January 8, 2024 – “Be Careful How You Approach G-d”

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” Genesis 17:1-7

“The Lord spoke to Moses: Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred fifty, and two hundred fifty of aromatic cane,  and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil; and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand…” Exodus 30:22-28

As the saga of Abraham unfolded, the great patriarch came to value his relationship with G-d so much that he acted in ways which damaged his closest relationships. Can you imagine having Abraham as your Father? Not me. I would not have wanted to have been one of Abraham’s sons.

In our text above, G-d approached a mortal to make a promise.  The instructions regarding the sacred anointing oil in Exodus 30:22-28 concerned how people should approach the dwelling place of G-d–with the utmost reverence, OR ELSE.  There was a chasm, a grand separation between humans and G-d in much of the Old Testament. Abraham did manifest active trust in G-d when he was still Abram.  And Genesis describes a very close relationship between G-d and Abraham; they were on speaking terms, face-to-face, according to the texts.

We, too, should approach G-d with deep awe and love. When we come to worship, we should be prepared to revere the name of the Trinity by crossing ourselves. We should bow in reverence when the bread and wine are elevated during the Great Thanksgiving. After all, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has not only approached us but incarnated and became one of us. And we have a commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to respect the image of G-d in them.

In all of the resolutions we make this new year, my prayer is that we act accordingly, trusting in G-d, giving the reverence that G-d is due, and recognizing the limits of our abilities and knowledge.

Let us pray:

Lord Christ, help me to remember that I am not always right, unless I am praising you and sharing your love. Help me to be more mindful in being merciful and less mindful in needing to be correct.

Pastor Dave

January 7, 2024 – Baptism of Our Lord

“As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

The Baptism of Jesus made the early church, shall I say….uncomfortable. After all, if baptism is for the remission of sin…..they why did Jesus have to be baptized? I am sure you have delved into the question before, but it always good to review – especially when Baptism involves one of the most misunderstood and most important aspects of our faith—the Holy Spirit. And the baptism of Jesus presents us some important questions: Is baptism about forgiveness? And if it is, then is Jesus really sinless or not?

So, let’s begin with John’s baptism, because that did come first after all—and it may help us understand the baptism of Jesus. If you recall, John’s baptism was a baptism of water—a baptism of repentance. It was a baptism where many, in fact all of Judea and Jerusalem we are told, came with contrite hearts, confessing their sins. And John would baptize them with water and tell them they should prepare and believe in the one who was coming after Jesus. There was no Holy Spirit—there was only repenting for one’s sins. But, when Jesus was baptized, he received the Holy Spirit, and the confirmation that he was G-d’s Son—which means, of course, that he is sinless. And this, my friends, is huge. It makes baptism a big, big, deal. And the fact that G-d allows you and me to be baptized with a baptism like Jesus is a big deal. After all, the early church could have determined that no one else could have a baptism like Jesus—that it was too special for anyone else. But as we know—baptism is available to all—because through it we receive not only the Holy Spirit—but the forgiveness of sins.

My friends, G-d confirms that we are “children of G-d” through our baptisms, and G-d seals the deal by infusing within us the Holy Spirit. We are marked with the cross of Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and all of this is G-d’s work, G-d’s doing. And no matter how much we fail, how much we fall short in this life, nothing that we do or don’t do can remove that identity. You see, G-d loved us before our baptism, and G-d confirms that love through our baptism. Yes, we can neglect that relationship, we can ignore it, we can deny it—but we cannot destroy it—G-d loved us first, still loves us, and loves us unconditionally.

Pastor Dave