Pastor Harris, October 2011

Dear Friends of Christ,

 

Who am I? That is one of those questions. It can be so open ended. It can have short, simple answers. The answers can change over time, whether the time frame is years or minutes. Sometimes our answers are based on vocation or what we do. Sometimes on what we are feeling. At times we use our relationships to answer the question. Often our name serves as the answer. Maybe it is our behavior, our national origin, our race. Sometimes this is an easy question, sometimes it is difficult. This question can be asked of individuals or of groups.

 

This does not even touch on what others answer about us. Jesus’ questions, “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” being examples.

 

One answer that is common to Christians of all ages is “I am a baptized child of God.” In fact, this is really the primary answer. So what does this mean? How does this affect the rest of our identity?

 

“Child” seems to say that ultimately we are perhaps powerless and dependent upon another. Our life is not quite our own.  We have not fully grown into ourselves yet. We are immature. Perhaps we feel as if the world revolves around us. We do not know everything nor have we experienced either. After a certain age people do not appreciate being called a child. The words “quit being such a child” sting. Yet here we are saying that our identity is a child.

 

Yet we are not orphaned. We are “of God”. We are God’s.  God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the one who creates, sustains, and redeems us. “Of God” means not of ourselves. We belong to the ultimate, the most powerful. The one that defeats death. But God, for us Christians, is revealed to us in a special way by the Son, Jesus. The crucified, risen, and ascended one. This God of ours really knows what it is like to be human. What being fleshy means, what death is.

 

We are “baptized”. We are claimed by this Triune God, We are changed. The old self is drowned, a new self arises. We are forgiven. We are named Beloved. We are given new life, we will be given new life. We are made clean even if we have a tendency to dirty ourselves.

 

So if this is our identity, what does it mean for daily life? Do we forgive others? Do we serve others? Do we love the types of people Jesus loved? Do we keep throwing ourselves upon the grace of God? Do we share the good news of Jesus raised from the dead with others in deeds and if necessary, words? Do we allow ourselves, and even expect to be God’s agents of grace for others?

 

Who are you?

 

Blessings,

Pastor Harris