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Perhaps the most important question we can ever answer for ourselves is the question, Who am I? Its a question of our identity. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most famous theologians of the 20th century. He spent a year and a half in prison during World War II and was eventually executed for his role in trying to overthrow Hitler. While in prison he wrote a wonderful collection of letters. One of the letters was a poem, entitled, Who Am I? He said this: Who am I? They often tell me I would step from my cells confinement Calmly, cheerfully, firmly, Like a squire from his country-house Who am I? They often tell me I would talk to my wardens freely and friendly and clearly, As though it were mine to command. Who am I? They also tell me I would bear the days of misfortune Equably, smilingly, proudly, Like one accustomed to win. Am I then really all that which other men tell of? Or am I only what I know of myself, Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness, Trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation, Tossing in expectation of great events, Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance, Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making, Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all? Who am I? This or the other? Am I one person today, and tomorrow another? Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others, And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling? Or is something within me still like a beaten army, Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

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Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine. Its amazing to me that despite being in prison for so long and experiencing all that he did he could close this poem by writing, Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine. Bonhoeffer wrote in the Kings English. I translated this last line into modern English. Bascially Bonhoeffer was saying this, SLIDE Whoever I am, you know, God, that I am yours.

This was his identity. He was Gods This week I thought about my own answer to this question, who am I? I cant write poetry like Bonhoeffer. Instead I answered the question by reflecting on all of the different roles I play in my life. Family rolesI am a husband, I am a father, I am a step-father, I am a son, I am a brother, I am an uncle Work rolesI am a pastor HobbiesI am a reader, I am a writer, I am a violinst, I am a singer, I am a runner My wife, Amy, will tell you with a chagrined looked on her face I am not a handyman Residence__I am a Minnesotan FanI am a Vikings fan, I am a Twins fan, I am a Gophers fan, I am one of at least five Carleton Knights football fans Church RoleI am a Presbyterian, I am ecumenical FaithI am a disciple of Jesus Christ. One way to answer the question, Who am I is by listing all the roles in my life. Now if I put all of these roles on a slide, this is what it would look like.

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This led me to ask the question, what is my most important role? For if I try to be all these things, I am going to be worn out. Believe me, I do frequently feel worn out. Im guessing that each of you could have as many circles up there as me. Do you feel worn out at times. Instead what would happen if my roles looked like this? What would happen if I spent a significant amount of time nurturing my relationship as a disciple of Jesus Christ. What would happen if I became theologically informed, what would happen if my heart was full of the fruit of the Spirit, what would happen if I served God with my feet. I believe that if we are intentional about nurturing our own relationship to God that the rest of these roles become easier. If Im doing well with God my relationship with my wife will go beatter, Ill be a better father. I even believe Ill be a better reader, and writer and violinist. Ill never be a handymanthat would take divine intervention. This is what I want to see accomplished at Chain of Lakes Church. I want everyone to be intentional about their own relationship with God. Because of that faith everything else in their life will go better. I believe that this message is one that people in the north Metro will embrace. If our relationship with God is most important to us in answering the question, who am I? then its important for us to re-affirm our baptism. Thats what were going to do today. Our baptism starts our Christian journey. It sets up our identity as followers of Jesus Christ. Today were going to focus on our baptism. Id like to encourage you to get out this brochure that is in the bulletin. This week I shared a devotion on baptism. I talked about the difference between Johns baptism and Jesus baptism. I answered some questions that people have about baptism. I think youll be blessed if you use it. On the back of this brochure is a list of prayer requests. On the inside is a place to take notes.

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You might ask the question, what does it mean to re-affirm my baptism? Well let me be clear that we are not re-baptizing. As Presbyterians we believe that a person only needs to be baptized once. I hardly ever am critical in public of other churches or denominations. AS I shared earlier part of my identity is being ecumenical. I believe there is one church and different branches of the church. I want every congregation and church to do well. However I am critical of churches who re-baptized. I believe that re-baptismn is an affront to God. In baptism we believe that Gods grace is sealed into a person. A person doesnt need to have this happen again. When a church re-baptizes people I believe they are saying that what they are doing is more powerful than what God has already done. Its likewasnt the first time good enough. I think its wonderful when churches re-affirm a persons baptism. There are occasions in life when a person has a wonderful growth in faith, or comes back to church, or maybe there is a campaign in a church to help people grow in faith. I would have no problem going to the lake and re-affirming a persons baptism as a sign that something is happening. That is awesome. Just dont call it baptism. Baptism is something that God does. When we Re-affirm our baptism we are deepening our identity as a follower of Jesus Christ. We are saying to God and the community, I want to grow in my identity as a disciple. I want to do better. What better thing to do in the start of the year than to say that we want go deepen our identity through re-affirming our baptism. One of the challenges surrounding baptism is that many of us dont remember our baptism. How many of us here have been baptized? How many of us remember our baptism? I believe in infant baptism, but many of us dont remember our baptism because we were baptized as infants.

