Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, UCC                                                                          February 27, 2011

Sermon preached by Rev. Emily Tanis-Likkel

You call us into your church . . . to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table

--The United Church of Christ Statement of Faith

              We are invited into relationship with Christ through ordinary, everyday acts.  Baptism with water, The Lord's Supper with bread and juice—it is in these simple things that we may sense the presence of God.

              What does it share in the baptism of Christ?  Is it simply to practice this sacrament?  Remember your baptism and be thankful.  When working on this part of my sermon, I was feeling a bit stuck, trying to think of how we can remember our baptism in a tangible way beyond twice a year in church.  At that moment, my daughter Eva came into the room and said, you said we might be able to go to the swimming pool tonight.  I've been saying “maybe tonight” for awhile.  Taking my kids to the pool never sounds like an enjoyable, relaxing outing.  What to pack, wet suits, out to the bitter cold with wet hair . . . and we hadn't even yet thought about dinner.   Then the irony hit: water.  All four of us hurried out to the aquatic center after I surprised myself by saying yes.  The kids squealed with so much excitement, you'd think we'd told them we were going to Disneyland.  When we arrived, we were informed that, sorry, only five minutes of family swim left.  At first my heart sank, we're too late.  I had misread the schedule.  Just go in, quick, Brett said, and we went to the water so fast that Eva almost forgot to take her shoes off.  There was none of my usual cautious easing in, allowing myself to get used to the temperature of the water.  There was none of my usual self-consciousness or hesitancy.  We were going to make the most of five minutes like we never had before.  We were going swimming.  Now, swimming with my four-year-old who has had no lessons is not exactly swimming.  It's moving in the water while holding him and making sure his head stays above the water line.  But it also reminds me of my responsibility to hang on and pay attention. 

              Water, though refreshing and renewing, has no grace in and of itself to sustain those who remain too long submerged in it.  Whether in a lake or ocean, a bath or swimming pool, it's power is strong.  I had the chance to go under when Day was safely standing on a step in the pool.  I plunged myself straight down, letting the water close in over my head as I imagined Jesus saying to me, remember your baptism.  I came up, filled my cupped hands with water and blessed both of my kids with it—that chlorine scented water.  How do we share in Christ's baptism?  Accept the blessing, the grace of Christ.  Trust that God will always be with you, that no matter what, you are a precious child of God.  Allow the ordinary to wash over you—re-birth and renewal come through Holy Spirit infused everyday experience.  Open yourself to see the presence of Christ everywhere.  When you experience God's grace, you may find yourself squealing with joy like a child.  Don't hide that light—let it shine.

              1 Corinthians 12:12-13 reads, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

              Knowing who we are in Christ, that we are members of his body, redeems our relationships to one another and to God.  We re-member in baptism.  We re-member at the table.  In these ordinary acts, we share in the fellowship of the one Spirit. 

              Eating at the table of Christ is called by several names.  Calling it the Lord's Supper reminds us of the meal Jesus shared with his disciples, and how table fellowship, when gathered in Christ's name, would now carry with it a holy mystery. Holy Communion reminds us of our unity with all of God's family.  Eucharist means “give thanks.”  Mass means “sent,” meaning in this meal, we receive the nourishment we need to be sent out for ministry.

              At Christ's table we re-member.  Our fragmented selves are woven back together, our connections with one another are strengthened, our intimacy with Christ is renewed. 

              In the recent Tim Burton production of Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls down the rabbit-hole as a ninteen-year-old.  Her surroundings looked familiar, she believed, from a dream.  But for most of the movie, she was very hesitant to believe that any of it was true.  The Mad Hatter: You're not the same as you were before You were much more..."muchier" You've lost your "muchness" Alice Kingsley: My "muchness"?  The Hatter points to Alice's heart and says, “In there.”When Alice re-members that she had previously celebrated the wild and wonderful tea party, her re-curring dream slid into her consciousness as a true memory.  When she re-membered she realized her destiny—to slay the dragon.  Alice is sustained when she returns to her real life, she is empowered to stand up for herself and is an integrated person.  She remembers.  She realized that her connections with the mad hatter, the cheshire cat, and others, were much deeper than she had been aware of, this re-collection forged an even deeper trust and bond of love between them.  “How is that for muchness?”  She boldly pronounced. 

              We remember that on the night Jesus was betrayed he took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, do this to remember me.  The Psalmist wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Our supper, our communion, our thanksgiving, our sustenance that sends us out.  These sacraments of grace, these extraordinarily ordinary things of this world, leads to a great sharing that we see exemplified in today's art piece.  Hands reaching out in generosity.  Communion with Christ solidifies our unity with one another and with all of creation.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:

Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

              The altars in our world, though sacraments of God's grace, point to something greater and complete. These outward signs of invisible grace point to our wholeness in Christ.  At his table, we remember.  We remember the fragility of our existence on earth.  We remember God's love for us.  We remember that it is Christ who brings our fragmented selves back to wholeness, it is Christ who connects us to one another.  Where is Christ's table?  We commune with Christ and one another in worship.  We commune with the faithful in every time and place.  We commune with those on the fringe, with those who are hungry—and everyone is hungry for something.  Christ's table is everywhere.

              The UCC statement of faith says, “You call us into your church . . . to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table.  Some wonder why religion matters – why not each be on our own individual path with God?  Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon have this to say: “When we are baptized, we (like the first disciples) jump on a moving train . . . We become part of a journey that began long before we got here and shall continue long after we are gone.  Too often we have conceived salvation—what God does to us in Jesus—as a purely personal decision, or a matter of finally getting our heads straight on basic beliefs, or having some inner feelings of righteousness about ourselves and God, or having our social attitudes readjusted . . . Faith begins not in discovery but in remembrance.  The story began without us, as a story of the peculiar way God is redeeming the world, a story that invites us to come forth and be saved by sharing in the work of a new people whom God has created in Israel and Jesus.”

              God calls us to share in Christ's baptism and to eat at his table.  This sharing is open to all.  It is the gift of being brought to wholeness, the grace of communion with others, the extraordinary life of intimacy with God.

              My shivering family left the pool refreshed, all smiles, headed home for pajamas and pizza—happy to be family.  Each time we baptize or eat in Jesus' name, God says, remember?  We are reminded that we are family and that God's family spans the world and reaches beyond time. 

              May we allow this remembering to transform us: for we are not in a dream—and we are called, each of us, to listen for the voice of God.

      Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony.