This Lent, I invite you to walk with me through the Baptismal Covenant of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, as one way to live into John 13. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35) The Baptismal Covenant is our promise to live into that love for one another.
In the service, all present are invited to respond to a
series of questions that outline the way to live as Christians in the world.
After each question everyone responds, “I will with God’s help.” We vow to be
true to our calling, recognizing we cannot do it without God.
The first question asks, “Will you continue in the apostles'
teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?”
John Wesley is credited with coining the phrase “There is no
such thing as a solitary Christian.” The first question in our baptismal
covenant reminds us of that truth. We are called to remain in fellowship with
one another. That is done, in part, through the sharing in the Eucharist and
praying together. It also happens when we gather to study scripture (apostle’s
teaching) or to share a potluck or just have a conversation with a fellow
traveler.
Western Christians can believe the cultural idea of
individualism that says, ‘I can do faith on my own’ or it's all about 'personal salvation. Jesus didn’t call us to be
isolated or individual Christians. Jesus invited his first followers, and us,
into a community—a family, to use St. Paul’s analogy.
St. John echoes this truth by saying, See what kind of
love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and
so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know
him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet
appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we
shall see him as he is. (I John 3:1-2)
For me, this image is a reminder that God stoops low and kisses us on the forehead. We are blessed and beloved—each and every one of us. Our baptismal covenant and life as a child of God means we are gifted to offer that grace, however incompletely, to others.
The Jon Byron song from the 1970’s says, “We are the family
of God. He has brought us together to be one in him, that we might bring light
to the world…Bigger and better is my love, that I’ve bestowed upon you. And now
it’s for each one to share of, that all things might now become new.”
As children of God, integral parts of the family, we join together in prayer and fellowship and learning so that we can effectively be a little light in the world.
How can I remember this Lent that I am a child of God?
What can I do in Lent to build up the community I’m part of?
What can I do in Lent to share grace and blessing, ‘that all
things might now become new’?
