Our Connectional Church

Ephesians 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Our Connectional Church
Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon at Batesville Presbyterian Church on May 28, 2006

Each of the dozen new members who are joining today, the dandy dozen, are joining the church today because one of you invited them to attend worship at Bateville Presbyterian Church. Of course there were reasons they came back again. Someone spoke to them after the service and made them feel welcome here. They had already become active in the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship. They have connections in this congregation with family and friends. What we can almost certainly say is that none of them joined the church because of our publicity. They did not read about us in the newspaper. They did not see our church on a billboard. They did not see us on TV or hear about us on the radio. They are joining our church because they have experienced the connectional nature of our church.

We are a connectional church in the way we are connected to the Bible. As Presbyterians, we trace our heritage all the way back to Adam and Eve by virtue of our connection to the Bible which is God's word to us. In the stories of the Bible we find our own story. We recognize ourselves in the faith that Abraham and Sarah demonstrated when they left everything they knew to go to a new land God had promised them. Centuries later our spiritual ancestors would leave all they knew in Scotland to travel to a New World called America and establish there the Presbyterian Church.

Some of our new members have made a similar pilgrimage except their pilgrimage took them from their home in Batesville to another place and now they are returning home again. They grew up in this church and moved away for many years and now are returning to membership here. Others came to the youth group because a friend invited them and they had a good experience there and have been coming here ever since. Some of the new members have a member of the family or close friend who is already an active member here. Each of the new members, like each of us all, come here bearing their past history and looking forward to the future in service together with this congregation. Several of them join by transfer of letter from another congregation. Some of them, like some of us, come from different Christian denominations. They are already members of the Body of Christ and now they are joining this particular congregation. Others are joining by profession of faith and baptism so they are just now officially coming into the body of Christ.

Regardless of our past affiliations, baptism marks our entrance in the church universal. Throughout Christian history baptism has enjoyed a variety of meanings. One of the meanings of baptism that traces back to the second century is the understanding of baptism as enlightenment. Notice the symbolism during baptism. The pastsor and the baptismal candidate gather around the font. The pastor's hand moves down into the water in the font and then up to pour the water on the head of the person being baptized. Notice the down and up vertical motion of the baptismal ritual. It reminds us of the vertical nature of baptism which connects us humans with the same Christ who created the universe, achieved our salvation and is seated at the right hand of God up in the heavenly places.

After the vertical movement of the water coming up from the font and down on the head we see the horizontal movement of the newly baptized moving out in the congregation. If a child is being baptized the pastor carries the child out into the congregation saying, "See here the love of God that we should be called children which indeed we are." If the baptized person is an older child or adult then we may invite the congregation to come forward and welcome him or her into the church after the worship service. Whether it is a baby walked down the aisle into the congregation or the congregation coming forward after the service the movement is a horizontal movement.

Notice the cruciform movement in the baptismal liturgy from vertical to horizontal. The movement of baptism is shaped like a cross. The cruciform movement of baptism brings to mind Paul's commendation of the church in Ephesus. Paul praised the church in Ephesus for their vertical movement of faith in Jesus Christ and for their horizontal movement of love toward all the saints. We Christians live at the intersection of the vertical plane of faith in Christ and the horizontal plane of love toward the church.

The enlightenment that comes with baptism washes our spiritual eyes so we perceive the world in a different way. After our baptism we the church is no longer peripheral to the world but the world is peripheral to the church. After the water of baptism washes us clean we see the world with new eyes and we see our selves with new eyes as well. We see our place in the world within the fellowship of the church. This is not something you will find advertised on a television commercial or as a pop-up advertisement on a web page. Big business does not make any money off this deal. Baptism is a counter cultural event. It is claiming an alternative identity within the community of faith.

And our baptism is not merely into a particular congregation but into the body of Christ in the church universal. As Christians we are part of the church universal—the church of all times and places. We are part of the church in Palestine in the year 25 A.D. We are part of the church in India in the year 1200 A.D. We are part of the church in Iraq in 2006. This abstract concept of the body of Christ was brought home to me through a story someone told me in my study here at the church several years ago.

You may recall when Moderator Ken Hall preached here on January 27, 2002. In his role as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Ken Hall had traveled the world. He came Batesville to preach after having served as the keynote speaker at our presbytery's Tapestry event. Before the service when we were putting on our robes in my study, Ken shared with me a fascinating story about being in a Christian church in Baghdad, Iraq one Sunday. As he looked around the sanctuary there he was startled to see hanging on the wall a Presbyterian Cross. Presbyterian missionaries had played a role in the establishment of that congregation many years ago and today a Presbyterian Cross hangs on the wall in that Christian church in Baghdad. That is a powerful image of the connectional nature of our church. Presbyterians have a rich history of missionary work and our mission work has born fruit even in Baghdad, Iraq.

By virtue of our baptism we belong to a connectional church. We are connected to Batesville Prebyterian Church by friends and family. We are connected to the Presbyterian Church (USA) through the Presbytery of Saint Andrew. We are connected through the Prsbyterian Church (USA) to the church universal. These connections lead to one source, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church universal and the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Batesville Presbyterian Church. Thanks be to God for our connectional church. May it nurture our faith in Christ, enhance our love for one another, and energize our service of Christ in the world.