baptism

Unexpected.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“You are above me O God; You are beneath; You are in air; You are in earth; You are beside me; You are within.  O God of heaven, you have made your home on earth in the broken body of Creation.  Kindle within me a love for you in all things.”

―JP Newell

Colossians 1:11-20

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God’s glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father,[a] who has enabled[b] you[c] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption,[d] the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 for in[e] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in[f] him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God[g] was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Footnotes

  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read God the Father or the God and Father
  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read called
  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read us
  • 1.14 Other ancient authorities add through his blood
  • 1.16 Or by
  • 1.17 Or by
  • 1.19 Gk lacks of God

Gospel Lesson

Luke 23:33-43 

33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus[a] there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.[[34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”]][b] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah[c] of God, the chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[d] “This is the King of the Jews.” 

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding[e] him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?[f] Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into[g] your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

What does it mean to be saved? Has there ever been a time in your life where you’ve wanted to be saved? Maybe a social situation that you wanted to get out of? 

You’ve heard me say before, in my tradition growing up, I think I was saved at least 42 times!  Every time there was what we called an “altar call”, I would get caught up in the emotion of the moment and go forward.  I was so afraid of not being saved!  From what, at 58, I’m not exactly sure anymore.  Probably some sense of guilt, of loneliness, of whatever.  And, always looking for something to save that was distant, an external savior to take my problems away.  

Yet, over time, through so much of life, living into even the shadow sides of life…times of despair and even humiliation, something unexpected happened.  I began to see, and still seeing…although sometimes dimly, that God is bigger than some euphoric moment…a bigger God that doesn’t lay a guilt trip on you…a God so intimate that this God is already in and and around you in all things and all people….and a God who does not need to be appeased by a blood sacrifice.  

We’ve talked a lot about the Greek word “metanoia” which literally means having your mind enlarged. I’ve experienced “metanoia”, the Greek word in the Bible that is often mistranslated as “repentance”, my mind and heart, my life, has experienced unexpected growth…a deeper awareness.  

I have come to realize that the concept of “personal salvation” is not really mentioned in Scripture.  It simply isn’t a concept that God intended.  That’s a concept that early Christians would certainly not have understood, especially as folks in some “Christian” circles use it today, but it devolved over the centuries from folks wanting to find some sort of control over folks.  We have salvation, that is explicit throughout Scripture…the question is do we live in awareness of the good news of not only what God does in and through all of creation, but that God is IN all of creation, including us!  

This was unexpected in the way that I grew up.  

Our passage this morning from the gospel of Luke depicts humiliation as well as something unexpected. Only on a scale that I could never imagine. Crucifixion by the Romans was meant to be more about humiliation than pain even. The place of the Skulls in Jerusalem was picked by the Romans for crucifixion because it was visible for all to see. It is also referred to as Gahenna, a garbage dump that is outside of the city…Gahenna is often used as a reference to what we call “hell”.  To be nailed to a tree, lifted up, often for days, while folks walked by either throwing scorn and insults, or shielding their eyes away from the cruelty. 

Luke reminds us that the Romans and the Jewish authorities formed an alliance of convenience in order to maintain the system status quo. They viewed Jesus as a threat to their hold on power and to the way things have been that kept them on the top. They wanted to send a message. Even giving Jesus cheap wine with vinegar in it…not good wine fit for a king, but sour wine. It says that the Romans mocked Jesus. The term for mock in this passage denotes that the Romans thought of Jesus as less than human. 

We see that in the gospel lesson. Jesus is humiliated with the scandal of the cross. Yet, Jesus asks for God to forgive them, which is unexpected.  Usually, you’d think that a response would be one of anger or a desire for revenge, but Jesus greats violence with non-violence. They are telling Jesus, jeering at Jesus, to save him-self. Yet, Jesus has incredible agency and resolve to absorb and to suffer…to take on death in a scandalous way in order to show us a better and deeper way of living. The people that killed Jesus were telling him to look for salvation like any other king would, by force or violence. Jesus is responding to violence with an inner strength of love and non-violence. Which, ultimately brings salvation to them, and to all of us, as we live into becoming people of love, resolve, and our truest selves. 

