Last but not Least

Mark 9: 30-37

Today's Text illustrates a central message in the life and ministry of Christ: Servanthood. Within the life, death, and resurrection of Christ we find an expression of service and sacrifice that establishes the precedent for following in the steps of Jesus. Jesus, our Greatest Servant was sacrificed to the World so that we--although despicable and wretched--might be reconciled to God. And in the passage of Scripture that we read, Jesus suggests to his disciples that he must be a Sacrifice and Servant. Jesus indicates that he will be killed and then rise again in three days. But what is interesting for us to notice this morning is the following condition he lays out for his disciples. Jesus does not only embody Sacrifice, he also commands an attitude of service: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” But it is not just the author of Mark that recognizes this aspect of Jesus' teaching. There are the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (9:23-24).

As we heard earlier in today's service, Paul echoes Jesus' attitude in his letter to the Corinthians as he describes his own willingness to humble himself for the purpose of serving others (1 Co. 9:19-23). Thus we are left with a simple condition, to be disciples of the Christ, we must be servants of the Christ. Now this simple condition is not always simple to undertake. For we are constantly in battle with our desire to be anything other than a servant. We want to do anything but sacrifice ourselves for others. Yet, this is the picture Jesus seems to paint for us. Christ offers us a vivid image of Sacrifice in his own actions, but also teaches his followers to realize this in their own lives.

One individual realized this fully in her life, and thus became an example to us all. I think there are few, if any, who would disagree that this remarkable female truly captured the notion of servitude and sacrifice by offering herself to the poor and needy of the world. My attention was directed toward this woman through a Homily given by Friar Tommy Lane during his Parish work in Ireland. Born in 1910 in Macedonia, and belonging to the Albanian community, this woman was baptized as Agnes. In 1928, at the age of 18 she decided she wanted to be a missionary for India. She joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto and went to their mother house in Dublin. Here she learned to speak English and took the name Sister Teresa after St Teresa of Avila, the patroness of missionaries.

In 1929 she arrived in India where she completed her training. She had been sent to Calcutta to study to become a teacher. The children quickly grew to love her and called her “ma”. Her work was teaching history and geography. Eight years later, in 1937, she made her final vows.
But Sister Teresa felt she was receiving a second call, a call to leave the convent and take up with the poorest of the poor. Eventually in 1948 she received permission to leave the Loreto community provided that she kept her vows. She exchanged the Loreto habit for the cheap white and blue sari. First she went to Patna to get medical training as a nurse. Back in Calcutta she went to work in the slums in the streets, to talk with the poor and help them. During this time she was staying with the Sisters of the Poor. The following year, 1949, seven girls joined her in her work. In 1950 she got approval for the foundation of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Charity. There were still only 12 sisters then. She needed a house for her work and bought a house which has become the mother house of her congregation. Throughout her life of service, Mother Teresa won many awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
On the 5th September, 1997 Mother Teresa died. Her life was committed to the poor and helping the needy, and she worked to establish a congregation which grew from several sisters to over 3000 working in over 500 missions in 100 countries.

Because of her work in helping the poorest of the poor she was called the “Saint of the Gutters.” She would see Jesus in everyone she met. Mother Teresa said “love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.” Like Mother Teresa we can share with the poor and needy around us. We can share our smiles, our words, our time, and our belongings. We, like Mother Teresa, must see God’s presence in the people we meet daily and treat them as children of God. Let us serve and love one person at a time. God does not want us to love crowds of people, that is an impossibility. He wants us instead to love Him in every single person we meet. This is our service. This is our Sacrifice.

