The Easter Season is about resurrection, for Jesus and for us. It’s about the new life Christ opens up for us and the unstoppable mission on which he sends us as disciples. His mission wasn’t just for “those people back there.” It is for all of us here and now…
Over the next seven weeks we will be talking about what it means to live as baptized disciples in Christ’s holy church and members of the United Methodist Church. As we consider our baptismal vows over these weeks, we will be looking at texts from Luke’s two books, his Gospel and his Acts of the Apostles. Luke teaches us what it meant to live as baptized disciples in the earliest Christian communities.
Alongside the readings from Luke, each week we will also look at one of the seven vows we make when we present ourselves for Christian baptism and membership in the United Methodist Church. I am deeply indebted to Rev. Dr. Dawn Chesser, former pastor here at CUMC and presently with the UM General Board of Discipleship, for her work in pairing the baptismal vows with our lectionary readings.
This week we will consider the first vow we make at baptism: “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?”
When we present our precious babies for baptism, we know that, individually, they are innocent, free from the stain of sin. At the same time, we remember that sin is not a strictly personal thing. In the context of baptismal vows, sin is communal and systemic. Children are born into a world in which there are spiritual forces of wickedness and evil powers already at work. Consider Paul’s words: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil….” (Ephesians 6:12, NRSV). To acknowledge this fact at baptism is simply to state that in the name of following Jesus Christ, we intend to fight against these sinful forces throughout our lives. We intend to live by a different code, a different set of values, from what the world espouses. In short, we intend to live as part of God’s kingdom.
I invite you to meet with me and other interested persons to discuss the meaning of baptism and membership. Here are some questions to consider as you make or renew this first vow:
- What “spiritual forces of wickedness” and “evil powers of this world” would you put on your list if you were making one? Consider the world, your own community, your particular congregation, your work, and your personal life.
- Are there things you are doing that destroy God’s people, deface God’s creation, and stand in opposition to the coming of God’s reign?
- How can you “obey God rather than any human authority”? What might you need to change? How do you need to “live differently” in your own context? Is it always possible to do this? What can you do if it is not possible?
- Name one thing you can do to witness to the power of the Holy Spirit over and against the spiritual forces of wickedness and evil powers of the world.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ron