Jesus responds to persons as they begin to move towards humility in unexpected ways. It seems like we often look for a savior to simply come in and swoop us out of a situation, but, more often than not, we experience growth, humility, and even salvation in the midst of a tragedy by simply recognizing God’s Presence and embracing the moments we are in…and seeking a deeper understanding… 

Jesus is crucified in between two thieves. One, wanting to be saved, but cannot recognize himself or his humiliation, nor his humanity as made in the image of God,….the other, recognizes where he is, knows his humiliation, names it, and sees in Jesus a Presence, the presence of God. And, Jesus follows up on God’s promise of being with us by reassuring him that they would be together in paradise that day. 

Friends, Jesus remembers us, all of us. Jesus is with us in all of life’s ups and downs. May we own where we are, we may be looking around for someone or something else to save us…but, may we follow the example of this gospel lesson and look deep inside, as well as deep inside of others as we build genuine friendships, and recognize that God is with us and God knows what we are going through…God does not give up on us, God brings us forgiveness, has given us salvation, God brings us God’s self. 

Today is the Reign of Christ Sunday.  This is not simply a king, the Christ encompasses all people, things, creation…it is the universal presence filled with promise and relationship.  This Christ, in all things, shows up in the most unexpected ways.  May we live in these times looking for the unexpected.  

Witness.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God, Lord of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough,  because in reality every thing and every one is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good, for the diverse unity of the Body of Christ and all creation, because we know this is what You desire: as Jesus prayed, that all may be one. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God, we offer our prayer together with Christ, our Lord, Amen.

― Richard Rohr

Luke 12:49-56 

Not Peace but Division 

49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in- law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Times 

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? 

Our Presbyterian heritage is built upon a premise of Christ’s actions happening on our behalf and Jesus is baptized for all of humanity, and that our baptism is a symbol of our participating in what Christ has participated in.  Baptism is symbolic of God’s action…that we are marked by God’s grace. 

In this morning’s gospel lesson, we hear Jesus say that he didn’t come to bring peace, but division, it’s a bit disorienting. Isn’t this the same Jesus who is always preaching unity, peace on earth and in us, and to work together, to be connected? 

But, when this passage is read in context, Jesus is saying that following him has consequences, we are operating under a different understanding than what is evident in this world. The old ways of doing things are behind us, a new way of being, of loving, of including and even a changing worldview is required. 

The world, the systems that dominate our thinking…what we see and is fed to us on social media and the news cycle at times…tell us to live and think a certain way that brings division and chaos.  Jesus is simply pointing out a reality, that living in Christ, in oneness, will bring us all to a point of saying that we choose oneness, but the world chooses division.  We see that when we sit at the proverbial thanksgiving dinner and folks are afraid to bring up politics or some other issue that folks have been polarized on. But, following Jesus requires a different depth, a change of course, a deeper inner peace that is not understood in a world dominated by transactional thinking.  Living in Christ calls us towards transformational thinking and being.  We can be attached to God, our truest Selves and detached from things, from outcomes, from circumstances, and still engage lovingly and honoring with others while working towards justice and reconciling relationships.

Yet, even as we are called to love the world, to build bridges and not walls, we are living countercultural and that causes division, and sometimes even violence and persecution… it certainly did for Jesus and the early disciples. It cost them their lives. 

We say it every time we have communion.  Our baptism is one baptism wrapped up in Jesus’ baptism.  This is a sign and a seal that our lives are intertwined.  All of it.  The good, the bad, the ugly…and the bad and ugly are oftentimes the things that lead to deeper beauty and growth.  And, it is a baptism that is constantly happening, flowing all around us and in us.

I’m living into my baptism, and with you as well. The relationships in my life, in our lives, remind us that our old lives are buried in the water, and new life springs out as we are washed in the waters! But, that’s a hard process at times, we may embrace it out of God’s love, but it has a cost doesn’t it? Love is free, love wins, but the growth that love brings can be hard to navigate at times. 