The kind of Love that Mother Teresa shared with the poor and needy is not one that is easy. It requires commitment and dedication. It requires effort, time, and resources. Mother Teresa simply realized that Love. We must realize that Love. And here is the beautiful thing about realizing this Love, it is not one that makes us “least.” It is not one that makes us less. This Love is powerful and affirming. This is a Love of God that we realize in our own being and make real to the world. This is a Love that demands we be last, but not least. For in being last we make ourselves servants, but the very act of doing this elevates us by reflecting the Love of the Most High God. This is not a humiliating Love, but a humble Love. This is not a self-deprecating Love, but a Love pouring from a self affirmed by God. This is not Love from someone worthless, but Love from someone who God saw to be worthwhile. We are agents of Love serving the world, serving people, serving each other.

So how are you making God's Love real in this world? How are you sharing yourself, committing yourself, dedicating yourself? How are you being “last?” Like the disciples on their journey through Galilee are you quarreling over who is the greatest? Or are you focused on being a Disciple of Christ, on being a Servant of God. Are you concentrated on Love and Servitude? Or are you concerned with elevating yourself above the rest of the people in this world, in this community?

My hope and prayer today is that this message would be our modern day version of what the text says happened in Capernaum. For in Capernaum Jesus took the disciples aside and said, “Look, you simply cannot worry about who is the best. There is no time to waste on this foolish debate. Instead, strive to be 'last,' a servant.”

And if you will recall, Jesus brings before his disciples a child, in fact literally an infant. He takes the infant in his arms and says: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me...” (Mark 9:37). Our call to servitude is not one that discriminates between people. Our call to servitude is to sacrifice for all, the way Christ sacrificed for all. The infant brings our attention to the weakest, most frail condition of humanity. The infant is dependent on others for nurturing and sustenance. And this small child is used by Jesus to deliver his message. The infant must be received by the Servants of Christ, by the Disciples of Christ.

So who have you been serving? Who have you been loving? Do others see you as a servant, or as a quarrelsome glory-seeker? Are you so concerned with yourself that you have forgotten those around you, have you forgotten the very ones around you in need of Christ and Christ's Love. Be Christ's Love. Make it real.

As you reflect this morning, remember that there are opportunities in this community and with this church to be God's Love. I encourage you to get involved. To seek after God by realizing the very Love that is bestowed upon you. Become an active member of this congregation and community. We have work that needs to be done, people that need to be served. We have church objectives to meet and community outreach to undertake. There is a community just outside our doors that needs food, clothing, and shelter. Let us not ignore their need, let us not ignore the call of our Christ.

Benediction:
May the Love of God be made real to you. May you see that Love as a challenge and a call. May you be re-newed in the spirit of service and servitude and find yourself committed to the needy, hurting, and tormented people of our community. Let us all reach out. Let us all extend the Love of Christ to our Neighbors, Friends, Family, Co-Workers, and Peers. May the Love of God saturate our being and overflow to those around us. May we not quarrel over self-righteous positioning, but instead be transformed by the reality of God's Redeeming Grace. For in God we are Loved, and through God we are made to Love.

Amen.

Christian Ritual III: The Lord's Supper

Have you ever sat down to dinner with your family on a weeknight? Have you had those moments in the dining room or kitchen area when all of your family convenes to eat together? Growing up in Oregon, my parents made it a point to eat with one another. I am sure some of you, if not all, have taken up a meal with your family. There is something about eating as a family that seems to strengthen and re-inforce the bonds between family members. Sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, even those outside the immediate family, appear to share something of value when they take up a meal with each other.

My parents made it very clear to me that dinner time was “our” time. There was the occasional hick-up in the schedule which prevented us from gathering together, but for the most part, we ate together, regularly. In fact, I came to expect and enjoy those moments that my family ate together. Some looked upon it as dopey, silly, or old-fashioned, but I found joy and happiness in the community that I experienced with my family. Sharing together, in meal and in company, made my family more of a family. It re-inforced the connections of heredity with bonds of emotion. Time, love, and energy were invested in those moments, and as a result, a sense of family existed there. I hope that you had those moments, that you understand what that is like, because those moments are something to treasure and to seek after.

