There is this guy named Rocky who lives in my neighborhood. I say lives in the loosest sense of the word. I am not sure where he sleeps, but he hangs out in our neighborhood, the Richmond. You can find him in the mornings on the bench in the Rose Garden of Golden Gate Park. Rocky wears this very old army jacket that covers him from head to toe. He smokes a lot of pot, he smells of it and I have seen him light up on a regular basis. He looks very anxious and I wonder if he is self medicating for some sort of anxiety disorder. I asked him his name one day and he said his name is Rocky. Now that I know his name I see him everywhere. I recognize him by his coat. It makes him stand out from the other folks whose home is the street.
Easter Sunday was amazing. Having all of us together celebrating Resurrection Sunday together is awesome enough, but then to cap it all off with the Baptisms of Mike, Jim, Jake, Grace and Damon, that was perfect. When we baptized everyone we said to them that, "the old is gone and the new is come."
When Paul writes to the Galatians, he writes: "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." This has me thinking a lot about my outward expressions of faith. What does clothed with Christ mean, practically speaking? When I think of Jesus, I think of a man who was compelling, attracting others to him by his love and acceptance. It is remarkable to me that the only ones that Jesus seemed to condemn were the religious leaders who went around making others feel bad and less than. To be clothed with Christ means to wear love and grace and hope in all circumstances.
Here is my prayer for all of us this week.
"Father, help us to wear the new clothes that you have given us today: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Let these be the garments that I wear and that people see. More of you, Father less of me. Amen"
NIV
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