But, baptism gives us hope. We are not alone. God is with us and has given us Jesus. And, as our passage in Hebrews reminds us, we have a great cloud of witnesses that have gone before and after us, cheering us on to the finish line. 

This is Jesus’ example to us in his baptism. When he came to John, John didn’t think he should baptize Jesus, that Jesus should baptize him. Yet, Jesus says no, that in order for righteousness to be demonstrated, that Jesus should be baptized by John. Jesus knew who he was, that he was representing all of humanity and that he was God’s son, God’s human representation on earth. He was connected to the flow of God that created, saved, and sustains all of life. Yet, he also knew that to be righteous, or right in relationship, means to submit to someone else, to live in humility. So, he submits to John’s baptism. 

His dying to self on our behalf cuts to the core of who we are, tells us that we too are a part of the flow of God that changes everything. The question for us this morning is, our we willing to let go of those old ways of thinking and being and live into the new reality that Christ’s baptism represents? 

Do we recognize as this story points out that we can’t hide from the present times that we live in? WE, Jesus’ followers, are being reminded that we do have eyes to see and that the times are changing, just as we recognize that weather is changing. We may not want to recognize that culture is changing and that gives us opportunities for imagination and growth, but Jesus is saying that we are called to adapt and to grow with him. 

When Jesus is baptized, we read that the Spirit of God descends on Jesus life a dove. God’s Spirit is always with Jesus, even before this, and also with us. In the story of Noah, when the floods recede, there is a dove flying over the chaos, reminding us of the hope of new life, and, out of chaos, comes new life and stability. 

We all recognized that we live in uncertain times.  We can see, as Jesus did, that the winds have changed, literally with climate change, and also the deeper winds of a world being usurped by divisive ideologies and personalities that want to steal our joy and hope.  Yet, God reminds us that we are one with God and with one another and that we have a deeper Presence that cannot be destroyed or harmed.  May we live into that deeper Self, that Deeper Presence as we live in and through God’s Spirit.  

Friends, the same spirit of God is descending upon us even now, are we willing to receive God’s Presence in our lives and live fully in this new reality? If we are, then we will see evidence of changed behavior on our part, we will see our lives change and this church become all that God intends.

Baptized.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.

– Gaelic Blessing

New Testament Readings

Acts 8:14-17

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17,Luke 3:21-22

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Sermon:

I’ve shared this story before.  But it seems pretty important in this season, as I’ve been thinking a lot about Robbie Waddles.  When I was 8 years old, my best friend, Rob was baptized.  When I saw him get baptized, I thought that was pretty cool.  I love Robbie, still do.  We did literally everything together growing up.  He died at age 46, probably suicide…which is sad, because he was an amazing human…English professor, musician, athlete…and he believed in me.  Growing up, if Robbie did it, I was going to do it. 

So, I asked my parents if I could be baptized.  We set-up a meeting with our Baptist pastor, we talked about it, I got real excited…and the next Sunday, I was immersed in this huge tank that was in our Sanctuary behind our choir. 

I did not want to wait, I wanted to get in and get it done.  

I don’t remember much about my conversation with our Baptist preacher.  I just remember that it was something that my best friend did and he was glad…and it sure did make my parents happy.  

In our reformed PCUSA understanding of Baptism, we believe it to be a sign of God’s faithfulness to us.  It has much more to do with God’s actions on our behalf through Jesus than our actions.  It is also a seal that God puts on us…God’s “signature” if you will.  And, it eventually took the place of circumcision as a sign of one’s trust in God…am much less painful sign I’d say!  Baptism marks us as a people living in community with God.  God seals us to God’s self.  We may not always live that way, but in effect, God is saying that he won’t give up on us and that he believes in us.

As Jesus comes up from the water in today’s Gospel, there is a voice from heaven, God’s voice that has these amazing lines from our gospel lesson this am.  “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I’m well pleased”.

Jesus is God in the flesh, the flesh part means that Jesus represents all of us to God and God is represents to all of us through Jesus. In our Trinitarian understanding, God is three persons that are of the same substance birthed out of the Godhead.  They mutually indwell in each other’s being in such a tight community, even sharing the same essence, so much so that they are one God and speak as one.  Jesus is unique in that he is divine, yet also human.  We share the same essence as Jesus, therefore we can also say that we are human with divinity at our core…especially as image bearers of God…  It’s wild, but what it means for us today is that when God looks at us, God sees Jesus and the words of this passage are also addressed to us.  God is well pleased with us!  We are God’s beloved.

James Torrance, one of the great Scottish Torrance brothers who were writers, theologians, philosophers, and pastors says this about Jesus’ baptism: 

“When he [Jesus] saw the people going down to the river to be baptized by John, confessing their sins, submitting to the verdict of guilty (which is repentance), Jesus said to John, ‘baptize me!  I will submit to the verdict of guilty for them!’  He identified himself with sinners, the he might take their place…”

Jesus’ baptism is for all of humanity.  

This action by Jesus demonstrates the whole of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and even resurrection.  Jesus came to give us life.  We often forget that we are God’s beloved…actually, we are God’s heart.  And, when we look deep into our selves, our true selves, we find God waiting for us there.  

Baptism signifies a death of our old selves, the old self that lives in its pathologies and old ways of thinking, when we are put under the water.  When we come up, we are reminded that God has cleansed us and lives within us and is emerging always out of our deepest selves.  Meister Eckhart says that “God is within, but we are without”.  

Jesus wants us to move towards a new way of thinking, a new way of living, a rebirth of God within that moves from the inside out…this new life as signified by baptism

This rebirth is in constant motion.  Since Jesus is God, Jesus is the Christ and we are the body of Christ, Jesus’ actions are sealed forever with us, just as we are sealed with Jesus.  At 57 years of age, I am again realizing deeply what it means to be present to God and others.  The great Catholic writer, Thomas Merton says:  

“Our reality, our true self, is hidden in what appears to us to be nothingness….We can rise above this unreality and recover our hidden reality….God Himself begins to live in me not only as my Creator but as my other and true self.”

God, the Creator, wants you to know that life, real life, is happening through God’s constant actions in and around you as you empty yourself and allow God to be rebirthed within.  There is new life, this rebirth, as signified in baptism!  God is doing a new thing as the writer in Isaiah says:

18 Do not remember the former things,

    or consider the things of old.

19 I am about to do a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Jesus has brought a new thing and wants us to live reconciled and reset lives as we enter into new reality that is fully present with each other.  You, and our community, have been baptized in Christ.  The old life has gone, and a new reality is upon us.  May we stop waiting and live in the birthing of God’s Presence within us, around us, and follow God’s movement towards all of humanity in the streets and neighborhood around us.

Greatness.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

You have traveled too fast over false ground;

Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up

To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain

When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of color

That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

– JOHN O’DONOHUE

Mark 10:35-45

35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

We all have a desire at times to be great in something.  We would like to think that there is something out there that we can excel at.  I know for me that I sometimes have this achievement mindset.  It’s OK to be an achiever, to want to work towards a goal, to get things done, but sometimes that can cloud your thinking.

A good example of that is right before I got engaged to Debbie.  I was pumped that after so many years of wanting to see my relationship with Debbie move towards a goal, it was finally coming together.  I bought a ring and I had a vision of what our marriage could be like.  

I then got together with my friend Chuck Scott.  In a former life, I was on staff with Young Life, there are all sorts of thoughts about Young Life and I’ve continued to evolve.  But, for a season I was a Young Life church partner and thought I could do great things with it…and for a season, there was some amazing things that happened and I’m grateful.  All of life is gift!

Now, back to Chuck.  Chuck is a great guy, former NFL player, amazing family, and a national leader for Young Life.  He’s also someone whose opinion I highly appreciated and.  His dad, Charlie, was one of the original Young Life staff persons from the 1950’s and was one of my mentors.  I went to him to ask him about what he thought about me asking Debbie to marry him.  He thought very highly of Debbie, he tried to hire her in his Young Life area a couple of times, and I knew that he loved me as a friend.  

His response, wait…do you understand what you are getting into…he even said don’t get married to Debbie.  He tried to talk me out of it.  He said marriage was hard, that I wanted this so bad that I wasn’t thinking straight, I needed to count the cost, and that even though I had this friendship with Debbie for close to a decade, I needed to take a timeout and think and pray.  He was right in many ways, and he helped me to gain some perspective.

