10/31 and 11/1 All Saints Sunday
REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE-Matthew 3:7-17
remember who you are.
One day she suddenly was not who she had been. A young woman to whom I am related by marriage, disappeared one day. There was a long time when no one knew where Sara was. (not her real name) Because of circumstances we believe she had gone by her own choice, but where was she and was she OK?
It turns out that Sara’s sister received a call from a social worker who knew her professionally, saying that Sara had been in a bad accident, but she was in the hospital recovering. Furthermore, Sara had lost all of her memories, including any memory of her sister.
She changed her name to Clara. Clara has lived as a “friend” near the woman whom she doesn’t remember is her sister. It has been many years now. But it still makes me sad.
There’s power in remembering who you are.
I was watching the Lion King last week. What a great movie. And there is so much theology in that movie.
Simba, the cub the King of the savanna, strays away on a journey in which he purposefully forgets who he is. He hangs out with Timone and Pumba a Meerkat and a Warthog, and sings “Hanukkah Matata.” Instead of hunting game, he eats the grubs from under the logs.
Rafiki, comes to remind him who he is. Here is the scene.
(video)
There’s power in remembering who you are.
So, who are you?
Maybe you think you are how you look.
Some young teen girls are posting videos of themselves on YouTube and Facebook asking, “Am I Pretty or Ugly?” One of those videos got 4.5 million hits and 114,000 comments that ranged from supportive to unthinkable. What is that doing to these girls’ self-image?
$160 Billion is spent each year on cosmetic surgery making body parts bigger, smaller, or subjectively “better.” Remember, you are just who God created you to me.
God says, “This is my son. This is my daughter; I love them more than you can imagine.
you are not what you DO, or accomplish or perform.
– whether it is getting good grades, winning the championship, earning lots of money, or getting recognition. Accomplishments do not determine how valuable you are.
Some people even take their own lives because they cannot live up to either their or their family’s expectations.
Others ruin relationships because they are trying to prove their worth working long hours.
Still, others risk serious injury trying to prove that they are the athlete their parent expects them to be. ---You may think that you are what you accomplish, but God says you are much more.
Maybe you think you are defined by one small aspect of yourself.
That often happens to those of us with mental illness. We often say, “I am depressed” instead of “I have depression.” And we let the illness define who we are, but God says we are much, much more.
Maybe you think that you are nothing
because of what others have done to you. You’ve been abused…bullied…neglected, raped, fired, betrayed, or abandoned. And you look at yourself and think, “I am worthless.” On the contrary, God says you are priceless.
There’s power in remembering who you are.
LET ME TELL YOU… YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE.
Today, we come to the last story of the Elite 8 favorite Bible stories. We examine Jesus’ Baptism. It is a fairly simple story but has great meaning.
One of the big questions about Jesus’s baptism is why Jesus needed to be baptized. He never had, and never would, sin. There was no church to join. He was the son of God. What good would baptism do him? The answer is right in the text.
“Just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
What we see is that when Jesus was baptized, he was reminded who he was. He was the son of God before this and would still be the son of God after. But Jesus needed affirmation of who he was. You can imagine a scene something like the lion king. As Jesus looks deep into the water and then up to the clouds, the clouds part and the voice comes “REMEMBER” “This is my beloved son” “REMEMBER”
In Jesus’ baptism, God affirmed for Jesus, and for all who were lucky enough to be paying attention, that Jesus was indeed God’s son. In baptism, as we peer into the waters of baptism, God speaks to our hearts to announce that we too are God’s beloved children. Servants of the one true king. Disciples of the one and only son of God.
We don’t have to wonder who we are any longer …We are who God says we are in our baptism. And we are who God says we are. Remember.
You may have been an infant when you were baptized like I was and have no physical memory of it but you have a spiritual memory of God claiming you as one of God’s beloved children. REMEMBER
You may be lucky enough to have been older when you are baptized. Even if you didn’t hear it with your ears then. Listen now and hear God say, you are a child of the one true king. A prince of heaven, an ambassador for God. REMEMBER.
You may have been baptized with a little water (by sprinkling), or a little more water (by pouring), or by a lot of water (with emersion) it doesn’t make any difference how much water was used. God said REMEMBER “You are my precious child. I have marked you as one of mine. I love you more than you can imagine.” REMEMBER.
Today as I sprinkle you with the waters of REMEMBRANCE, look up and REMEMBER. REMEMBER you are more than how you look, or what other people say you are. You are more than your limitations, or what others have done to you. God’s word for you IS REMEMBER. Remember who God created you to be.
As the water comes your direction REMEMBER your baptism is God’s tattoo on your forehead that says, “This one is mine.”
As the water comes your direction look deep within and take a good look are who you are. REMEMBER. Look down into the watery depths of the waters of life and transformation. REMEMBER. Look up and imagine the heavens opening and hearing God say “REMEMBER, my child, who you are and whose you are. REMEMBER
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