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DonateJanuary 13 , 2008
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See also: [2005] |
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
Healthy theology affirms, in the spirit of the United Church of Christ motto, that “God is still speaking.” Isaiah describes God as declaring new things that will emerge through God’s wisdom and power. Matthew’s gospel describes the mystical experience, observed by Jesus and possibly others, of hearing God proclaim, “This is my son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Acts of the Apostles narrates the unexpected yet culture-transforming spread of the gospel into the Gentile world. While the old religious ways separated clean and unclean in terms of food, ethnicity, and faith, the new spiritual ways embrace and affirm diversity in the context of Christ’s reconciling love. Divine creativity, expansive in scope, is constantly bringing forth new possibilities for the evolution of humankind and its spiritual journey.
In Isaiah, God’s servant embodies the energy and passion of justice-seeking for the whole earth. Not restricted to the familiar landscape of Israel and the Hebraic religious tradition, God’s coming servant will incarnate a new spiritual order which will bring “light to the nations.” God’s servant joins the microcosm and macrocosm, the personal and political, in the quest to enlighten and liberate humankind in all its diversity. As they read Isaiah several centuries later, early Christians could easily identify Jesus as the fulfillment of the servant’s quest in Jesus’ own embodiment of the personal and planetary aspects of healing and salvation. While we may not wish to make a one-to-one correspondence between Isaiah’s servant and Jesus of Nazareth, it is not difficult to imagine, in process-relational terms, that the God who is declaring new things has a vision of history that includes the emergence of savior figures as well as our moment by moment existence. God’s vision of global transformation surely includes the “adventure of ideas” over the centuries as well as evolving spiritual and theological trajectories within a religious tradition. The image of a non-coercive divine creativity, moving in the large and small, the immediate and vast expanse of history, calls us to ponder the question, “what new possibilities is God bringing forth in our social and planetary as well as personal setting?”
Matthew’s gospel describes Jesus’ baptism in the briefest of terms. Although John the Baptist reluctantly baptizes Jesus, Jesus’ willingness to be baptized joins both tradition and novelty in the spiritual journey. Even God’s beloved child has a historical and religious heritage that he must affirm with the same ardor that he now will preach the good news of God’s surprising and inclusive reign.
Openness to God’s future is intimately connected with appreciation of God’s presence in the past and the best of human spiritual creativity, embodied in creeds, mystical literature, theology, art, music, and ritual. Although we may “go beyond” these ancient and modern forms of faith in our own post-modern visions of God, fidelity to God’s revelation calls us to appreciate what has been good and life-changing in the faith of our parents.
In a spiritual growth group in which I participated many years ago, we once did the following spiritual practice. As we anointed each other with water, we affirmed one another with the words, “you are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.” Grounded in its vision of God’s universal quest for wholeness and beauty, process-relational thought affirms not only God’s love for Jesus of Nazareth but also God’s unique care and calling of each person at every moment of her or his life. God’s tender care is directed to the well-being of each and every created being. God does not exclude, nor should we, any of God’s creatures in God’s quest for wholeness and salvation. God’s aim at wholeness is universal and unhindered by the limitations of religion and culture.
Acts of the Apostles is an extended testimony to God’s all-embracing quest for salvation. Once again, a mystical experience calls a follower of Jesus to a new way of life. Peter’s vision challenges his nationalism and ethnocentrism and awakens him to God’s care for Gentile as well as Jew. But, Peter’s vision must lead to a life-changing spiritual practice in order to find completion. Accordingly, when Cornelius’ emissaries arrive, Peter must leave his home and his spiritual comfort zone in order to embody the vision he has received. His journey is a “walking prayer” grounded in his mystical experience of the living and inclusive God.
Radical for his time, Peter proclaims that “everyone” who follows Christ, regardless of ethnicity, will be saved. God’s good news is that all are welcomed into a realm that has no external boundaries. God is, as one mystic noted, “the circle whose center is everywhere, but whose circumference is nowhere.”
One might wish that the lectionary committee would have continued the Acts 10 reading to include verses 44-48, which give a description of God’s spirit poured out on the Gentile believers as well as Peter’s baptism of his Gentile converts. Divine ecstasy and mystical experience can occur anywhere and among any people. Accordingly, the rite of baptism must be extended to any who seek to follow Jesus of Nazareth, regardless of their past personal or religious history or present ethnic identity or social status. The abundance of God’s spirit welcomes all persons gracefully and equally without requiring persons to give up their ethnic or religious heritage.
Psalm 29 continues the image of God’s universal revelation and creativity. God’s creative word brings forth personal and planetary life. Divine energy embraces and inspires all creation and provides the pathway to salvation for all living beings.
In worship and song, the community is called to celebrate God’s innovative and transforming love as well as the traditions of the past. Prayerfully, in study and in worship, we can ask ourselves, “What barrier is God calling us to go beyond in order to embody God’s radical hospitality? What new practice or new way of looking at an ancient ritual is God calling us toward in the present life of the church?”
Bruce Epperly is Director of Continuing Education and Professor of Practical Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples United Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He may be reached at bepperly@lancasterseminary.edu or www.ducc.us.
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