Reflections on "Six Weeks in Corinth: Running Out of Time” I Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20

I enjoyed this sermon, even though it is a very difficult text to preach (at least in my opinion).  it would have been powerful to have played the song from Hamilton instead of just quoting it.  The song has such a frenetic pace, it would have been a good example of the sense of urgency I was describing.

I had originally thought about working more with the "as though they were not" aspect of these verses but will save that for another sermon.

 “Running Out of Time” January 24, 2021 ; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20

I mean, brothers and sisters,[a] the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Introduction:  We continue reading Paul’s letter to the church Corinth, learning about the development of the early church, and hopefully learning a bit about ourselves and our calling as well.

Move 1:  Paul may have missed the mark in this section of his letter - that is, his foundation premise may be wrong.

a.  Before we get to that, let’s back up a bit and look at what Paul has already advised these early Christians to do.

1. Remember, Paul is typically answering questions that have arisen in their church community.

2. They have asked, “should Christians stay single or get married?” and Paul’s written that the single life is better, but recommends marriage to help prevent sexual immorality (7:1-9). 

3.  they have asked, can we get divorced? and Paul has advised that believers not divorce one another, although he concedes that divorce might be necessary in some cases (7:10-16). 

4.  they have questions about freedom and how it connects to their place in life, and Paul has counseled that those who become Christians not to make changes. For example, slaves should not think that they must become free, but accept freedom if it is offered (7:11-24).

5. Now, in the passage we read this morning Paul write “those who have wives be as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.

b. Foundational to Paul’s response and teachings is his the last line of the passage:  for the present form of this world is passing away.” 

1.  Paul believes Christ will come again, and it will be very soon.

1.  In this limited time before Christ comes again, Paul does not want the Corinthians to waste their time worrying about advancement in life, or the trappings of their lives, but instead give laser-like focus to their calling as disciples of Christ.

2.  I do group workouts some days with a trainer leading the workout.  I’ve noticed that one of the things trainers like to say is, “you only have to do this for 30 secs.  You can do anything for 30 seconds.”  

3.  Well, maybe I can, or maybe I can’t.

4. But that is Paul’s point - they can hang on to wherever they are in life and give all their focus to their discipleship because Christ is coming back soon.

c.  Clearly, Paul did not have the timing down.

1.  Nearly 2,000 years later we read Paul’s letter and recognize that his admonition for what they should do in the short-term might need to be modified as we live out our calling in the longer-term.

2.  But it does not mean we dismiss or ignore Paul’s teachings.

3. Rather, we reclaim his words in our context.

Two thoughts on discipleship from Paul’s letter.

Move 2:  Entangled in the world or disentangled in the world.

a.  When we evaluate Paul’s teachings without the time element, we still see Paul’s call for the Corinthians to disentangle themselves from the world.

1.  Five times in the three verses we read this morning Paul tells the Corinthians to live “as though not:” as though not married; as though not mourning; as though not rejoicing; as though not  making purchases; and (in summation) as though not dealing with the world in general. ( Alrland J. Hultgren, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Luther Seminary; St. Paul, MN; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-729-31-2)

2.  Paul is calling the Corinthians to disentangle themselves from the ways of the world.

b.  this calling speaks to us today, even as we live long after Paul expect Christ to return.

1.  Discipleship calls us to a new way of understanding the world and living in the world.

2.  An understanding that begins with Christ crucified and God’s power to resurrect.

3.  We are not called to try and interpret God through the ways of the world, but to bring our faith to bear on how we understand and approach the world.

4. Do you see the difference?  

5.  I am reminded of the old adage that “if the God you are praying to agrees with everything you believe before you prayed, you might not be talking to God.”

6. Int reminiscing about Steve Plunkett’s tenure here at St.Andrew, I was reminded that Steve loved to share Karl Barth’s image of a Christian living with a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other.

7.  Too often, we are tempted to use the newspaper to interpret God, instead of turning to God to figure out how to respond to the headlines in the newspaper.

