mathematically
calculate the division we experience. Nor does it does not mean that our family
won’t eventually come around. No, Jesus is giving us a sober reality check. He
is being transparent about what it means to be his follower. He is, as some
might say it, keeping it real. He does not want us to be surprised or lose
faith in the midst of deep and troubling circumstances in life. He does not
want us to think we are alone in what we experience.
You’ll remember that at one point in Jesus’ ministry, his
own mother and brothers thought he had gone mad and wanted him to come home.
But Jesus points to those in the room and says, “Behold, these are my mother and
brothers” (Matthew 12:46–50). The Christian journey is not a path paved in a
bed of roses. Yes, the Good News is about reconciliation. In Christ, we have
peace with God in the forgiveness of sins. And we have peace with one another. But
there is also a restructuring of relationships. We are not only baptized with
water but also into a new, triune family Name—the Father and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. And just like the day of Pentecost, we also receive adoption into
God’s family in flames of fire.
As a young child, I remember watching Rudolph the Red-nosed
Reindeer on television with its sometimes awkward stop motion animation. Of
course, you’ll remember from the song that Rudolph’s bright nose was an
embarrassment to his own family, he was not accepted by his community, and so
Rudolph runs away. But there is a parallel story of Hermey the elf who, to the
great annoyance and disbelief of the other elves, wants to be a dentist instead
of a toy maker. Hermey also runs away from his native land and culture. At one
point in the story, Rudolph and Hermey find each other on the Island of
Misfits. There is great diversity on that island. They are toys and creatures
that are peculiar, sometimes broken, but they all have one thing in common—they
each carry the burden and stigma of being different. But now they share the
same exile to an island of rejection and separation from those that sent them
there. Sadly, this is how we might feel as believers and followers of Jesus:
misfits. We don’t experience peace but division. Our own family may not
understand our higher call to trust in the one who created us, lived, taught,
died, and rose again for us.
The turn in the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and
Hermey the aspiring dentist is when they, and the entire community of misfits,
pool all their peculiarities together. They bind together under a new and
higher banner. Rudolph puts his nose to good use, Hermey performs dental work
on a beast with a monstrous toothache, and everyone contributes to purpose,
acceptance, and freedom. On the Island of Misfits and in the Church we find a
new family—people who love and accept us even for all our malfunctions and
shortcomings. As the Proverb says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a
brother” (18:24). Or like David said in his Psalm, “Though my father and mother
forsake me, the Lord will take me in” (27:10). That is what Jesus did in his
Baptism by fire—he took us in—all of us—our sin, brokenness, and frail
humanity. In his death and resurrection, Jesus takes away our sin and guilt as
a goldsmith takes away the dross from his refiner’s fire. But along with the
great and eternal benefits, there are some immediate growing pains as we answer
God’s higher call and undergo our own baptism by fire. But as a new family—as
sisters and brothers in Christ—we discover a deeper, richer bond that we have
through our Savior and Brother, Jesus and our loving, heavenly Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment