Domes - Our Monthly Newsletter
Dunbar UCC
January 7, 2007
Luke 3:15-22
Marching Orders
-
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who lived in the 19th century, said: “God has given each of us our marching orders. Our purpose here on Earth is to find those orders and carry them out. Those orders acknowledge our special gifts.”
-
When we were baptized -- and later confirmed -- we made a vow to God. We promised to renounce evil, and to follow, with God’s help, Jesus Christ. We promised that the way that Jesus showed us in the gospels would become our way.
-
And now, in this first Sunday of the New Year, we are reminded of this vow we made, and that hopefully we remember and think about every day that we live. Because this is the promise that shapes us more than anything else.
-
Who do you belong to? Do you find your identity in your family name? Family loyalty is strong And sometimes people are defined by the nation of their ancestors. I know Greeks who, though they’ve never been to Greece, feel more a part of that heritage than the United States. Their Church is Greek, the language they speak, the food they eat, the customs they follow. For them, God is Greek, and they are the chosen. I know people who think this country is God. And to criticize the evil our nation does is like blasphemy -- it’s like slandering God. But when we make our heritage or our country God, don’t we break the First Commandment?
-
We become confused. We become very confused. We make a vow and say, “I believe in God... And I will follow Christ. I will go where God leads me.” But who is God? Walk into different churches, and you get different versions. There are happy gods, angry gods, bigoted gods, merciful gods. American gods, Greek gods, Muslim gods. Gods of war and gods of peace. Which god do we follow here? Which Jesus are we following? We vowed at our baptism to follow. But which one? Can we follow God into the wars our country makes? Or is that the devil who leads us to those battlefields? The spirit has claimed us. But which spirit?
-
When Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said: “You are mine.” And then Jesus tried to figure out what that meant. If we belong to God, what kind of life do we need to live? Should we seek war or peace? Healing or destruction? One voice says: “serve.” Another says, “dominate.” One is God’s, and one is the devil’s. And these voices speak to us every day. One says follow God. One says follow your country. One says “Love your enemies,” the other says, “Kill your enemies.” We have to find these answers ourselves. And along the way, we’ll make mistakes. We will follow the wrong voice. We will allow the wrong spirit to guide us. And when that happens, we might be tempted to despair or give up. Don’t. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses said that if we search after God with all our heart and soul, then we shall find him. It’s a hard road -- loving our enemies and our friends alike. It’s a hard road.
But it’s not nearly as hard as the other one.