Today we complete the series we began two weeks ago. This is the culmination of our investigation into Christian Ritual. We will examine the second of the Christian Sacraments: Holy Communion, also called the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist. This communal meal is one that our family participates in. This is the meal for the family of God. This is the meal where beleivers convene to share together that which makes them the same behind their individual exterior. But before we re-examine this important ritual in the life of both the church and the believer, we must remember the importance of Christian Ritual in general.

The Lord's Supper is a Sacred Ritual within Christianity. Like we have discussed before, Sacred Ritual is symbolic activity relaing to God. Thus the Lord's Supper, as a Sacred Ritual, is a specific symbolic act that is related to God. Now symbols are not just signifiers, they don't just point to something. Symbols are not that simple, no, they are complex. They are complex because they point to something, in our case God, but they also participate in the power of that to which they point. For it is in Christian Ritual that we have the opportunity to see, hear, feel, and entirely experience God in a unique and irreplaceable way. It is at the Lord's Table that we connect with God in a way that nothing else allows.

But it is more than an experience with God, it is a transformation with God. Christian Ritual provides the environment to be truly affected by God, to be changed by God. Thus, Christian Ritual changes how we connect to the world out there, because it changes how we understand the “us” in here. Christian Ritual provides the soul with a new dimension, a new depth, a level of experience with God that cannot be opened up in any other way. Christian Ritual is unique because it is irreplaceable.

Christian Ritual is also a continuation of that proclamation Paul affirms. We proclaim, through Christian Ritual, that we have identity in Christ. We have become re-identified, and as a result of that shift, are now something new, something transformed. We are afforded the opportunity through Christian Ritual to re-affirm what we have already shouted to the world: I am God's. I am a Child of the Most High God. I am God's.

Now we found with Baptism that this is the Believer's first proclamation to the world that “I am a Christian.” This is not an isolated event, however. No, the Lord's Supper allows us, as Proclaimers, to continue in that process of proclamation, to continue to re-affirm that “I am God's own.” Christian Ritual keeps Christ at the fore of our thoughts and actions. Christian Ritual focuses our attention on our identity so that we can make that identity real to the world in which we live. The “out there” changes because of the “in here.”

We must also remember from last week that Baptism was not transformative by virtue of how it was performed, but because it was performed. You see, the form of Baptism, while not entirely void of meaning, is not something that must be regulated as if it were the deciding factor in the believer's transformative experience. No, the Believer is transformed by the internal realization of the Love and Sacrifice of God as experienced in the unique way only a baptismal event can offer. Baptism, by virtue of being Baptism, whether by immersion or sprinkling, provides an environment where the Believer's attention is brought to the symbolic activity of dieing with Christ, and then rising with Christ anew.

In much the same fashion, the Believer is transformed through the Lord's Supper. It is not necessarily the form of this ceremony that determines its validity. It is not the type of bread or the decision to use grape juice instead of wine that makes it powerful, transformative, or meaningful. Instead it is the very presence of the symbolic activity which directs the attention of the Believer toward the Sacrifice of Christ and the Love of God. There need not be any stipulation but this, that the presence of Bread and Beverage point toward and participate in the understanding of the Sacrifice and Love of God. This provides an experience with God that is both unique and irreplaceable.

As Disciple's we are reminded of the central place of the Lord's Supper through the image of the chalice that signifies the denomination. The red chalice beckons the individual to the Lord's Table to partake of a Christian Ritual that is repeated every Sunday, but is anything but commonplace. As you may well know, Holy Communion has brought as much or more controversy as Baptism has to the Christian community at large. Theologians have debated, discussed, and argued over the correct biblical interpretation, the correct ceremony to undertake, the frequency or infrequency of the meal, or the proper types of elements to be chosen. Like our examination of Baptism and Christian Ritual has unovered for us before, we must look back to the New Testament authors for guidance and insight into our own modern day approach of this Sacred Christian Tradition.

