Tag Archives: Baptism

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 5, 2015
Tags: Baptism   

Identity — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image                     November 5, 2015

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous”. 1 John 3:1 – 7

“Verses 3-7 are implicit exhortation: If we remain in Jesus, and he has no sin, then we must not sin either. 1 John cannot imagine being a child of God, trusting and hoping in Jesus, and not reflecting the character of Jesus in one’s own life. But we must not get confused at this point. All discipleship rests on the declaration of what we already are: loved by God, children now, promised that we will be like Jesus when he appears.

It may be significant that this text is full of indicative verbs, not imperative. The readers are not simply told to be better, to try harder, or to get rid of their sin. That’s what Jesus came to do (verse 5). Perhaps the tension of this text regarding sin finds its resolution only in the conviction that by God’s grace we will be made like Jesus in the end. Here in Easter season, we have a new identity because of Jesus’ resurrection, and yet we hope and look for that day when the risen Jesus will return and transform us all into his image.” (Working Preacher Website, Commentary on 1 John 3:1-7 Brian Peterson)

Identity! It is a struggle every person goes through, not just those who identify themselves as transgender or in other ways, but everyone who is breathing has gone through a period where they were trying to understand who they are. Sometimes our identity comes through the sports team we follow. Other times it is through the college we attended (Pitt vs. Penn State), or the city we come from (New York vs. LA), or a region of the country (northerner vs. southerner). As a baptized Christian, it is clear to me where my identity comes from: I am a child of G*d, chosen in my baptism as one of G*d’s own. This is the most important identity I have, and I need to remind myself of that every day.

And this is one of the greatest missions we have as members of the Christian church – we need to remind people that they are valued and loved simply because they were created in G*d’s image. People chase after identity in all the wrong ways – but that often is because our society wants to devalue us – if we are not rich, or educated, or white, or black, or Latino, or male, or female, or beautiful, or skinny, then we should not have any value (this is what advertising will tell us). Society is telling us that our happiness is just one more surgery away, one more weight program away, one more gym membership away, one more new relationship away, and this is a statement filled with lies. We are beloved children of G*d – and that is where our identity should begin, so we can begin to move forward on the road to living happy, fruitful lives.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 10, 2015
Tags: Baptism, , ,   

I Chose You – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 10, 2015
Sunday

“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” John 15:16 – 17

“One of the most unnerving parts of this passage is Jesus’ assertion that he has chosen the disciples to do the work of God, to bear fruit. He is clear about this: “you did not choose me but I chose you”. There is a giftedness about this verse. We received something we did not create, go searching for, or earn on our own. It resembles the glorious feeling of being asked to be someone’s spouse, best friend, beloved; the chosen-above-all-others. If we ask, “Whose name is on this gift?,” the answer is, “mine!” But there is also responsibility attached to this election of the works of fruit bearing. Not only are we to do it, but we are to bear “fruit that will last.”

What does that mean? Obviously, some ‘fruit’ does not last. Short-sightedness, impetuosity, selfish interests masked as the work of the Church, raw ambition disguised as false humility in the service of God: the list is long and everyone can knowingly add to it through observation of the fruits that rot rather than last.”
Susan Hedahl (commentary on John 15 — Workingpreacher.org)

“Fruit that rots rather than lasts.” Can you imagine that there is fruit in the church that stinks? Could people actually look to do things in the church that are not really fruity, but rots from the inside out – rotten from the core? I have seen and smelled the good things of the church, I have seen and smelled the rotten. And just like one rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel, so can one member, who is rotting because of disbelief, pride, anger, revenge, or coveting………. can cause their own rot, and pass that rot onto others. I have spoken of the relationship that Paul speaks to that the followers of Christ must function – as the body of Christ. If one part of the body has become sick, or dysfunctional, it will affect the entire body. We can use the barrel of fruit and one rotten one in the same analogy. There is nothing we can do to be fruity – the fruits of the spirit come in the relationship we have in Christ. But there is a lot we can do to become rotten to the core.

Through Jesus Christ, by being baptized into Christ, G*d has chosen us – we have not chosen Christ — and just knowing that we have such a gift should bring us joy. Therefore, the fruit that we have is not our own as well – they are gifts from G*d. When this reality becomes fully known, then we strive to live in the manner of the state of Grace that defines our lives – sharing that fruit with others — and that, as Jesus says, will make our joy complete.

Pastor Dave