Baptized to Build

Every time we baptize a new member into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ—every time we add a new member to this mystical Body of Christ that nurtures us, spurs us onward, and binds us together—we have a chance to remember the central calling we all share.

As much as today is a celebration day for Vito, Valentino, Lara, Raj, Mona and Fahmi and all of us gathered here—and baptisms SHOULD be celebratory and joy-filled—it is also a time to rededicate ourselves to the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to us all.

What exactly is that mission?

Well, if I could simply name it and share it in the confines of one baptismal sermon, we wouldn’t need to gather here throughout the week and on Sundays to discern it together.

I hope that says less about my limitations as a preacher, and a lot more about the multi-faceted, nuanced, and infinite nature of living into the mission of God.

As soon as we begin to grasp one aspect of the teachings of Christ, and make progress in allowing our learning to move from theory to regular life practice, God reveals yet another layer of the mission that requires us to begin again and become like children learning to take their first steps.

Being a baptized member of Christ’s body means accepting this process of growth, death, and resurrection—which is patterned on nothing less than the Passion of Christ—as the way in which we most fully engage our individual and corporate lives.

So, when we bless the water in a few moments and experience the mystery of the sacrament of baptism once more with Vito, we are not only recalling that pattern as it has occurred in sacred scripture and in church history, but we are actively seeking to renew our own commitment to it as well.

And it is important to say—that this foundational CHRIST-ian pattern doesn’t merely exist for its own sake, but has been given to us so that we might turn from building up systems of domination and oppression and lend our talents and efforts to building up the reign of God on Earth as we believe it to be in Heaven.

Our readings from today offer us a glimpse into this transition that we are called to make as part of Christ’s faithful construction crew.

The reading from Isaiah comes from a time when the Assyrian army, an unstoppable human force, had laid waste to Jerusalem and threatened to extinguish all memory of our Judean ancestors. 

The prophet begs the leaders and the people to reorient themselves toward authentic worship that is tied to ethical acts and justice instead of hollow displays of piety.

Rather than investing in more horsemen and chariots, Isaiah calls the people to “cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, [and] plead for the widow.”

It seems foolish and counter-intuitive that such practices could protect a people from a marauding empire bent on war, and yet, God’s reign is built upon such reconciled relationships.

When we treat each other as children of God, and we connect our worship of God to the care and wellbeing of our fellow humans and the creation we all share, then the protective power of God dwells among us.

That doesn’t mean we won’t encounter hardship—we most certainly will.

Because choosing to act as if all children of God have dignity and worth, and choosing to sacrifice personal gains and power for the benefit of both the members of this Body and those who may even be enemies of it—that is difficult to do.

And as I said earlier, just when you begin to grasp how to actually do this authentically, God reveals a deeper reality that calls us to pursue the pattern even further.

As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews knew, and speaks about today, such a journey requires a level of faith that isn’t as much about believing things that defy science as it is about TRUSTING that this pattern is the way that leads to the abundant life that never dies.

The author speaks of highlights of Abraham’s life and lifts him up as one who faithfully sought this “better country” and the city that God has prepared for all who both build it in faith and doggedly pursue it.

We who follow Christ see his own life and teachings as the clearest revelation of this divine pattern, and we who are baptized into the fellowship of his mystical Body do our best to both interpret scripture and the contours of our contemporary lives through the lens of the Gospel.

Like we hear in Luke today—the almost constant refrain throughout the Bible— “Do not be afraid…for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Don’t put your faith in your possessions, even though the world may esteem them as most valuable.

Rather put your faith and heart into being awake and alert and ready for God’s reign to break into our world of competing, lesser reigns. 

How do we do this?

By “ceasing to do evil, learning to do good, seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, [and] pleading for the widow.”

We do it by agreeing to walk together as a Church even though doing so exposes us to our shortcomings and our even shorter tolerance for the shortcomings of others.

We have faith and trust that the Spirit of God that moved over the face of the waters at the dawn of creation, and that turned crucifixion into resurrection, will also go with us and give us the strength and ability to both follow in the divine pattern and to serve as agents of reconciliation in our time.

That is the mission of God that has been entrusted to us, and that is the kind of life and building work that we are commissioned to pursue together in this life into the next. 

To let go of fear and hold fast to faith.

To embrace the love of God and neighbor in thought, word, and deed, especially when committing to do so becomes challenging and dangerous.

To always be ready and willing to add our efforts to the city God is building among us, and to always remember that journeying toward that promise together is where we find our home in the midst of foreign lands.

Vito—are you ready to begin this journey today my brother?

How about all of you?

Are you ready to remember and recommit to the way of life we have witnessed in Christ, and make the divine pattern that yokes authentic worship and active justice the central purpose of your life again?

If so, then let us go to meet our Spiritual guide in this Holy Sacrament once more and again be knit together to journey onward as a fearless, faith-filled people.

A joyful, loving body of believers—always longing, moving, and working toward the city of our God.