Text: Mark 14: 22-24
1 Co. 10: 16-17
1 Co. 11: 23-26

As these texts point out, the early church was concerned with repeating and re-examining the importance of the Last Supper that Jesus had with his Disciple's. The early church recognized the significance of that meal, and took up breaking bread together. These meals, usually full meals, were accompanied by the presence of bread and wine which would be ceremoniously recognized and consumed. These events created not only an environement for the believer to re-connect with God and the Sacrifice of Christ, but also to re-affirm an identity in Christ that was not purely individual.

The communal meal was just that: it was one of community. As a meal of community, it fostered a realization that an identity in Christ was also an identity with others. For Christ came so that all might experience the Grace and Love of the Most High God. Thus, the Lord's Supper was an event that re-affirmed Christian identity both communally and individually.

We can see how imporant this was to Paul after hearing his words in his letter to the church at Corinth. The Corinthians, bogged down by a division between rich and poor allowed that economic split to creep into its celebration of the Lord's Supper. As a result, the communal meal was not shared. It was not communal, rather it was divisive. The richer, wealthier Christians at Corinth could afford to get to the house church earlier, and could begin to eat the meal, consuming the bread and more than enough wine. Then, when the poorer laborers arrived--late because of their longer hours--there would be no food or wine. This was causing distress and division within the church, the exact opposite of what the Christian Ritual was intended to do. Instead of a community being developed, there were separate groups unhappy with one another.

When Paul became aware of the situation at Corinth he chastised the Corinthians for their lack of unity and misuse of the meal. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the meal's importance, significance, and meaning. He reminded the Corinthians that the meal allows the individual to be transformed by the recognition, realization, and reality of Christ's Sacrifice and Love. Paul also demonstrated that the sharing of the meal was intended to foster community and identity in the one Christ who saved them all.

As modern-day readers we must see these words and also recognize the central importance of the Lord's Supper. The bread and wine (or juice in our case) create a horizontal as well as vertical connection. We are connected individually to God, and we are connected communally to each other. Our identities are re-affirmed in Christ, the same Christ in whom our fellow believers place their trust. Thus, we not only share a juice that comes from the same container, and crackers that come from the same cracker, we also share in the identity of Christ. This identity is thus one that shapes our personal existence and our communal existence.

The Lord's Supper enables us to fully realize the power of Christian Ritual in general. Not only is Christian Ritual a process of re-proclomation, but it transforms us on the inside (personally), as well as on the outside (communally). It changes the “in here” by giving us insight and depth in our experience of God and Christ, and it changes the “out there” by establishing a community of believers with which we worship, learn, and grow. The Lord's Supper establishes the feel of family that many of us have experienced at our own dining room tables. When we partake of the “bread” and “wine” we are symbolically participating with Christ in The Death that made us whole. We engage God in a unique and irreplaceable way, experiencing the Grace of God in our own lives, and the beauty of God's community coming together under the banner of Love.

Now, let us take this opportunity to re-act to the Lord's Supper. Let us re-consider and re-approach this Christian Ritual right now. I would ask that those who will be providing the Lord's Supper will come forward, and as they do so, let us begin to reflect on the significance of this symbolic activity. See your Sin on that Cross, the one where Jesus hangs, broken for you. See your own life transformed by the realization of that Love, and finally observe how your actions must now resemble that event. See your deeds colored with the Love and Grace of God, see yourself as an instrument of Kindness, Sacrifice, and Care. Do not let the bread touch your lips, or the juice flow toward your mouth without carefully consdering the identity you have in Christ, and the responsibility you have in the name of Love and Sacrifice. Come, may we pray together, break bread together, and commune with God... together.