8.  But we should remember that Barth finishes his image with these words: “But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/668096-take-your-bible-and-take-your-newspaper-and-read-both)

c.  Paul, fo course, in calling the Corinthians, is calling us to disentangle from the world is reflecting what Christ had done.

1. Christ called people to repent, to change their ways, to turn around, and return their focus to God.

2. And then, to follow him into the world.

3.  In other words, pull ourselves back from the worldview that focuses on things like worldly power and might and looking out for one’s self first and engages the world as disciples of the crucified one, as disciples who believe that God is calling us to be new creations who seek justice, who love mercy, who care for the hungry, clothe the naked, who give hope to the hopeless in ways that the world chooses not to do.

4. how we disentangle ourselves may be different than how Paul called the Corinthians to disentangle themselves, the trajectory is the same - moving from God’s call to give up the ways of the world and then engaging the world as followers of Christ.

Move 3: Paul also gives a sense of urgency to discipleship.

a.  Paul tells the Corinthians they are living in “the appointed time,” or some translations translate is as a season.

1.  The Greek language offers two concepts of time - chronos,  which is the literal time of day, or Kairos, which is an appointed time, or a specific moment, often a moment appointed by God.

2.  Paul builds on this sense of kairos by telling the Corinthians that now is the appointed time, now is the particular moment God has called them to live out their discipleship.

3. No waiting for the next day, or the next week, or month, or year to start living out their calling as followers of Christ.

4. there is a sense of urgency to start now. 

5.  This is the moment.  

5.  Now.

b.  We see this urgency as Jesus calls the disciples in the Gospel of Mark.

1. Jesus arrives at the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

2.  The fishermen are used to immediate changes because of the geography surrounding the Sea of Galilee means sudden changes as winds blow in from the Mediterranean Sea and over the all country.  One moment the sea is calm, the next there are treacherous winds and threatening waves.   Fishermen learn to act in the moment. ( Professor Emeritus of New Testament Luther Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota, United States; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-mark-114-20

3.  Here comes Jesus. First, to Simon and Andrew he calls out, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 

4.  their response as the Gospel of Mark tells it:  “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”  

5.  no finishing up what they had been doing; no going to make plans to join him later;  

6. Immediately.  A sense of urgency.

7. The same thing happens with James and John.  

8.  Immediately.

9.  Following Jesus is an urgent matter.

b.  I am reminded of the “Justice delayed is justice denied”

1.  Most of us associate it with the Civil Rights movement.  The urgency brought to ending segregation 

2. But the roots of that phrase go back farther - it was part of the legal tradition, but even before that, it was part of the rabbinic tradition.

3.  Mentions of justice delayed and denied are found in Pirkei Avot: "Our Rabbis taught: ...The sword comes into the world, because of justice delayed and justice denied...".^[2][4] Nachmanides understands the advice given by Jethro in Exodus 18:22, to judge the people at all times, as suggesting that Israel needed more judges because potential litigants would otherwise suffer injustice due to their inability to find a judge to hear their case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_delayed_is_justice_denied)

4.  Jesus lays claim to that same sense of urgency.

5. The world needs God’s presence now.

6. As disciples of Christ, we are called to act now.

c. Musical Hamilton tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, both his flaws and all the things we did and set into motion.

1. As the musical tells his story, it gives the impression that Hamilton is propelled to action by his being orphaned at an early age, by being something of an outsider in the formative years of the United States.

2.  In the song “Non-Stop” the lyrics describe Hamilton’s non-stop way of living.

3.  part of the song goes like this:  

 How do you write like you're running out of time?

Write day and night like you're running out of time?

Everyday you fight like you're running out of time

Like you're running out of time

Are you running out of time? 

How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive?

How do you write like you need it to survive?

How do you write every second you're alive?

Every second you're alive? Every second you're alive?

4. If you hear the song, the lyrics and the music create this frenetic sense of urgency for how Hamilton lived his life and accomplished so much.

Conclusion:  Paul writes to the Corinthians, Paul writes to us who are newly alive as new creations in Christ and calls us to a life of discipleship that begins now, in this moment.

