| "In the beginning, the wind that is the Spirit of God swept over the face of the cosmic waters-a restless, creative, life-giving, sustaining energy bringing order out of chaos so that the creation of the world could commence. [Gen. 1:2] Ages later, in the desert wilderness along the banks of the Jordan River, that same restless, creative, life-giving, sustaining Spirit led the New Testament prophet John the Baptist to proclaim, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me.… I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." [Mark 1:7a, 8] And that "more powerful" one anticipated by John we Christians profess to have been Jesus, who "came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan," at which time the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove [Mark 1:9-10], giving him the strength he needed for ministry, the strength he shared so unstintingly with others as he welcomed, healed, taught, forgave, and empowered. And ever since the death and resurrection of Jesus, all followers of his have been baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. Through baptism, we disciples of Christ enter into communion with God and, like Jesus, share in the gift of the Spirit's strength, a strength that we in turn are called upon to share with others. Yes, as we confront the aches and pains, the stresses and strains, the hardships and difficulties of life, the Good News is this: we are not alone, for we stand within a community of faith, whose head is Christ. Through baptism, we are united with both Christ and each other in the bonds of a shared strength, a strength originating in the restless, creative, life-giving, sustaining energy of God the Holy Spirit. I'm told there's a Zulu proverb that says: when a thorn pierces the foot, the whole body bends over to pull it out. Which is to say: when an individual person experiences pain, the rest of the community responds, sharing its strength with that person in order to ease the pain. Well, I believe that Zulu proverb offers us a magnificent metaphor for something Christian congregations are meant to be and, through baptism, are empowered to be. We are meant and, through baptism, are empowered to be communities that share strength in order to ease pain. One congregation that exemplifies what I believe we are all meant to be-sharers of the strength that comes to us from the Holy Spirit in baptism-one congregation that exemplifies this is the Church of Mary Magdalene, an ecumenical church in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1991 by a Presbyterian minister named Jean Kim. Each week some 850 homeless women receive the ministries of this church. The women gather and connect with each other in that congregation in order to share strength for the living of their next days. And in addition to that Zulu proverb, let me offer you today one other metaphor for what a Christian congregation is meant and empowered to be through the strength of the Holy Spirit shared in baptism. This metaphor is one of those urban legends that has spread like wildfire on the internet. So listen, please, to this story, which, whether or not it ever "happened," can serve us quite well as a kind of modern parable, like one of Jesus's own created stories-a parable about the beauty of sharing with others the strength that comes from God. The story goes like this: A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine children gathered at the starting line for the 100-yard dash, all of them having a so-called physical or mental "disability." At the gun, they all started out-well, not exactly in a dash, mind you, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All of them, that is, except for one little boy who stumbled right at the start, tumbled over, and began to cry. When the other eight heard the boy crying, they slowed down, turned around, saw the boy and ran back to him-every one of them ran back to him. One little girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed the boy, saying, "This will make it better." The boy got up, and he and the rest of the children linked arms and joyfully skipped together to the finish line. What an image-that image of those children, everyone of whom was somehow and in some way "disabled," breaking off from their competitive race to attend to the one of them who was in special need! What an image-that image of those children linking arms with one another and joining together in a joyful, healing skip to the finish line! What a powerful metaphor this urban legend offers for what a Christian community such as ours is meant to be and, through baptism, is empowered to be!For we are a community of "wounded" people who, through baptism, have nonetheless been empowered by God to unite joyfully in the sharing of strength for the journey of life. This morning as we approach the font to renew our baptismal vows, hold that image in your mind. For a major part of the promise that we are renewing today is our pledge to share with others the strength we have received from Christ and the Holy Spirit-our pledge to be like that merry band of children who broke free from the race of life in order to link arms with one in need and to undertake the rest of the journey together in joy. Let us pray: Amen |
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