“Citizen of the Realm”
by Pastor Steve Purdy
[Preached January 8, 2012; Based on Mark 1:4-11]
My father retired from the United States Air Force after 22 years of service. I was born in a military hospital and lived on military bases in Okinawa and northern Maine before he retired when I was 9 years old. I believe I had a good upbringing concerning God and country. My mother was the base chapel organist and since my parents married on the 4th of July, we definitely celebrated national holidays.
I don’t have any uneasiness of having the United States Flag in the Christian sanctuary as some pastors do. Now, I don’t believe that Americans are God’s chosen people… that anything or everything that we do will be blessed by God… but I suppose I abide by the perspective of the 17th President, Andrew Johnson, who wrote:
“Let us look forward to the time when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the Cross, and there let it wave as it waved in the olden times, and let us gather around it and inscribed for our motto: ‘Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever,’ and exclaim, ‘Christ first, our country next!’ ”
With all that said, I also subscribe to Lloyd Stone’s prayerful lyrics expressed in the hymn, “This is My Song,” #437 in our Hymnal. Turn with me and let’s read it together:
This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth’s kingdoms:
Thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
And hearts united learn to live as one.
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations;
Myself I give thee; let thy will be done.
I suppose what I’m saying is that it is possible to be a Christian no matter where you live in the world. You can be a citizen of any country and be a citizen of Christ’s Kingdom. And conversely, as Ronald Reagan put it: “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
As a citizen of any nation, we understand that we are required to follow its laws. As citizens we have rights, privileges and responsibilities. The same is true in God’s Kingdom. Citizens have privileges and responsibilities.
In the Gospel reading from Mark this morning we read that Jesus is baptized. Mark records that a voice “came from Heaven” and the voice says; “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.” (Mark 1:11b, NLT)
In Rome long ago you had a choice, you could declare the Emperor as Lord or die. You could worship Caesar and live or worship God and die. Our world in the United States is not quite so conflicted and yet we are squeezed sometimes into choosing between the two realms.
What is life in God’s realm like? For starters being a citizen of the Kingdom of God is not about wealth, prestige or power. It’s not about what you have or who you are. No, it’s about what you do and how you treat others. It’s about what God values, not what the Emperors of this world value.
John the Baptist was a unique child of God! He was fully committed to his God and to his ministry! His perspective was: If you are serious about your relationship with God and want to follow God wholeheartedly, then you need to repent and as a sign of your repentance, you need to be baptized.
Now, John the Methodist lived in a different time and had a different perspective than John the Baptist. John Wesley was a little more tolerant of various approaches. Listen to this entry from one of his sermons:
“I ask not, therefore, of him with whom I would unite in love, Are you of my church, of my congregation? Do you receive the same form of church government, and allow the same church officers, with me? [He didn’t actually say it, but it is consistent with his thinking… Are you of the same nationality? He does go on to say…] Do you join in the same form of prayer wherein I worship God? I inquire not, Do you… receive the supper of the Lord in the same posture and manner that I do? Nor whether, in the administration of baptism, you agree with me in admitting… [godparents] for the baptized… or the age of those to whom it should be administered. Nay, I ask not of you (as clear as I am in my own mind), whether you allow baptism and the Lord’s Supper at all. Let all these things stand by: we will talk of them, if need be, at a more convenient season; my only question is this, ‘Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?’”
Well, I guess the point is that we can focus on many differences, but if our hearts are both right with Christ, perhaps we would do better to focus on our similarity. And similarly, regardless of our earthly nationality, if we are both citizens of Christ’s Kingdom, surely we can find harmony in our relationship.
If Christ is King, if the voice from Heaven was right, that this truly is God’s Son, then what does it mean? It means that winning the Super Bowl, who we root for, is less important than feeding the hungry. It means that an invitation to the White House, who we vote for, is less important than staying in contact with someone in prison. If Christ is King and indeed if we are citizens of His realm, citizens of God’s Kingdom, then it means that no one is worthless. All have value. All are respected. All are loved.
If you love God… if you love His Son… if your values are God’s values and not the world’s values… then – you will love as God loves… give as God gives… forgive as God forgives… and live as a citizen of God’s realm… the way Christ taught.
Remember, it’s not about what others say. It’s about what the King has to say… in God’s Kingdom… regardless where one lives.
Introduction to Reaffirmation to Baptism Vows
This morning is Baptism of the Lord Sunday; we are remembering the baptism of Jesus. We’ve gone from celebrating the birth of Christ to his adulthood in less than a month. Remembering our own baptism can be very meaningful as a way of renewing our commitments to Jesus Christ. Should you not be able to remember your baptism (for example, you were baptized as an infant or a young child) then simply give thanks for the prevenient grace of God (that which came before you even knew God cared anything about you) and renew your commitment to Christ.
What you will do is come forward, touch the water, and mark yourself with the sign of the cross on your forehead. It is NOT re-baptism, but remembering that God claims you and that you intend to live for Christ each and every day!
If you have not been baptized, as we walk through this service on page 50, all the vows that would be taken at a service of baptism are included. If you can find yourself saying yes to these vows or perhaps have a few questions, then please let one of our pastors know and we will spend some time with you and if you so choose, we’ll plan a service of baptism so that you can be surrounded by your family and friends and make a public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ.
A four-year-old boy opened the kitchen door tracking dirt into the house. He was carrying a handful of flowers for his mom. Along with the flowers, he had weeds and roots and dirt. Do you think his mom was happy with the gift? I imagine she was! Sure, she knew she was going to have to sweep up the floor and she was wondering whose flower bed the flowers were from, but all in all, the love of her son warmed her heart!
Jesus taught that we were to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and we were to love our neighbors as ourselves and we were to love one another. Do we do this perfectly? No, but if our intentions are as pure as were the four-year-old boy’s, we warm our Heavenly Father’s heart.
Don’t you just know that the Heavenly Father’s heart is warm today as we come to renew our faith in Jesus Christ and reaffirm our baptismal vows?
Come, touch the water, make the sign of the cross on your forehead, feel the cool, refreshing blessing of God on your forehead; remember that you are loved by God. Amen.