Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · March 01, 2009

First Sunday in Lent

Prayer of the Day

In the waters of baptism we come face to face with you, God. We experience your outpouring of love, and we open our hearts to loving you more deeply. Immerse us in your grace and clothe us with the beauty of Christ, your Son, and our brother.  Amen.

A Word of Introduction

Kim Gage Ryan

The Scripture that is our guide and reflection piece today is Psalm 78. What I want you to know about this Scripture is that it is extremely old. We don’t even know exactly how old these verses are. What we do know is that these would have been verses used in worship before Jesus’ time, but by Jesus’ people. What we can feel fairly certain of is that there probably was a time when Jesus came with his family to a great festival. It might have been in the synagogue. It might have been at the Temple. He would have come with parents, and grandparents, and cousins, and aunts, and uncles. They would gather together and hear this song sung.

Now, I have a friend, who if she were preaching this sermon and reading this Scripture, she would have set this psalm to melody, and she would be singing it for you right now. Not happening here! Just ask our sound guys. I threaten them with their lives if they leave this microphone on during any song. So, pretend you hear the melody and receive this ancient song as Jesus would have received it and heard it.

Scripture

Psalm 78:1-7a

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;

          Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

          I will utter dark sayings from of old,

Things that we have heard and known,

          That our ancestors have told us.

We will not hide them from our children;

          We will tell to the coming generation

The glorious deeds of the Lord, and God’s might.

          And the wonders that God has done.

God established a decree in Jacob,

          God appointed a law in Israel,

Which God commanded our ancestors

          To teach to their children;

For the next generation to know them,

          The children yet unborn,

That the next generation would tell them to their children,

          So that they might set their hope in God.

Message

Song of Hope

Kim Gage Ryan

The bottom line of those ancient words, the bottom line of that ancient song as it sings to us over thousands and thousands of years, the reason for the story of faith to be encouraged, from parent to child, from generation to generation, is what? Did you hear it? “So that the next generation will set their hope in God.”

And today, that is our very same hope, that you, our beloved children, will set your hope in God today and always. Today is the day you are making the decision to step beyond being the beloved child of God, which you are, into becoming the beloved adult of God, that you are created to be. This is a rite-of-passage day for you. Do you know what that means – a right of passage? It means it is a very important day. It’s a threshold of life where you step from one place into and toward a new place. You will be stepping across that threshold of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ – your own decision, your own choice about that. You will enter into these waters of baptism, and you will exit these waters of baptism with a new path and a new conviction before you.

Now, last year, just before our service of baptism, I learned there are actually two words in the Greek language used in the New Testament for baptism. The words describe a process. It’s a common process. It’s a process of a cucumber becoming a pickle. The first word for baptism that is used in our New Testament is that first step of dipping the cucumber into the boiling water. The second word for baptism is what happens next when the cucumber is immersed in vinegar for a very long period of time, and pickling begins. So, today, this is your first dipping. 

Now here is the good news. The water is not boiling. Here’s the bad news. The water is probably not even warm. It’s warmish.

So, today is your first dipping. After today, comes a lifetime of baptism, or pickling, or you becoming an adult of God – you growing up into Christ. One of the next steps for your pickling process is a special class that has been created just for you that will share with you the way that Christians have been growing into Christ for a very long time, for centuries and centuries and centuries. In the more than eight weeks ahead, you are going to be learning about what we call here at Broadway the “Eight Keys of Discipleship,” about what it is to become an adult of God and how you do that. 

You’re going to learn about prayer, and Bible study, and serving others, and learning and depending with others like in a small group, and giving from a grateful and generous heart, and worshipping regularly, and learning how to be quiet and restful in the Spirit in a busy, busy world which we call Sabbath. You are going to learn about sharing your faith, so that other people know the good news of Christ. All of these important ingredients are part of you continuing to grow up in that spirit and way of Jesus.

Now, today will not be your last experience with the waters of baptism. In fact, I hope and I pray that you will have many baptism experiences beyond today.

I hope there will be a time when you will be caught in a spring rain, and the water will be dripping off your nose and your clothes. You will smell the freshness of the earth responding to the waters of life, and you will feel the awakening of hope and new life in your own spirit. That will be a baptism moment.

I hope there will be a time when you will go to church camp in the summer at Rickman Center. You are going to jump into the inviting water of that swimming pool. Some of you have already done that before. Right? You have. You are going to jump into that swimming pool. Only this time, when you experience the joy of those waters, I want you to think about the joy you are experiencing at camp where your faith is opening up, and deepening, and going so much deeper than you thought possible, and the happiness experiencing Christian community with all of its love and acceptance. That will be a baptism moment.

