Two weeks ago we closed out the
liturgical cycle with Trinity Sunday. Last week we moved into
Ordinary Time with the sending of the disciples to proclaim the good
news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out
demons. In Mtr. Jane's sermon she pointed out that this world was
full of bad news, but went on to give us any number of ways we can do
those very things the disciples did – proclaim, cure, cleanse, and
restore.
Last week I also discussed with the
kids why we use different colors during the church year. Wrapped up
in that little talk was the difference between the liturgical cycle
and Ordinary Time. The liturgical cycle – Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost – is focused on various
events of Christ's life. From his birth to the giving of the Holy
Spirit, liturgical time is event-focused.
Ordinary Time is different. First,
it's called that because the weeks are counted in ordinal numbers –
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Sunday
after Pentecost, or Proper 6, 7, 8, 9, and so forth. Second, it
doesn't focus on the events of Christ's life, but on the life of
Christ's life. It's focused on learning to live with Christ,
building our relationship with him, and growing as disciples. Which
is why the color of the season is green, to symbolize growth.
We have come out of the liturgical
cycle into Ordinary Time. A little over two months ago we celebrated
the Day of Resurrection and Jesus' victory over death and crossing
over into new life. At the Vigil that morning we baptized little Carl while also renewing our own baptismal vows. We once again promised
to continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of
the bread, and the prayers. We once again promised to resist evil,
repent when we sin, and return to the Lord. We promised to proclaim
the Good News of God in Christ, loving our neighbors as ourselves.
We promised to respect the dignity of every human being. And as a
physical remembrance, we were asperged with holy water, recalling our
own baptism into Christ's death, resurrection, and crossing over to
new life.
It is into this new life which we are
sent. Last week Jesus sent the twelve disciples out to proclaim,
cure, cleanse, and restore. This is also the beginning of our new
life in Christ, for we are also called to proclaim, cure, cleanse,
and restore. And today's gospel makes clear that this is no easy
task. But instead of focusing on today's gospel passage, I want to
focus on the Epistle reading, because in this section of Romans, Paul
is reminding us that we are made new. And because this passage from
Romans sums up baptism, the main liturgical event of our lives,
beautifully, this is a good place to begin our journey with Jesus.
“Should we continue in sin?” Paul
asks rhetorically. This question is to advance his argument begun
earlier in Chapters 3 and 5. What he's attacking is a creeping
belief that if we've been baptized into the family of God, then,
ultimately, it doesn't matter what we do because we are saved.
Another way of putting this is, “The bigger the sin, the bigger
example of God's grace.” David Koresh was preaching this kind of
life. But, as one commentator put it, that's a shallow understanding
of our baptismal transformation.
Our baptism into Christ's death and
resurrection, however, isn't simply a get-out-of-jail-free card. Our
baptism into Christ's death and resurrection doesn't give us free
reign to do whatever we want, like some spoiled child who knows he or
she will always be bailed out of trouble. Our baptism into Christ's
death and resurrection doesn't permit us to compartmentalize our
lives, living one way on Sunday, but a very different way Monday
through Saturday.
Our baptism into that death and
resurrection should bring about a primary change in our lives. Paul
says that through our baptism we are dead to sin. Not that we are
sinless, but that our baptism has destroyed that which has power over
us. Before our baptism we were enslaved by the sin of the world. We
were enslaved to a human definition of how the world should be –
defined by force, revenge, and a me-first attitude. This was, and
is, the sin of the world.
But our baptism changes us. We are
transformed into a new way of being. We are, like the Israelites,
living in a new country after having crossed the Jordan. We have
been, like Christ, resurrected into a new life. Like the Israelites
earlier, and like Christ before us, we have crossed through holy
water into a new land, a new way of being, and into a new existence.
The old ways of being have no hold on us, no claim to us, no shackles
upon us.
Like the Israelites who could not go
back to slavery, and like Jesus who can no longer go back to a life
bound up in physical time and space, our baptism creates a new
reality for us. Like slaves who died could no longer be controlled
by their master, we are also dead to sin, being freed from its
dominion.
That doesn't mean we don't sin, we do.
It's what humans do best. But we should understand that sin has no
dominion and no power over us. We should also recognize the need for
repentance when we do sin. “Will you repent and turn again to the
Lord?” All of this means that we avoid the shallow understanding
that Paul is arguing against in today's Epistle reading – should we
go on sinning so that grace may abound? Of course not, because this
new, post-baptismal life requires seeing and living in new ways.
Like Israel before us, we have crossed
through holy water.
We have been baptized into Christ's
death.
We are now living, and will be
resurrected at the end of the age, into a new way of living.
We have been claimed by God and are
living in a new country.
We have been called to proclaim, to
cure, to cleanse, and to restore.
We are called to live unordinarily in
ordinary times.
Let us then follow Paul's admonition
and Christ's calling and live our lives as if our baptism really
matters.
Amen.
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