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If we dont remember our baptism I encourage all of us to learn the stories surrounding our baptism. Do you know who this little guy is in the picture. Thats me being baptized I was baptized on May 11, 1964 at the Presbyterian Church in Paullina Iowa. Paullina is a small town in northwest Iowa. At the time my parents were teachers at the schools in Paullina. Rev. Boaz officiated at my baptism. My parents have told me that their biggest concern about my baptism was whether I would cry. May 11was a beautiful spring daylots of sunshine. After the baptism my Dads family and moms family celebrated a picnic near a lake in Paullina. At the picnic my Dad shared with me that he saw one of his brothers wife for the first time since he came home from serving in the service in Germany. A few years ago I was in Paullina and I drove by the park and imagined what that party was like. Thats a little about my baptism story. I encourage all of you to learn the stories surrounding your baptism. A second way we can celebrate the power of our baptism is to understand what it means to be clothed with Christ. As I worked on this sermon this week I was taken by this one verse from Galatians 3. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:27 Ive read this chapter from Galatians at least a hundred times. Ive preached on it many times. This week I was taken by this image of being clothed with Christ. This is what happens when we are baptizedwe are clothed with Christ. What does this mean to be clothed with Christ. Lets push into this by thinking about clothing in Jesus day. People didnt have a lot of clothes. The opportunities to wear different

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types of clothing didnt exist like today. Its not as if people could go to the local JC Penny in Jerusalem or their local village and choose from a wide variety of clothing. People made their own clothing. Clothing had to last. It would be typical for a person to have the same clothing for a long period of their life. Even with limited amount of clothing, clothing still had a status symbol. Jewish priests wore linen robes with multicolored threads woven around the hem. Remember the story of Joseph in the Old Testament where Josephs father made a coat of many colors for Joseph. (The coat symbolized that Joseph was one of Jacobs favorite sons. The robe became a point of contention for Josephs jealous brothers. When Joseph was alone they stripped him of the coat and sold him to a group of Midianite traders. Clothing has a social status today. How many of you watch the TV program Say Yes to the Dress. This has become one of Hannahs favorite television programs. Like so many other television shows its a reality TV show. A young engaged woman comes to a bridal shop with her bridesmaids. The task is to choose a wedding dress. Shes obviously looking for the perfect dress that will be memorable for this hopefully once-in-a-lifetime event. The woman chooses a dress and then brings it out to be viewed by her entourage. At some point someone doesnt like the dress. Theres a conflict. The viewer of the show wonders if the bride is going to be able to choose a dress. Eventually the right dress is chosen, or a compromise is made. But the popularity of the show illustrates the status of clothing. Were interested. In the early church, a person would put on a white garment when they were baptized. Whats startling is the person would be baptized nakedwith no clothes. This required men and women to be separated into different rooms when they were baptized. When a person was baptized they entered the water naked. Before they entered the water they were anointed with

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oil. When the person came out of the water a white garment was put on them. They were anointed with oil again. Then the newly baptized would all gather in a room. Through the garment the person would put on Christ. The garment represented the newness of life that a person could experience through a relationship with Jesus Christ. In a way it was like putting on a jersey. The person would note that their allegiance was to Jesus. Anyone who attends a sporting event will notice that the fans of a team will put on the jersey of their favorite team. If you watch football this weekend and see the people in the stands notice all the jerseys that people wear. They are declaring their allegiance to a person. When we are baptized we declare that our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ. We take on the attributes or qualities of Jesus. My dream for us at Chain of Lakes is we become a group of people who take on the attributes or qualities of Jesus. We practically have clothed ourselves with Christ. Through our participation in our congregation we become more like Jesus every day. When people experience us they experience the love and qualities of Jesus. We have a deep desire to become like Christ, to have other people experience Christ through us. This takes intentionality. I have one final challenge for you. When you wake up this week and before you get out of bed, ask God for help in living like Jesus during the day. Imagine yourself wearing the white garment of Christ. When you get dressed for the day imagine that you are putting on the white garment that symbolizes your baptism. As you go throughout the day imagine wearing this garment. Do everything you can to focus your thoughts and impressions for being like Jesus. Our task at Chain of Lakes Church is to help you grow as disciples. On this day we are Re-affirming our baptisms Im going to ask you to help us. In the bulletin is a survey. The

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purpose of the survey is to give you a tool to help you discern how you are doing as a disciple of Jesus. The survey is divided into three sectionshead, heart, and feet. We believe that a disciple is theologically informedthey know god with their head. A disciple is full of love in their heartthey live by the fruit of the Spirit and other faith disciplines. A disciple is willing to serve God with their feet. Who am I? I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. May this be a day where we can Re-affirm our allegiance to Jesus, and a day where we clothe ourselves with Christ.