I hope there will be a time when you go on a backpack trip with Jacob into the Rocky Mountains. You will stop by a stream. You’re hot and you’re tired. You dip your hands into that water, and you splash your face. Maybe you take a sip of those rushing waters. You look around you in awe and in wonder and amazement at God’s gorgeous creation, and you know that you are a part of that majestic beauty. And even more, that gorgeous majestic beauty is present inside of you, and all about you, in your very heart, and your body, and your soul. That will be a baptism moment.

I hope there will be a time when you will go on a mission trip with the youth group here at Broadway. You are going to work harder than you have ever worked in your entire life. At the end of the day, you will stand under a shower with 20 other people – possibly.  (There are real looks of terror on the front row up here right now.)  No. No. No. Taking turns. You’ll take a shower, and you’ll feel that water, and the satisfaction of knowing that you have loved your neighbor as yourself, as Jesus Christ has asked and invited us to do. And that will be a baptism moment. 

Your baptisms are just beginning, as today, you respond to God’s promise of abiding love for you, and you make your promise of abiding love for God, and your neighbor, and yourself. But I want you to hear me say, and I want all of us to hear me say that these are not the only ones making promises today. All of us are making a promise to God and to these young people. All of us are making a promise to assure you that in the becoming of an adult of God, you will not do that alone. You will not do that alone! We are here for you, and we will always be here for you.

I have a favorite story that describes this reality of what community is so beautifully. It comes out of East Africa. It is about a community that surrounds a child even before that child is born, and encourages a child through its entire life into death. Here is the story.

There is a tribe in East Africa in which the birth date of a child is not counted from the day of its physical birth, or even the day of its conception as in other village cultures. For this tribe, the birthday comes the first time the child is thought of in the mother’s mind. 

Aware of her intention to conceive a child with a particular father, the mother then goes off to sit alone under a tree. There she sits and she listens until she can hear the song of the child – the one she is hoping to welcome into her life. Once she has heard it, she returns to her village, and she teaches it to the father, so they can sing it together and invite the child to join them. After the child is conceived, she sings it to the baby in her womb. Then she teaches it to the old women and midwives of her village, so that throughout the labor and the miraculous moment of birth itself, the child is greeted with its song.

After birth, all the villagers learn the song of their new member. They sing it to the child whenever he or she has fallen or is hurt. It is sung in times of triumph, in times of ritual, and in times of initiation, just like this. 

This song will become a part of the marriage ceremony when the child is grown. At the end of life, his or her loved ones will gather around the death bed and sing this song for the last time.

Please know we have heard your song. Some of you, even before you were born, we heard your song. We see it in your eyes and your heart today. We will surround you with the promise that if you lose your way in the years ahead, we will remind you of the deepest truths of who you are. You, the beloved child of God. You, the beloved adult of God. We will remind you to set your hope in God, and then reset your hope in God, and then reset your hope in God yet again.

Now, one last thing. I can guarantee you in five years, when you are about 17 or 18, maybe 19, one of you is going to say to a parent, or to a friend, or to a pastor, “You know that day I was baptized? I really didn’t know what I was doing.”

At least one of you will say that. Whenever you say those words out loud, and when you feel them, I hope you will say them out loud, and I hope there will be someone that will look you in the eyes and will say, “Well, of course you didn’t really know what you were doing. You were 12-years-old. I’m 35!” (No, I’m not.) But whomever you are talking to might be 35. “I’m 21!” (No!) “I’m 51.” [Nodding her head, yes.] But I hope they look at you and say, whoever they are, “I’m still learning what it really means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I’m still figuring out what this baptism thing is really all about. I’m still growing up into Christ.”

And if you say those words to me… If you say to me, “You know that day I was baptized? I really didn’t know what I was doing.” I will say to you, “Of course you did. As much as you were able, you did, because I was there. I remember. I remember the sincere look in your eyes.” 

I will remember the quiver of your voice as you profess your faith in Christ. I will remember the strength of your hand in mine. And if you forget, I will remind you. This day you accepted the love of God and committed yourself to be a follower of Christ. This day you set your hope in God.

Please join me in saying, “Amen.”

“Amen!”

Benediction

You whispered our song before our birth. You have sung our song to us and through those who love us. Thank you for the beauty of the melodies and the harmonies. May we be inspired to sing and be reminded that we are birthed, washed, and renewed in this song that is our lives. Amen.