The Lenses of Water, Wine, and Bread
As people of the Wesleyan tradition of Protestant Christianity, we understand that sacraments are the outward signs of the inward grace of God.
When we gather for worship this Sunday, to put our time of commitment in it's proper perspective, prior to our celebration of Holy Communion, we will participate in a special service of the church known as the Congregational Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant. Through this service, we will once again reaffirm the vows taken at our baptism, vows that we affirm when we become professing members of the church. The reason this is so important is because of our understanding of the sacrament as the outward sign of the inward grace of God at work in creation.
As United Methodists, we are specifically reminded that under no circumstance is a re-baptism performed in our churches or by our clergy, for baptism is not the work of humanity, but is the work of God, and, by God's very nature, once celebrated it is eternal.
However, we have this service of reaffirmation as part of our worship because it is important from time to time for us all to spend time in prayer and reflection about the grace of God at work in our lives, especially the cleansing work done during the sacrament of baptism.
The liturgy for our service of baptism and the celebration of Holy Communion are important for us to use at times like these, for contained in these services is the story of God's gracious work through the life of Jesus Christ. What many may see as 'just a bunch of words' actually contains the most beautiful story of all, the story of God's work in creation from the beginning and the eager anticipation of it's conclusion when Christ comes again in glory.
This will be mentioned again on Sunday, but I want to invite you, as you prepare to live out your Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and all the other days of your life, to prayerfully reflect upon the fact that your existence, and your salvation, is possible only through the grace of God. Through these tangible acts of baptism and communion, we are reminded that it is only by God's grace that we are given life, hope, and redemption.
Once we look at life through the lens of grace, then it makes it a lot easier to understand that we are merely stewards, and puts us in the proper perspective to commit to fulfilling our sacred promises to support the work of the Kingdom of God, knowing that what we are doing is not about us or our church, but is our tangible response to God's unfailing grace.
See You Sunday!
Lamar