Reflections on “Six Weeks in Corinth: Lawful or Beneficial” I Corinthians 6: 12-20

This sermon was the second week of the series based on Paul's letters to the Corinthians.  it was also Martin Luther King, Jr. week-end, which had me reflecting on his work and writings.  I'm not sure my use of his Letter from Birmingham did justice to what King was saying.  I was not very satisfied with this sermon. 

“Lawful or Beneficial”, January 17, 2021; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 6: 12-20

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,”[a] and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple[b] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Introduction:  Another week in Corinth, reflecting on Paul’s writings as he tries to explain to the early Christian community their calling as disciples of Christ.

As a reminder from last week, in New Testament times  Corinth had come to be known for its lavish lifestyles and conspicuous consumption. - famous for theaters, temples, casinos, and brothels, and sexual promiscuity.

We also remember that Paul’s letters contain Paul’s responses to issues he sees in Corinth.  What we read this morning is not Paul’s systematic discourse on the doctrine of Christian freedom and the law, but Paul looking at specific issues or teachings in Corinth which needs more explanation and correction.

For example, if your Bible translation is like the NRSV, there are several phrases in this letter that has quotes - presumably, those are sayings that Paul has heard are being spoken in Corinth, sayings with which he has issues.

move 1:  Paul is working out for the early church how freedom and the law fit together in a Christian context.

a.  Some are saying “all things are lawful for me.”

1.  In fact, they may be quoting Paul himself.

2.  They have heard Paul say, or perhaps read his words, which declare that in Christ, God has freed humans from the demands of the law.

3. a bedrock theological concept for Paul and for us:  in Christ, we are free - free from the law; free from sin; free from death; free from all that holds us back from living as disciples of Christ.

4.  Paul would be the first to declare that Christians are free.

b.  but, Paul ties our freedom in Christ to the belief that if a person loves God, the person loves what God loves. 

1. Instead of announcing, “I am free to do this or that,”  Paul demands we ask, “is doing this or that something that reflects God’s love and God’s desires.”

2.  With tomorrow being Martin Luther King, Jr Day, I was reflecting on some of his writings this week.  I was reminded of a discussion he had about the law in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, which as you may recall was written to the clergymen of Birmingham.

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all.” (https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/sites/mlk/files/letterfrombirmingham_wwcw_0.pdf)

3.  There is a higher calling than the law; there is a higher calling than freedom from the law.

c.  Thus, paul provides this criteria for the Corinthians as they consider what it means to live into their Christian calling.

1.  Is what they are doing beneficial to others and to the body of Christ?

2. It does not matter what the law says

3.   In fact, later in this letter in the 10th chapter Paul writes, “All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 

4.  Paul goes on to write:  24 Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other.  

5.  Paul pushes the Corinthians that their freedom in Christ must be lived out in ways that are beneficial to others and for the good of the community.  (https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-612-20-3; Valerie Nicolet-Anderson Maître de Conférence (Assistant Professor) Faculté Libre de Théologie Protestante Paris, France)

4. Paul challenges those who equate freedom to mean “I can do anything that I want and that pleases me,” to understand that their freedom in Christ ties them to living like Christ, which is about serving others and working for the welfare of others. 

d.  As we live out our Christian calling in our current context, it seems to me that Paul’s words offer a challenge to us.

1.  from what we read and see, we are free to interpret facts and even laws in ways that serve our own purposes and act accordingly.

2.  But how do we live out our calling as followers of Christ to act in ways that build up, that are beneficial to others?

Move 2:  Paul uses sexual immorality to make his point.

a.  Perhaps Paul chooses this example because of his own upbringing in the Jewish tradition and its emphasis on the Holiness code.

1.  Think Leviticus and all its rules about food and sexuality.

2.  Paul sees the freedom in Christ as a release from the Holiness code strangling the people with rules, but surely the point of being holy is a part of Paul’s expectations.

b. When Paul challenges the Corinthian Christians to forego prostitution, it is also a clear example for them of how to understand what it means to be free.

