Just say "No!"

In The United Methodist Book of Worship (BOW), there are guidelines for conducting a variety of worship services.  As you might expect, there are rituals for marriage, for funerals, for Holy Communion and for a variety of other church observances. 

The portal for participating in all such events is Baptism.  The BOW there are six services of Baptismal Covenant that address a variety of contexts.  The language for each of these includes a pair of questions early in the ritual.  These are:

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

Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you

to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
            in whatever forms they present themselves?

All who would become a part of The United Methodist Church answer these questions in the affirmative, or the service does not continue.

“Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness…?”  I would agree that, at one level, that leaves a lot open to interpretation.  But on the other hand, there is a certain amount of “I know it when I see it” involved.  I wouldn’t want to involve myself in the pages and pages it could take to come anywhere close to defining “the spiritual forces of wickedness.”  But, if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is most likely a duck.  The ritual question doesn’t invoke words like “sin” or “unrighteousness.” It says “wickedness.”  The word itself leaves a bad taste in the mouth.  For the living of these days the church calls us to renounce and reject those things that do not glorify God.  I’m sorry – that is simple enough.  The day’s news headlines give ample illustration of what does and does not glorify God.  Invoking the name of God for the sake of a Fallen agenda does not glorify God.  A prayer circle on the floor of congress where the participants invoke the name of Jesus in order to dismantle health care and providing a basic living for those in need while establishing a budget for ICE that exceeds that of the FBI and CIA does not glorify God. 

The second question amplifies the first: “Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?”  Freedom.  Freedom to resist or accept.  The freedom to make choices is one of the first options extended to the newly-created man and woman in the Book of Genesis.  They made a poor choice, but the choice was theirs to make.  The church here encourages us to employ our freedom in order to make the right choice.  Say “No” to evil.  Say “No” to injustice.  Say “No” to oppression.  And say no to each and every form in which these wicked forces make themselves known.

Renounce.  Resist.  Embrace those things that glorify God.

And no matter who the proponent – government, office-holders, obscenely wealthy heads of corporations, law enforcers, politicians who are too busy feathering their nests to govern efficiently and fairly, thugs on the streetcorner – no matter who.  Say no.  Just no.  No.

The peace of the Lord be with you.