John [the Baptist] defines the essential meaning [of
Baptism] himself: he proclaims not a baptism of conformity, but a baptism of
repentance, which means the radical, far-reaching rethinking of everything.
Brian
McLaren
_______________________________________________
It lies in front of me.
Not sparkling nor clean, but muddied
By the chaos of dirty human bodies
Wading into its murky depths,
By the filth of dirty feet and soiled souls
He stands
This prophet, crying “Prepare”
Prepare the way for the Lord
And he calls me into the water.
Down I go
Down into that brown gloomy river
Down until I am completely buried
Like a body in a tomb
Down, breathless, and sightless
Until I burst forth
Into the bright hot sun
I have been called to leave everything behind
My old identity
My old ideologies
My old comforts and my old distresses
My successes and my failures
My privilege, pride, and ego
It is like a new birth.
The end of so much, the beginning of so much more
It is not easy to leave behind
Those things we have fused to, those identities we have
crafted
Who makes us who we are?
It is painful to leave privilege behind
And safety
And power
But all those must remain, there in that watery grave
Or we cannot rise
For this new birth is radical
It is a reversal of everything.
What was good becomes bad,
What was sketchy and unacceptable becomes good
It is good to be poor
Good to be meek
Good to be humble, and kind
Good to serve others
Good to suffer, perchance to die
It is not that I am called to embrace a new identity
As much as to lay down all the old identities that have
always defined me
White
Professional
Democrat, Liberal, American
Winner (and loser too)
The good the bad the ugly
It all must be washed off as I immerse myself in Christ
Living now inside Christ
Looking with his eyes,
Feeling with his heart
For it is as I die to my old identities
That I am freed (now being “in” Christ)
To rise with Christ
A ferocious death giving birth
To fierce love
And the possibility of restoration, reconciliation
And a new life
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