1.  By the standards of Corinthian society, being a free man meant being able to visit brothels and engage in sexual immorality.

2.  Paul, however, calls the Corinthians to give up this freedom in order to be slaves of Christ.

3. For Paul, the question is less about morality and more about identity.

4.  “you are not your own,” Paul tells the Corinthians. 

5.  God frees them from the law, but in response, they become “slaves to Christ.”

6. The freedom bestowed upon them by Corinthian sexual morays is replaced with the calling to live in ways that are pleasing to God.

7. Ways that build up others.  

8.  Ways not lived out in brothels, but in serving others.

9. They are free, but in that freedom, they are called to identify themselves with the ways of Christ. 

Move 3:  Identity

a. We read a portion of Psalm 139 this morning.

1.  A powerful passage of identity declaring both whose we are and who we are.

2.  Psalm 139 lays forth the claim that all we are, literally, the unformed body in the womb waiting to take shape, is of God.

 all we do cannot be hidden from God

In fact, God finds us wherever we are.

Even as the days of our lives come to an end, God is there with us.

3.  a powerful affirmation of identity.

b.  But, it also carries with it the expectation that we live into that identity.

1.  According to Tom Long there was an occasion a few years ago when a biblical scholar was explaining Mark 1 to a group of teenagers. This scholar told the teens that when Jesus was baptized, the skies did not just open up, as some older translations said, but in the original Greek of Mark 1:10, we are told the skies ripped open, split in an almost violent way. This was very dramatic and forceful. "Get the point?" the scholar asked the group. "When Jesus was baptized, the heavens that separate us from God were ripped open so that now we can get to God. Because of Jesus, we have access to God--we can get close to him." 

But there was one young man sitting in the front row, arms crossed, making a fairly obvious display of his disinterest. Yet suddenly he perked up and said, "That ain't what it means." “What?" the Bible scholar said, startled. "I said that ain't what that means," the teenager repeated. "It means that the heavens were ripped open so that now God can get at US anytime God wants. Now nobody's safe!”

2.  The God who knows us in the womb, who follows us all the days of our lives expects us to live as people freed from the law and as slaves to Christ.

Reflections on "Six Weeks in Corinth: Baptism After Baptism" I Corinthians 1: 10-17

this sermon began a six-week series on Paul's letters to the Corinthians. It was also Baptism of the Lord Sunday in the liturgical calendar.  The sermon series is mostly using texts from the lectionary, although this first week the Corinthian passage is not the lectionary passage.  In my mind as I prepared the sermon was the political divisiveness in our country. 

 “Baptism after Baptism”, January 10, 2021 ; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; Mark 1: 4-11

John the baptizer appeared[e] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with[f] water; but he will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit.”

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[h] with you I am well pleased.”

I Corinthians 1: 10-17:  Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[d] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.[e] 12 What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God[f] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Introduction:  We gather in worship, we turn to God’s Word in the shadow of a very difficult week for our nation.

The divisiveness, anger, and distrust among us on full display.

Indeed, for the last ten months, we have gathered in worship and turned to God’s Word through difficult times: a pandemic and times of quarantine (for some, the church worship has been a place where quarantine seemed a little less isolating as you saw the comfort of the sanctuary); 

 through civil unrest; 

through protests and counter-protests; 

through an election cycle full of fingerprinting and ugly divisiveness;

even a post-election cycle with ongoing anger and resentment pouring forth

in the midst of all that, we have gathered here in worship to hear God’s Word read and proclaimed.

Perhaps for some, the words preached have not been prophetic enough; 

perhaps some have found comfort and hope;

perhaps some have heard God’s word guide and call for repentance

I will tell you that standing in this pulpit and trying to proclaim God’s Word over the last ten months has been more humbling and challenging than most of my time in ministry.

So here we are today.  gathering for worship; gathering with this familiar sanctuary as our background; gazing upon the Lords’ Table and the baptismal font as symbols of the sacraments; hearing music, lifting prayers, singing hymns, and turning to God’s Word for guidance, hoping and praying that the Holy Spirit will guide us and call us to new life.