Christian Ritual II: Baptism

Text: Mat. 28: 19

Last week we examined the depth, power, and beauty of Christian Ritual, seeing that it produces a unique and important dimension to our soul while simultaneously expanding the outside world. Looking back to Paul and the establishment of ritual in the 1st Century Church, we uncovered an important similiarity between Paul's perspective and our contemporary understanding of symbol and sacrament: The believer is trans-formed in Christian Ritual. Christian Ritual is something we discovered to be profoundly important because it changed both the “in here” and the “out there” for the believer. We were confronted with the fact that Christian Ritual is not just anything, but it is instead a sacred something. Something of great value, of great worth, and of great importance. A sacred thing which changes us both internally and externally. We see ourselves, our world, and God differently. We are made new through Christian Ritual. And then, we are Re-Newed through Christian Ritual.

Now, this week, let us examine Baptism, a Christian Ritual dripping with a history so rich and thick, that it could not be touched on with the detail it deserves. But nonetheless, let us dive into this topic, starting with the roots of this great term, then dicovering its application through history, and finally determining its significance for our modern world. Why do we baptize, and what does it mean?

The verb baptize comes from the greek “Baptizo” which means to dip, bathe or wash. You see baptism was something very common in the time of the New Testament because many religions of the Roman world were using some form of baptismal ceremony as a rite of initiation. Baptism was the induction ritual of new members. Baptism marked new converts.

But baptism was not something invented by the religions of the Roman world. No, baptism has traces in Jewish understanding as a ritual washing or cleansing (called Mikvah). You see, in the time of Jesus, there was no Christianity as we know it. Yet, you may recall that Jesus himself was baptized, and that Jesus called upon his disciples to baptize. Christianity developed out of a Jewish heritage that also understood baptism as part of its initiation for new converts. Entering into the Jewish religion required instruction in the faith, circumcision, and then, after the healing of the wounds, a whitnessed immersion.

As the number of Christ's followers grew after His death and Resurrection, there came to be an understanding of baptism that was uniquely “Christian.” Paul, because of his presence in the New Testament, sets the precendent for Baptismal Theology. And thus, we must at least understand what Paul was trying to tell the readers of his letters.

Text: Romans 6: 3-4

In this unique text, we must remember what Paul understood about the Spirit of God. You see, Baptism conferred upon the believer the Spirit of God, which of course, is the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit is the same inner substance that hung on the cross, and thus “died with our sins”. Therefore, by having the spirit of man inside of us transformed into the Spirit of God, we gain the very Spirit which was crucified on the cross and erased the depravity of our sin. Thus, the water cleanses us not because it gives us the Spirit of God, but because it gives us the very Spirit of God that hung on the Cross for our Sins. And as you can imagine, this is profoundly important.

Paul's contributions to Baptismal Theology created the basis for understanding baptism as the sacred initiation ritual of the Christian faith. Baptism and conversion were synonomous, if you converted, you were baptized. Now Church fathers from the very beginning debated the how, with what, and the whom of baptism. Augustine of Hippo argued that Baptism must be done immediately to a new child in order to erase Original Sin. Tertullian wrote explicitly about credobaptism, or believer's baptism which was performed only after a believer fully understood the ramifications of their decisions. Then there were the later arguments which sprang fromt the Reformation over immersion and sprinkling. All of these debates are centered on getting the ritual correct. And the question we have to ask ourselves is “Why?”

Unless baptism carries with it some tranformative element, there is no need to argue and debate the “Why.” Unless baptism has a unique contribution to the human soul and the believer's experience of God, there is no need to quarrel. So the very presence of the debate testifies to the value, worth, and mystery of this Christian Ritual. People want to perform it
correctly because it provides something powerful and uniquely life-changing.

So where do we stand, what do we think? If there is one thing I want to re-emphasize it is this: Baptism is a Sacred Ritual. It is a symbolic expression relating to God. And being symbolic does not mean that it is “simply” an outward expression of an inward change. No, because it is a symbol it participates in the inward change. It contributes to the inward change. It is a definitive part of our Faith, and as such it is uniquely important. It brings us in communion with God in a way nothing else can. Paul thought that we were physically changed by the Spirit of God that made itself to live within us. Like Paul, we must recognize that Baptism brings God inside of us and adds a new dimension to our soul, to our existence. We see God, we feel God, and we understand God in a way that cannot be duplicated. It is unique, it is power-full, and it is meaning-full.

