Renounce, Reject, Repent - February 16th and 23rd

"Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?"

This statement, from "Baptismal Covenant I" in the United Methodist Hymnal, is the first vow the confirmands will make if they choose to be confirmed.  Before they accept God's freedom and power and confess Jesus Christ as their Savior, they must reject those things that disrupt their realtionships with God, with the community of faith, and with all of God's children.

While words such as evil and wickedness certainly aren't new to confirmands, some younger adolescents might not recognize how these foreces are at work in the world around them.  It is easy to see evil in a heartless villain in a book for movie, but how is evil at work in our world, our communities, and our hearts?  Once we identify these evil and wicked foreces,  how do we reject and renounce them?  And what does it mean to repent of our sin?

We compared a wedding ceremony to confirmation.  Both involve vows and these vows must not be taken lightly.  Confirmation vows are very special promises that those being confirmed make to God and to God's people, particularly those people who make up our particular faith community or local church. 

re·nounce

/rɪˈnaʊns/  verb (used with object), re·nounced, re·nounc·ing.

1.

to give up or put aside voluntarily: to renounce worldly pleasures.

2.

to give up by formal declaration: to renounce a claim.

3.

to repudiate; disown: to renounce one's son.

 

re·ject

verb (used with object)

1.

to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job.

2.

to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.).

3.

to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff: The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel.

4.

to discard as useless or unsatisfactory: The mind rejects painful memories.

5.

to cast out or eject; vomit.

 

re·pent 

verb (used without object)

1.

to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. (often followed by of ): He repented after his thoughtless act.

2.

to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent.

 

Christians affirm that evil and wickedness are present in the world.  But Christians also believe that God is always present and active and  is more powerful than evil.

 

Evil is the result of sin.  Because all people are sinful, we create structures and institutions that exploit individuls and groups, create and sustain poverty, and destroy God's creation.  Rejecting evil involves both resisting the temptation to do evil and resisting the temptation to encourage or participate in evil.  That is, we should strive to eliminate sin in our lives and we should also be careful not to support groups and institutions that are responsible for evil on a larger scale.

 

Obviously, we are not God, and we have trouble seeing the big picture.  We see poverty, starvation, terrorism, abuse, and murder; and we become overwhelmed.  It is tempting to say, "I'm too young to do anything about all this stuff."  sometimes, we even feel powerless to address evil in our homes and schools.

 

Our United Methodist tradition, and specificallyour confirmation vows, give us some help in responding to the forces of evil and wickedness.

Living a Holy Life- February 2nd and 9th

Following Christ requries more than one hour on Sundays; it is a way of life.  It means living a holy life, full of faith and good works made possible through God's sanctifying grace.

Through prevenient grace, God leads us to faith; through justifying grace, God assures us that we are forgiven and restored to God's favor; through sanctifying grace, God draws us toward Christian perfection.

Jesus said, in his sermon on the mount, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  The Book of Hebrews tells Christians, "Therefore let us go on toward perfection," going beyond the assurance of justification and living a holy life in obedience to God.

Perfection is an intimidating word.  Some of the best pitchers in baseball history have never thrown a perfect game, and very few  high school students manage to get a perfect score on teh SAT.  Even those people who are the very best at what they do occasionally make mistakes.

Fortunately, Christian perfection is not about being flawless.  It is about being completely in tune with God's will.  John Wesley described perfection as being "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor."   Through sanctifying grace, God changes our heart so that we desire to be like God.  As a result, that change motivates us to "go on toward perfection." 

The first Methodists were members of the Anglican Church who met in small-group class meetings that were focused on holiness.  The Methodists would gather in class meetings to pray, read Scripture, and hold one another accountable.  Class members would make a covenant with one another to avoid sinful behvior, to perform acts of charity, to participate in worship, and to grow in God's grace.  Those who failed to live up to the covenant were exptected to repent and, and with the help of their fellow class members, continue striving for perfection.

Wesley had three General Rules for those in the Methodist classes:  Do no harm, do good, and attend upon all the ordinances of God.  By obeying these simple rules, we grow in love of God and neighbor and become holy.