WE humbly begin a six week preaching series on life in Corinth.  Perhaps as we spend time seeing how Paul guides the Corinthians in their struggles, we will find insight into how we deal with our struggles.

move 1:  Corinth

a.  Corinth was the capital city of Achaia (uh-kee-uh) 

1. Corinth at the time of Paul was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of the ancient world

2.  it prided itself on being a haven for the newly rich and the opportunity of upward mobility.

3.  By New Testament times, Corinth had come to be known for its lavish lifestyles and conspicuous consumption. - famous for theaters, temples, casinos, and brothels.

b.  But Achaia was also looked down upon by the more refined parts of the world.

1.  Looked down on because its history of being settled by freed slave;  

2.  Corinth was lifted up in contrast to Athens, merely 50 miles away, which was considered to be an intellectual center.

3.  In fact, in Roman slang, “to act like a Corinthian” meant engaging in sexual promiscuity, hardly the place which the proper people might appreciate (introducing the New Testament: A HIstorical, Literal and Theological Survey, 2nd edition, Mark Alan Powell, 291-292)

c. But imagine the opportunity for the good news to be shared, for the Christian church to grow.

1.  People who have grown tired of trying to prove themselves by what they can do or what they can have.

2. People for who upward mobility had still not satisfied that inner need for something more.

3.  People who needed to know of God’s love for them.

4. perhaps we recognize that need in our world today.

Move 2:  As Paul begins his letter to the new church in Corinth, he begins by discussing the divisions in the church - divisions caused by how members identify themselves and how they identify others.

a. They pledge their allegiance to one of the leaders in the church to the exclusion of others.

1.  “i belong to Apollos” (“see - he is one of those Apollos' followers”)

2.  “I belong to Paul” (“Can you believe she follows Paul?”

3.  “i belong to Cephas”  (“They have aligned themselves with Cephas - what will they do next?). 

b. we may be a long way from Corinth, but we understand how the labels we claim for ourselves, or those we put on others, divide us.

1.  We wear T-shirts or hats or masks that declare we are part of this group or that group.

2. We have bumper stickers that announce to everyone where we stand on issues.

3. We post or comment on social media making it clear which side we belong to and deride those who are not with us.

4.  Not only do we have differences with others, but we magnify those differences and treat others as stereotypes.

5.  To use Corinthian terms - “if I belong to Cephas and you belong to Apollos, than we are divided.

c.  Paul has no tolerance for the divisions the Corinthians have created between themselves.

1.  He does not care with whom they align themselves, because they are false indicators.

2.  The Corinthians may see their differences, but Paul points them to their common calling, their shared humanity as children of God.

Move 2:  child of God

a.  Admittedly, Paul does not use the term child of God.

1. But as he writes to the Corinthians about baptism and their common ground of being claimed by God in the waters of baptism, it takes me to the font and the waters of baptism.

2.  it reminds me of our baptismal language in which we find our calling as children of God.

b.  this week, As I read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and thought about Jesus being baptized in the river Jordan, I kept coming back to this phrase child of God.

c.  child of God, claimed in the waters of baptism

1.  I know it is unrealistic, but as I think about all the differences we have that gain momentum at separating us because of the labels we claim for ourselves or assign to others, I wonder what would happen if the only label we claimed for ourselves was “child of God,” and the only label we referred to others by would be “Child of God.”

2.  how would that change how we understand ourselves? 