You will see in your bulletin that there is a page devoted to the description of Baptism as outlined on the Disciple's web page (http://www.disciples.org/discover/baptism.htm). And you will hopefully notice two things: First, that Disciple's affirm the symbolic nature of Baptism. Secondly, that Disciple's affirm form truly doesn't matter. Full immersion, partial immersion, or sprikling are all recognized by the Disciple's at large. Now we do practice full immersion more widely as we feel a desire to connect to first century Christianity, but we do not exclude any baptised individual's from the community of Faith.

Thus, this sermon is not one that is focused on clearing up the debate that has lingered since the first Church Fathers and which was complicated by the Reformation. No, this sermon is focused on re-considering, re-approaching, and then re-acting to the beauty and depth of Baptism. Echoing the words of Paul, Baptism is both the symbolic act of dying with Christ, and then the Rising with Christ. Symbolically we are taken into the primordial water of Chaos which dissolves us, only to re-emerge with a new self, a new identity, a new personhood. You see Baptism is the initial proclamation. It is a public profession which trans-forms the Being of the believer. The “Old” is washed away, and the “New” is brought to Life. The Soul is made anew because it is deepened by a novel dimension of being. The unique and powerful experience that we have with God is truly transformative.

Have you been transformed?

As we close this morning may you re-consider, re-approach, and re-act to the power and depth of Baptism. May you remember that Ritual is important, because Ritual is IN God. May the Holy Shaper of Transformation change your thoughts of God, the World, and yourself. May the God of Love and Life shower his Mercies upon you. And Let us all be both blessed and a blessing to the Most High God as we leave here this morning. For it is in God that all things are brought together, and it is in God that all things are made Good.

Amen.

Christian Ritual

As I begin with you as Pastor of Perryville Christian Church, let me first pause to recognize the history of this church. It is in this building that we now find ourselves, but it is in the history of this building that we find much of its meaning. Looking back at the church through time we find a depth and power which provides us with a greater understanding of this place as the “House of God.”

Steeped in generations of sacrifice and contemplation, this church was erected by men and women who desired to find God; to commune with God; to Be with God. It is in this location that your parents, grandparents, and possibly even great-grandparents toiled to create and extablish a congregation of dedicated and committed people of faith. Now this Church is but one example of the greater Christian tradition. A tradition steeped in sacrifice and contemplation. A tradition alive with rituals, symbols, and text that date back hundreds and even thousands of years. This greater tradition is one that we are a part of and continually re-define. We are part of an organic tradition. A living, breathing Christianity that moves, bends, twists, and accomodates itself to new events, new thoughts, and new people. Christianity has seen theological debate, denominational splits, and scores of important and influential people.
And just like remembering the history of our church, it is only when we pause to reflect on the history of Christianity, only when we look back to those who established it, do we glimpse the depth, power, and meaning of this great tradition we call our own. So it seems only fitting that with this first message, I ask us to explore the annals of time and re-discover the beauty of Christianity. Today, and for the next two weeks, we will examine the meaning, history, and mystery of Christian Ritual; an important element of our Christian Tradition. My hope is that when all is said and done, you will re-consider, re-approach, and re-act to Christian Ritual in a new and more profound way.

To begin this examination we must begin at the beginning. Not the beginning of the Bible, but the beginning of Christian history and theology. We must start by examining one of the earliest, greatest and arguably most notable Christian figures: Paul. It was Paul who established the church by spreading the message of Jesus Christ beyond Palestine to a vast portion of the Roman Empire. It was Paul who gave us theological letters and teacings that built what would later be called “The Church”. And it was Paul who was instrumental in producing an understanding of Christian Ritual that would be invoked for many generations. Paul was an institutor, an innovator, and a person filled with zeal for both God and man. So when we find ourselves looking back into time for the depth and power of Christian ritual, we must first look to Paul. When we discover how Paul approached Christian Ritual we can reconsider how we should approach our rituals today.

