"From Chaos to Blessing to Mission"

What do we face in 2012?  Some people, looking at the Mayan calendar, are awaiting the end of the world.  Others, looking at the political calendar, see a huge argument about the future brewing in the upcoming presidential election.  Still others look at their personal calendars, with upcoming weddings and graduations, and stacks of bills to pay by certain dates each month.

If we are honest, we know that many people are worried about this upcoming year.  There's talk of gas prices about to skyrocket, continued uncertainty about financial markets and real estate values, and anxiety about finding new jobs or even just holding on to the ones we already have.

Jesus never struggled to pay a mortgage, lived through a presidential campaign, or much cared about the Mayan calendar.  So it may be easy to think that our faith has little to say about the times in which we live and the fears that keep us up at night.

Rev. Sharon Watkins, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has recently published a letter to the church about facing the upcoming year with hope and purpose.  Against the backdrop of disaster and anxiety, she finds meaning in the story of Christ's baptism.  Drawing on a long heritage of Scripture in which water represents chaos, she argues that through our baptisms we follow Christ into the chaos of the world, but like him we emerge with a divine blessing and a call to reach out to others.

As Sharon writes,

Jesus goes through the watery chaos, comes out again to receive a blessing from God and heads into his ministry.

The good news still involves that same progression – from chaos to blessing to mission.

In troubled times, it is easy to become discouraged.  It is also easy to only focus on our own well-being, leaving other people to fend for themselves.  Let us be reminded that this is not God's way -- it is not the teaching of the Gospel.  Instead, we are to face the troubles and allow God to use us as a gracious blessing to others in times like these.