Water is Thicker than Blood
January 10, 2009
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
We
don’t like this passage because it speaks of the chaff. We don’t
like this passage because often we have been told we are the
chaff. We are the thing that will be burned in unquenchable
fire. We are the thing that God sorts through and names not wheat
and throws into the fire. But, this does not hold the intention
of the metaphor. This does not hold the intention of the
passage. This does not hold the practice of ancient
farming. This doesn’t hold the practice of farming today.
And, it could be that I’m a Wisconsin native. It could be that I
can still see, touch, taste, feel the farmlands of Wisconsin even
though I am not from a farming family. I love this metaphor.
Wheat
is a grain. It grows within a hard shell, like a husk. It’s
like popcorn, when it pops, sometimes you get that transparent part
stuck in between your teeth. Wheat has that around the actual
wheat. We’ve genetically modified that part so it comes off
easier now, but in ancient times you had to mill or pound the wheat to
get those hulls to crack. Then, there was the task of getting all
those hulls out of the wheat. They would be as annoying in bread
as they are in popcorn. So, the farmer then throws the milled
wheat up into the air and the wind will actually carry the chaff, all
those hulls, all those casings away and you are left with the
wheat. Another truth about chaff, is that it burns. It
burns explosively. If you have a wheatfield that is struck by
lightning, you don’t have a wheatfield anymore. There is no
stopping the powerful, robust, hot fire of the chaff burning. You
want this stuff away from your wheat as soon as possible to protect the
work that you’ve done.
The words given to John in this
passage do not say to throw people into the fire. This is a
metaphor about our lives. Yes, John will baptize with water and
hearts, lives are renewed. However, this Messiah, this Jesus, he
is the one, he is the one who will baptize with Fire and the Holy
Spirit. Meeting Jesus is allowing the chaff to be moved by the
Spirit out of our lives, to allow those dead places, those protective,
hard coverings to be broken and blown away. This Jesus that we
are invited to know repeatedly asks us to come, be opened, allow that
stuff that keeps you away to be thrown out, burned up that our own
hearts might be more purified, more whole, healed. Through this
letting go process we begin again.
There is a swirling
vortex of confusion that has taken up residence in our midst since
September. With each week it has gained more and more
momentum. You can see it as fewer and fewer people have gathered
among us for worship. You can see it as people disappear, hurt,
angry and unwilling to work through those feelings in
relationship. You can see it in the resignations. You can
see it in the small number of pledges. We have a swirling vortex
of confusion swirling in our midst. This ugly cloud has paralyzed
our ability to discern truth. We have done a variety of things in
the past 4 months to attempt to divert the storm, make a brave face,
pretend it’s not there. But it is very much here and at this
point, the howling has become so strong and loud, it’s paralyzed our
walk and shut out our ability to hear or discern truth. Today, I
command that the swirling vortex stop. I command it. As
pastor, as spiritual guide, as faith coach, as worship activist I name
the vortex and I command it to stop!
We are gathered here
to celebrate God. We are gathered here to learn to be a witness,
like Jesus, to the power, the love, the healing of that God. We
are gathered here to be filled up with that Spirit that we might take
it beyond these walls and out into the world which aches for something
to fill that emptiness inside.
But instead the
last 4-6 months have been filled with gossip, character assassinations,
power trips, grumbling, all around hard heartedness. Our hulls have
closed of that God shaped space. We have put it behind bullet
proof glass. We have sealed it off in the name of “protecting”
it. However, we have sealed it off from the Holy One. We
have sealed it off from the Spirit. We have sealed it off from
being able to be a witness to the Holy. And today, today we must,
if we are at all interested in meeting in two weeks and carrying on
another year, we must mill those husks off.
We as people are
not chaff. God has made each one of us in the Image of God.
Every one of us has been made in the image of God. We can not be
junk. We cannot be waste. We cannot be empty fodder to be
used as filler or burned. We are a creation of God with a
powerful call to Be in this world. So today, this beautiful story
of Jesus and John brings us to an opportunity to begin again by casting
out this swirling vortex and instead being more in the image of
God. But, in order to do this we must throw the chaff to the
spirit.
As you came in today you were handed some paper
and a marker. This is your opportunity to be milled. To be
broken open. It is yours to use or not. You all have a
choice. And, even if today is your first day here, you have a
choice, you can do this or not, this opportunity to be broken open
again. All of us know the ways in which we encapsulate ourselves
in the name of not getting hurt, in the name of getting ahead, in the
name of being the best, in the name of being right. You
know. God knows. Today, I’m asking you, because of what I
know about God, because of the stories of Jesus and John and so many in
the scriptures, to give it up. I ask you to take some time and
write down those things that you are filling up that emptiness inside
with to prevent the Spirit from taking you somewhere new. You can
draw pictures, write words, it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but
you. If you run out of space write on top of what you’ve already
done, use all the sides of the paper. If you choose not to do
this activity, I invite you to take this time to meditate, to pray, to
close your eyes and listen to your breath. No one is going to see
these papers but you. This is between you and God. I will
ring the gong when it’s time to come to an end so that we might do the
next step.
I’m calling us back together again.
Jesus stepped into that water with John to allow the hull around his
heart to be broken and the chaff to be blown away by the Holy
Spirit. Jesus got into that water and allowed the blessing to
flow over him. Jesus allowed that water, to touch his body, to
move over his body, with the sole purpose of blessing him. Jesus
allowed himself to be touched with the sole purpose of being
blessed. He was immersed in blessing. Every part of him was
blessed. And through that process God says, “Beloved, with you I
am well pleased.” I ask you today, to bring your hard
heartedness, your protective covering, your rigid side taking, your
self hatred, your need to be right to the baptismal bowl. Bring
it all here, everything that you’ve written, or thought, or felt, bring
it up here to this water and take a moment. First, put that paper
in the water. Put it in there. Let it go. Release it
to the holy spirit, throw it into the wind. Then, take these
waters and allow them to pour over you in blessing. Allow every
molecule of this water to burn away the chaff and bless you, break you
open to love, blessing, wholeness, transformation. Hear the words
of God saying, Beloved, with you I am well pleased! Leave this
baptismal place knowing that you have been released, blessed, renamed,
renewed, and you have the chance to begin again, open hearted with
God’s blessing running all over us. I invite you now to come to
the baptismal river. Come and throw yourself to the Holy Spirit.
The
Spirit has transformed ourselves from darkness to light. Our
chaff has been released, hallelujah! We have opted to fill that
emptiness with light, hope, love. Quickly, you will be tempted to
shut it all down and go back to what is comfortable. A little
juicey gossip, a fun poke at another’s expense, assisinating the
character of someone you don’t like. Don’t do it. This
feeling, this feeling of warmth, peace, joy, acceptance, choose it
instead. Choose love instead. If you make a mistake, name
it , call it out, ask God to forgive you, find a way to let it go with
the Holy Spirit, renew your blessing. You can do it all with
God. You have water, you can do it all with God. Grow love.
Grow hope. Grow peace. Grow blessings. That is what
we honor God with. That is what we please God with. Let it
begin today.
This water is thicker than blood. This
water is a powerful sense of belonging that no one can be cast out of,
unless we choose it ourselves. This water is a powerful sense of
home, that no one can be rejected from unless we do it ourselves.
This water is a powerful millstone that will break us open to be freed
from the darkness. This water is a powerful currant that will
move all our chaff away. This water is God. Go out into
this world knowing you have been touched by God, you have been heard by
God, you have been healed by God. Go out into this world knowing
you have been blessed by God with forgiveness, with love, with
acceptance, and you have been welcomed into the community that
celebrates this Holy One. Amen!