Mindekirken
Oct. 24, 2004
Kari Burke Romarheim
Identity in Christ:
John 15.12 – 17
It
is a pleasure to be here with you today! I
have just returned to the US after living in Bergen for 3 years– where I
worked with Youth and Family Ministry in Landås
Congregation. While in Bergen, I met
Vidar Romarheim who is from a beautiful little place called Vollom in Lindås,
just north of Bergen, and we were married 2 years ago. Vidar and I now live in
Wisconsin where Vidar works as an Engineer and I commute to Luther Seminary
where I am studying to become an ordained minister.
I graduated from Augsburg College in 2001with a degree in Norwegian and
Youth and Family Ministry. During my
time at Augsburg, I had an internship here at Mindekirken. So, it is nice to be
back!
Today
and throughout the whole Leif Eriksson festival we are celebrating the rich
heritage we share as Scandinavian-Americans, which shapes and forms who we are.
So, today I am going to talk about identity - identity as
Norwegian-Americans and most importantly the identity we have in Christ.
I
have grown up in small town Minnesota, in a typical Norwegian-American family.
My grandmother’s parents came from Herøysundet in Hardanger. My
grandfather grew up in Bergen. He
came to America in 1925 when he was just 16 years old.
When he came to the States, he changed his name from Ingolf Johannessen
to Ingolf Kronstad – taking the name of the area he was from in Bergen.
My grandfather, a proud Bergenser, dreamt of becoming a cowboy.
But, he never became a cowboy – he became a Lutheran pastor.
Since
I was a little girl, I have felt very Norwegian.
When people here in the States ask me ”where are you from?” I answer,
”I’m half Norwegian and half Swedish.” (my
dad’s family is Swedish). For
me, it is very important that ”I am Norwegian and Swedish!”
That is my identity!
You
can actually say that I was made in America with Norwegian and Swedish parts!
Before
I moved to Norway, I never thought of myself as American, I only thought of
myself as ”Scandinavian.” Like
me, many people in the Midwest are proud of their Norwegian heritage.
Many
say that in the Midwest we are actually more Norwegian than Norwegians
themselves! As
Norwegian-Americans, we are good at carrying on Norwegian tradition and
culture…some ways better than others.
Did
you know that in Madison, Wisconsin there is a big annual Lutefisk Competition?
The point is not to see who can prepare the best lutefisk, the point is
to eat the most lutefisk in the shortest amount of time!
Long live Norwegian culture in America! We have bazaars in our church
basements, drink lots of coffee, and have lutefisk suppers with meatballs, rømmegrøt,
and lefse on the same plate. Around
Christmas time we buy fresh potatoe lefse and krumkake and most people can sing
”Jeg er så glad hver julekveld.” The
language in the Midwest has been influenced by Norwegian.
We
end sentences with ”ja” and talk with a strange accent.
But one of our most popular expressions is ”Uff da!”
We can even get
mugs, socks, aprons and t-shirts that say ”Uff da!”.....”Uff da!”
We
can see that identity is important for us all.
We are all products of a long line of cultural experiences that shape who
we are, giving identity and purpose to our lives.
In
the same way that people here go around with t-shirts saying ”Proud to be
Norwegian”, so also, we as Christians have been given an identity to be proud
of - one that shapes us and give purpose to our lives.
This
identity as Christians– our identity in Christ - is given to us in baptism. In
baptism we are grasped and enfolded by the great saving event of Jesus’ cross
and resurrection. We become children
of God and receive the gift of eternal life.
At baptism, God marks us as God's own and gives us life and identity as
children of God.
One of the many times
I was extremely frustrated by the seemingly unending rain while living in
Bergen, I emailed my former professor from Augsburg’s Youth and Family
Institute, Dick Hardel. He emailed me back with some great encouraging words. He
wrote, “Kari, think of yourself as blessed! Living in Bergen and getting
soaked by the rain, you are constantly being reminded of your baptism!” In our
baptism we are drenched by the love of God, soaked with forgiveness of sins, and
splashed with promise. Our true
identity is given to us in our babtism. We
are precious, we belong to God, and we are one with Christ.
We have a God who loves us so much that he sent his own Son, Jesus Christ
so that we might have eternal life. This is well worth remembering every day!
Let’s
look at the words of Isaiah 43: “But
now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob (or who created you, Ingrid,
Johannes, Peter, Sarah) he who
formed you, O Israel: Do not fear,
for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
What a fantastic message full of hope and love!
“I made you….I have redeemed you…. I have called you by name… I
love you…You are mine.” This is
our identity! We are created,
redeemed, called, and loved.
We
read in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order
that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light.” We are
chosen – part of God’s family – a royal priesthood.
This is our identity and we are to proclaim this identity.
There
is a story about a little girl who learned in Sunday school that "Jesus
lives within us." She thought about this all day long. That night the child
asked her mom, "Is it true that Jesus lives inside of us?" Her mother
replied, "Yes, honey, it's true." With a puzzled look on her face, the
child said, "Well, Mommy, wouldn't you think he would show through
sometimes?" As Christians, we
have received the Holy Spirit. God calls us to let the Holy Spirit shine through
in our lives.
This is what Jesus
commands in the gospel text for today. “You
did not choose me, but I chose you. And
I appointed you to go and bear fruit, a fruit that will last, so that the Father
will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so
that you may love one another.” We
are a chosen people – chosen by God -and here, Jesus says that we are sent
into the world to “go and bear fruit”.
We receive the gracious love of God through the gift Jesus Christ our
Lord. What difference does this love
make in our lives? In response to
this overwhelming gift of love, we are to love each other – to go and bear
fruit as proud children of God.
We
are to be proud of our identity as God’s beloved children!
Just like we like to show our pride in our identity as
Norwegian-Americans by wearing our Norwegian sweaters, by eating lutefisk, or
saying “Uff da!” we are to be proud of our identity as Children of God –
our identity in Christ Jesus. We
are created, chosen, redeemed, called and loved.
My
prayer for you today is that you would
be uplifted by the Good News of God’s Word; that in your baptism the Lord has
called you by name; that you would always remember your baptism by recognizing
your identity as precious and loved by the Lord; that you would take seriously
and faithfully the ministry God has given you to do with the gift of the Holy
Spirit working in and through you. Amen.