I still ended up asking Deb to marry me, and his dad, Charlie, co-officiated our wedding.  

Out of that season of life, there have been some moments of greatness, and some moments of darkness.  There have been failures, lots of them.  Yet, the relationship and growth I’ve received from Deb as a partner has been overwhelming.  Our story is still being written and I’m grateful as we continue to say “yes”.  

In much the same way, I had folks try to talk me out of going into the ministry.  I know that I had some personal visions that involved changing the world in big ways.  I wanted to see great things happen.  But, others cautioned me.  My dad even told me after I graduated from UK and told him that I was going into the ministry that I was making a mistake.  His exact first words:  “I just paid for 4 years of college for you to do what?”.  

Again, it may not have been the right wording or the right motivation, but it did cause me to ask some questions.

I still went into the ministry, obviously, as I stand here today.  And, again, out of that commitment, there have been some moments of greatness, and some moments of darkness.  There have been failures, lots of them.  Yet, the relationships that have been formed, my life and others lives have been changed…and the same is happening here at Westwood First in our lives together.  Our story is still being written and I’m grateful.  

As we jump into this passage, let’s remember that we are seeing the disciples live’s stories being written…Jesus is calling them away from a fantasy to something deeper, something better for them…Jesus is inviting them into the present moment, not for some pie-in-the-sky transactional relationship, but to let go of their desire to live into a narrative that want to create, a narrative that their culture may have conditioned them for, towards a narrative of loving themselves, others, and seeing that God wants them, and us, to grow into what Thomas Merton, the great catholic monk philosopher would say, our true Selves.  

Our gospel lesson tells us about the disciples having some wrong motivations for being followers of Jesus.  They are focused on this idea of being great and having special places.  They had waited for so long for a messiah and had high expectations, some fantasies.  James and John have some moxie and ask Jesus to sit on the right and left.  The other disciples are mad at them, but they are wondering the same thing.  

Jesus gives them a response, one he defers to the Father…really, he’s deferring to the community that he’s in of the Trinity.  A community of three in one that is so tight that things are created, saved, and sustained through deep, good relationship.  A relationship of yielding to one another…of emptying into one another…a circle that we, humanity and creation, are also a part of.  

And, he says if you want to be first, you’ve got to be last and the last will be first.  He flips the understanding that is in the world.  A world that we’ve created and where “winning” at all costs is most important.

Jesus welcomes their commitment, but asks some hard questions, are you willing to struggle, to experience hardship, to truly live into his baptism?  They are committed, the have experienced a call, but he’s causing them to pause and think deeply about that calling and commitment as my friends have done for me.  

Rob Bell, an author, speaker, and former pastor, shares this about our commitment and calling to live life as we live in Christ, really as fully alive humans:  

We are going to suffer.

And it is going to shape us.

Somehow.

We will become bitter or better, closed or open.

more ignorant or more aware. more or less tuned in to the thousands of gifts we are surrounded with every single moment of every single dry.

Jesus is inviting his disciples, his friends, into a life that isn’t defined by greatness in worldly standards.   He is calling them into a deeper, more beautiful life that is full and expansive.  

We are called to ask ourselves some of the same questions.  Are we willing to suffer, are we willing to die, and are we willing to live life to the fullest and experience resurrection in Jesus’ baptism that symbolizes the old life dying and the new life beginning?  Are we willing to live into that as persons and as people of faith gathered at Westwood First?  Are we willing to let go of all that we hold on to so tightly in order to experience the beauty of God’s Presence in our lives. 

St. Augustine wrote in City of God:  “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are always too full to receive them.”  Jesus came to love and calls us into a life filled with meaning and goodness, but we have to let go of the things that we think bring greatness.  If we are willing to serve others and to live intentionally in Christ, then the story that is emerging out of Westwood First will be filled with hope for the world around us and in us…and we will see something greater happen than than our fantasies, especially as we live in the present moment, greater than we could have ever imagined.  May it be so!