Galatians 3:26-27; 4:6; 1 Corinthians 12:13

These verses, authored by Paul in two different letters for two different communities, present the essential nature of Paul's understanding of what later came to be known as “Christianity.” For Paul, who was a 1st Century citizen under the Roman Empire, to proclaim “Christ” was not just an act of speaking, rather it was a re-identification. Remember, if you will, the famous words of Paul: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new Creation, the old has gone and the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). There is more going on here than simple proclamation, rather, there is a profound change. Today, we might consider that change to be a character change, or a “spiritual change.” But our modern terminology does not do justice to Paul or his 1st Century location in the Greco-Roman world.

This may seem strange to you, but go back in time with me, travel back to 1st Century Palestine. Palestine, saturated with Greco-Roman education, ideals, and values was where Paul grew up, was instructed, and later ministered. In this world, at this time, there is no such thing as a medical hospital like you and I know today. No, instead there is what many of us would consider a very crude medical knowledge about the body and how to treat it. For Paul, along with many others in this place and time, the body was not the intricate network of blood, vessels, organs, skin, bone and muscle. Rather, the body was a collection of different substances. There was bile, blood, flesh, and even spirit. Each person had these elements within their body, and these elements often conflicted with each other.

For Paul, every human had spirit inside them. But this was not the mystical spirit you and I think of today. Spirit was not necessarily something that was unidentifiable, rather it was actually a component of the physical body. In other words, Paul might have been able to point to the place where “Spirit” would be if there were a dissected body on a table. Spirit, was not something immaterial. Instead, Spirit was a part of the physical body, and as such, it controlled or influenced our physical actions.

So how does this relate to Paul's understanding of Christ and we as followers? Well, simply put, we change... For Paul this means we literally change. There might be character change evident in us, and it is a result of our “spiritual change,” but this is only because our physical bodies have changed. We as creations have been trans-formed. The old spirit inside of us, the spirit of man, has been replaced with the spirit of God. There is a different physcial composition of the body, and as a result, there is a different functioning body. There is a body that is no longer controlled by the impulses of the human spirit. Instead there is a body influenced by the Righteousness of God's Spirit.

Now it is important to see that Christian Ritual was a symbolic expression of the all-important proclamation. Proclaiming Christ was done through Christian Ritual. As we can easily see from all of Paul's letters, there was first the individual's faith which paved the way for Grace, but following this was a life of proclamation. A life of re-identification. But this proclamation and re-identification was not just on the surface, or “outward” as we might sometimes think about it today. Instead, this proclamation pointed to an internal difference. Our insides have changed, we are truly a different person by communing in Christian Ritual.

Thus, the new life of the believer was defined and continued through Christian ritual. The mark of the new believer was the symbolic baptism, and the continued identification with Christ was maintained through regular partaking of the Lord's Supper. These events within the life of the new Christian enabled the believer to commune with God as God's own.

So right now you might be asking: How does this all connect? How is it that Paul's understanding of the body, his understanding of Spirit, and his scriptural precedent for Sacraments come together? What you will hopefully notice is that Paul is instuting Christian rites within the Church that are more than simple signifiers. These are not rituals that simply point to some character difference within us, rather these events say something about our actual reality. Christian ritual is an affirmation of re-identification. It is a continuation of the proclomation of Christ.

Now you may not agree with how Paul understood the human body. You may not even agree with Paul's theology of Ritual. But this is nothing you should have to agree with. Instead, what I hope you are beginning to see is that Paul found Christian Ritual to be very REAL. It was not some empty ceremony, but it was an event filled with life, meaning, and great importance. So let us begin to re-consider our contemporary understanding of Christian ritual.

