"Dive Deep!", a Sermonette

“Dive Deep!”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

January 13, 2013

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Texts:

Luke 3:15-16; 21-22

Isaiah 43:1-7

Repeat after me: “I am” … “God’s Beloved Child” … “God” … “is well pleased” … “with me.” Imagine it now in your mind: the sky opens up, the warm presence of the Holy Spirit flows over you, and you hear the voice of God in your mind’s ear say to you. “You are my Child, the Beloved. You make me happy!” Saints do you know what joy God takes in you? Can you comprehend that even when you aren’t at your best, God still sees you with the eyes of a Parent with unconditional love?

Some say that this message was only for Jesus. This message came to him as he was being baptized in the Jordan River. But as we are ALL God’s children, this message is for us too! And some say that this message is just for those who have been baptized formally by the institutional church. But baptized or not, we are still ALL God’s children and this message is for us all. Some say that our sexual orientation or gender identity takes away our status as God’s children. But that is a deadly lie that is in no way the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

After a suicide attempt, MCC’s founder Rev. Troy Perry experienced a reaffirmation of his life. He had lived, though he had slit his wrists in the bathtub. And while lying in a hospital bed, he heard in his mind’s ear the voice of God tell him, “Troy, you are my beloved child! I don’t have stepsons and stepdaughters!” This is the epiphany that ever since has been preached in every MCC around the world. Our queerness does not make us second-class citizens in the Realm of God; rather our queerness gives us a unique calling.

         This calling has to do with the fact that with our very lives, we demonstrate the Gospel by speaking truth to power. We have been and continue to be on the margins of society, viewed as abnormal. But “normal” is a category created by man, not by God (and I do mean "man"!). “Normal” to God is human beings loving each other. When a human loves another, it is a miracle, and miracles are what is “normal” to God. This miracle of love is the only relation God recognizes in our world. All else is an illusion. Only we are tricked by this illusion.

         Holy Baptism is a recognition of a change in heart from fear to love, from the illusion of lack to the reality of abundance. It is not about specific belief. God doesn’t care about the wording. Remember, we created our own languages; God speaks the language of the heart. One chooses as an adult to be baptized if s/he is ready to live in the fullness of Christian life- that is following Christ. It does not mean being a puritan, not ever enjoying the pleasures of life anymore. That is only a stereotype of what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian, marked by the outer sign of the waters of baptism, is to follow in the Way of Christ, which is the Way of Love.

         Baptism in Christian traditions is a sacrament. A sacrament is an outer sign of an inner reality. So in MCC we have two sacraments: Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. We practice Communion every Sunday and we offer Baptism whenever someone wants to be baptized. Today, we will have the opportunity to both remember our baptisms (for those of us who have been baptized before) and be baptized for the first time. But before we do that, I have to give you some history of what baptism has meant traditionally.

         The five meanings of baptism that are widely known in the mainstream of Christianity are: 1) Forgiveness, 2) Union to Christ’s death and resurrection, 3) Incorporation into the church, 4) Receiving the Holy Spirit, and 5) New birth or regeneration. Going through the act of baptism is not to perform a magical ritual that causes these things to happen. Whether you have a little water sprinkled on your head or you’re dunked, it is always a recognition of something that has already happened in the heart. The baptized is recognizing that she is forgiven of misdeeds, not of her identity. (We affirm in MCC that our identities are not sins and therefore do not need to be forgiven.) The baptized knows what it means to walk through the fires of hell and live. The baptized has a deep desire to be an integral part of Beloved Community. The baptized feels the guidance of the Holy Spirit on his life or wants to feel that guidance. And the baptized is willing to leave negative life patterns behind, embracing instead the positive, loving Way of Christ.

         In the 3rd century Syrian church, female deacons (called deaconesses) were appointed for the baptism of females. This was because of the very intimate nature of baptism.  In that church, the whole body was anointed with oil before baptism.  One did not anoint oneself; a fellow church member of the same sex did it.  Can you imagine stripping down naked in front of your fellow church members as they watch you being covered in oil? Well rest assured, we are not going to do that today. You can do that on your own time if you like :)

         No, today we are here to reaffirm our greatest identity, our identity as Children of the Living God. This is an identity that no one can take away from us, for we are all born with Original Blessing. God’s blessing of the abundance of life is ours today.