"Baggage"
Given Sunday, December 10, 2006 at Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, IL.
Ever watch closely when the holidays roll around at the stories on TV of people traveling? The stories always show scenes of people in long lines, either at the airport, the train station, or the bus station, waiting to get on board in order to get to their destinations.
Ever notice how much “stuff” people carry with them?....Some carry just one small suitcase, leaving people like me to wonder how they can manage on so little in the way of needed supplies while they’re gone…Others, however, seem to be carrying absolutely everything they own with them….maybe they figure they just have to have all that “stuff” in case there’s the remotest possibility they’ll need it while they’re gone.
Today’s Gospel reading is all about “baggage”, it seems to me….
As the scene opens, we see John the Baptist in the country around the River Jordan, preaching a “baptism of repentance”. John’s call is one of preparation, in much the same way people get ready for a trip….in this case, however, John tells them to get ready for the arrival of God’s salvation.
Now baptism carries with it three images in the New Testament: 1. it is a ritual cleansing from sin; 2. it is dying to the old self, being “buried with Christ in His death”;[1] as St. Paul says; and 3. it is a conveying over the waters (like Noah’s ark) in safety to eternal life with God.[2]
John’s baptism, which Luke tells us is a “baptism of repentance” corresponds most closely to a “washing away of sin”, and also to a “death” to old ways of life.
Sin and our old ways can be like baggage…..in some cases, the old ways we carry around with us are like excess baggage that weighs us down, and gets in the way of our ability to meet God….in other cases, we carry sin around with us which prevents us from being able to prepare to meet God at all….much like trying to carry a pair of scissors on board an airplane, the sin we harbor will prevent us from getting on board with God.
Let’s look at two aspects of “getting ready”:
- Old habits/ways that require cleansing: We live in a world that is full of images, full of information…one writer, Richard Lischer, describes our world as being “a sea of words”.[3] Lischer describes the information environment we live in as being full of “white noise”.[4]
Is it any wonder, given those circumstances, that it’s difficult for God’s word to get any “air time” or attention at all?
So, maybe one old habit we could wash away is some of the hectic nature of our lives….allow God some quiet time with a devotional booklet, a Bible reading, or the Book of Common Prayer.
Maybe the hustle and bustle of life, the many tasks and duties we all carry, drown out God’s deepest desire for a two – way relationship with us. Perhaps we could “slow down” a little, washing away the old ways of running hither and yon. - Dying to sin: In our Baptismal Covenant, [5] we answer this question, “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?” Our answer is, “I will, with God’s help.” Notice the word whenever….We are realists! We recognize that, once we are claimed as Christ’s own in baptism forever, there will be occasions when sin creeps into our lives, separating us from God and making it impossible to greet the coming of God’s salvation as it unfolds in our lives, day by day. Whenever that happens to each of us (no one is exempt from the certainty of sin’s presence in their lives!), we need to “die to self” and “die to sin” again, seeking God’s renewing of our minds, souls and bodies.
Sin can make it impossible to pass the security checkpoint to relationship with God….seeking forgiveness restores the relationship by removing the offending items in our lives.
So, “get ready” John seems to be saying…the “voice of one, crying in the wilderness, ‘prepare the way for the Lord.’”
“Take stock”, John seems to telling us…. “take stock” of our lives, to decide what will simply weigh us down as we greet the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…. “take stock” to determine what will prevent us from entering into a full relationship with God.
AMEN.
[1] Romans 6: 1 - 10
[2] See I Peter 3: 18 – 22.
[3] From his book “The End of Words” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005) page 11.
[4] Ibid, page 18
[5] Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 304