3.  Renowned preacher and storyteller Fred Craddock, who died a few years ago, used to tell this story.

 the story of vacationing in the Smoky Mountains area of Tennessee. He and his wife had found a lovely restaurant at a place called the Black Bear Inn.  Craddock writes:   “ We Were seated there looking out at the mountains when this old man, with shocking white hair, a Carl Sandburg-looking person came over and spoke to us. He  said, "You're on vacation?"  We said, "Yes" and he just kept right on talking.  "What do you do," he asked.  ("Well, I was thinking," Craddock notes, "that it was none of his business, but I let out that I was a minister").  Then he said, "Oh, a minister, well I've got a story for  you."  He pulled out a chair and sat down.  "Won't you have a seat," Craddock added. (He found out later that he was eighty years old and the former governor of Tennessee.) He said, "I was born back here in these mountains and when I was growing up I attend Laurel Springs Church.  My mother was not married and as you might expect in those days, I was embarrassed about that -- at school, I would hide in the weeds by a nearby river and eat my lunch alone because the other children were very cruel.  And when I went to town with my courageous mother I would see the way people looked at me trying to guess who my daddy was. "The preacher fascinated me, but at the same time, he scared me. He had a long beard, a rough-hewn face, a deep voice, but I sure liked to hear him preach.  But I didn't think I was welcome at church so I would go just for the sermon. And as soon as the sermon was over, I would rush out so nobody would say,  What's a boy like you doing here in church.'   "One day though," the old man continued, "I was trying to get out but some people had already got in the aisle so I had to remain. I was waiting, getting in a cold sweat when all of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked out of the corner of my eye and realized it was the face of the preacher.  And I was scared to death. "The preacher looked at me.  He didn't say a word, he just looked at me, and then he said,  Well boy,  you're a child of...' and he paused, and I knew he was going to try to guess not who my mother was but who my father was."The preacher said You're a child of...um.  Why you're a child of God! I see a striking resemblance boy!'  He swatted me on the bottom and said,  Go claim your inheritance.'" And then the old man who was telling the story  said to Fred Craddock, "I was born on that day!”

1.  Imagine that we did not have to prove our value by labeling ourselves anything other than “Child of God.”

2.  Imagine if our focus was living as a child of God, rather than living into other labels we have for ourselves.

c.  If we began thinking of others as children of God, how might it change how we view and deal with them?

1.  Angelou: “while I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creations.  This is particularly difficult for me when my mind falls upon the cruel person, the battered, and the bigot. I would like to think that the mean-spirited were created by another force and under the aegis and direction of something other than my God.  But since I believe that God created all things.  I am not only constrained to know that the oppressor is a child of God, but also obliged to try to treat him or her as a child.” (Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My  Journey Now, Maya Angelou, 34)

1.  to lay claim to being a child of God connects us to others.

2.  Paul challenges the Corinthians on how they are living out their connectedness?  

3.  Might he be asking us the same question?

Move 4:  Just as Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians talking about baptism, Mark begins his gospel focused on baptism.

a.  notice that Mark has no birth narratives.

1.  Mark begins with the glorious announcement:  the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2.  The Son of God whose first act is to be baptized by John in the Jordan River.

3.  Imagine - the Son of God submitting to John’s baptism!

4.  Not the Son of God coming to take over the role of baptizer?

not the Son of God demanding some special baptism.

no, the Son of God being baptized like all those others who have come to the River Jordan seeking new life.

5.  Jesus connects with us in baptism.

6. When we see Jesus teach and heal and live among the people, choosing service to other;

when we see Jesus die on the cross, choosing to suffer and love, choosing resurrection over insurrection;

trace it back to the River Jordan when Jesus is baptized by John.

b.  Power of the baptism comes not from the one doing the baptism, but from the one who speaks from the heavens.

1.  God claims Jesus as God’s own son in the waters of baptism.

2. In the waters of baptism, God claims us God’s own children, connected to Christ, connected to each other.

c.  Baptism that calls us to new life.  

1.   As Brian McLaren describes Jesus’ baptism:

“ What might have been considered acceptable before – hating Gentiles, hating priests, hating the poor, hating the rich – now seems like a sin to be confessed.  What might have been considered unacceptable before – reconciling with enemies, showing kindness to outcasts, putting the needs of people above religious rules – now seems like a good thing. “ Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road,  Brian McLaren (183)

2.  the kind of new life that calls us to move beyond our differences and find new ways of living,

living together

as children of God.