First, what is a sacred ritual? A sacred ritual, or sacrament, is a symbolic expression relating to God. In other words: people acting in symbolic ways which have something to do with God. So what, you might ask, are symbols? Earlier you might have heard me mention symbol and empty ceremony together. Although I did do this, let me clear up some confusion regarding symbols. There are two uses of the word symbol today. One is the common usage, often understood like this: Baptism is just a symbol. This is actually a confusion with the word “sign.” You see, a sign and a symbol are two different things. A sign, is something that just points to something else. It is simpler than a symbol. Take a stop sign for example. A stop sign points to the action of stopping. A symbol on the other hand, does not simply point to something else. It does point to something, but it also participates in the power and meaning of that to which it points. The American Flag for example, not only points to America as a nation, but it expresses power, might, freedom, and a connection between individuals because it was and is present in battles, ceremonies, and government buildings. The flag has meaning because it is part of America. The Flag doesn't just point to America, it has a place IN America. Thus, we reverence the flag because it is a symbol.

Now there is an even more important understanding of symbol that stems from this. Symbols do something else that signs cannot. Symbols, because they are unique and irreplaceable, open up levels of the soul. Symbols have an internal as well as external component. Externally they inform us of the meaning and power of the thing they symbolize. But this carries with it a dimension that changes who we are. Our souls experience a reality in a deeper, more meaningful way. Thus, symbols provide us with an expanded and more profound world, but also with a depth of soul that cannot otherwise be accessed. Symbols tell us about the world and ourselves. Symbols tell us about the out there, and the in here. Symbols connect what is out there to what is in here, and symbols do this in a way nothing else can.

As a result, we need to understand our Christian rituals with this sense of symbolism. We must abandon the old “just a symbol” attitude and start to see the depth and beauty of Christian Ritual. Symbols do more than signs. Christian Ritual is more than a sign, more than a signifier. Christian Ritual is not just something that points to the external world, or to God “out there”. Rather, Christian Ritual helps make God “in here”. Christian Rituals, as symbols, uniquely combine elements of our world to express the beauty and depth of divinity. This is something we cannot just access in any old way. This is something that is special. The flag, for instance, combines notions of freedom, power, and liberty in a unique way that could not otherwise be done by anything else. Like the flag Baptism is important because it tells us something unique about God as we go through it. This is something we cannot get in any other way. Holy Communion does the same thing. It tells us something unique about God as we go through it, and this is something that cannot be uncovered in any other way. A symbol, unlike a sign, is irreplaceable. There is no substitute. A symbol provides meaning and power, it opens up our world and our soul. It provides our existence as individuals with a depth that otherwise is inaccessible to our minds. Like the Flag is IN America, so too Christian Ritual is IN God. Ritual does not just point to God, it is a mechanism for us to experience God in a way that is otherwise impossible. We gain a depth and meaning to our lives that we cannot have without Ritual.

This is where we find Paul in agreement. For Paul, Christian Ritual is performed in the world, but does something to us. It changes us. It makes us different from who we were, but it also brings all believers together in one spirit. When we recognize just how important Christian ritual was to Paul, we will hopefully be able to see how important it should be for us. No longer should we approach our Christian Rituals with a cavalier attitude. No longer should we simply go through the motions. Rather, we should focus on the change that is happening inside us, recognize the new identity that is forming inside us, and accept the new depth our soul has acquired.

As we close this morning, reflect upon the significance, the power, the depth, and the meaning of our Sacred Christian rituals. I hope that you recognize the communion you have with God through each of these experiences and that you concentrate and focus on your re-identification with Christ. May you now re-consider, re-approach, and re-act to Christian Ritual. And may the God of Love shower his Grace upon you, and may the Sacrifice of Christ saturate your entire being. May you see your life as a Christian in a new light today, and may you not forget the power or the importance of Christian Ritual. Let us all be re-newed with the Life of the Most High, and be empowered to do the Holy Will of the most Loving God. It is in God that all things are brought together, and it is in God that all things are made Good.

Amen.