Theme for the day:
Over the last few weeks we have
explored a couple of big themes. One of those themes is that
the maps we have used over the last few centuries to work out how to be church
no longer work. They belong to the Modernity. We have left that world, and need
new maps. Who will provide these maps? No-one. We have to draw new maps for
ourselves. The only thing we can be sure of is that God is with us in this
endeavour, and that God waits for us in the wider society to join in God’s
mission.
And there are some clues where we might find God, to help us on our way forward. Another theme over the last few weeks has been John’s baptism of repentance. I
suggested this was not about repentance for individual sins of some moral
nature, (the concept of the individual simply does not exist at this point). I
proposed this was more about communal sin arising from a society divided into a
number of groups, who fiercely upheld their boundaries, defended
the idea that some were in and some were out their community, and some were in
and some were out of the boundary of God’s care and concern. Rather than
maintaining those boundaries, as all other ritual washing ceremonies did, John’s
baptism welcomed all into a new inclusive community, especially those often
excluded by his society. This new community was built of God’s love for all. It
is this that Jesus then lived out in his three years of ministry. It is this we
are invited to continue to live out in our ministry.
Today we baptise Bruce. As we baptise
him and welcome him into “The Church of God” what is it we think we welcome him
into? What do we hope for him? My hope is that we will all share the richness
of our faith with him, and be willing to watch
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