The Three Renunciations of Baptism The Devil, The World, and The Flesh: RENOUNCE THEM
Join Deacon Matthew in the Guild Room between Sunday Service throughout the fall to explore the spiritual wisdom of the three renunciation of evil we make at Baptism. People are welcome to come and go a they please. Consistent attendance is not required. A suggested book to supplement what we will be learning during this series is “The Powers that Be: Theology fo a New Millennium” by Walter Wink. First class will be on September 28th at 9:30am in the Guild Room.
This Fall we will embark on another theological adventure. Last spring we did an extensive study on Suffering and Evil in the context of our faith tradition. During that time together, I promised the group I would do a class on the devil in the Fall. After attending a couple of baptisms, I was struck that during the Examination for Baptism we do mention “Satan.” Satan, or the Devil, is part of the three renunciations we declare at our Baptisms:
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God? I renounce them.
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God? I renounce them.
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God? I The Rev. Matthew Simpson , Deacon renounce them.
Why do we do this? And what do the renunciations have to teach us? Throughout the liturgical year, we renew our Baptismal Covenant, but only during the Easter Vigil do we reaffirm our renunciation of evil. In our Episcopal tradition, we talk a lot about who and what we affirm, so does it benefit us to analyze what we renounce? Certainly, many other Christian denominations in our nation do renounce people, groups, ideologies, agendas, and try to influence politics and policies by their renunciations. In this context renunciation just doesn’t have an “Episcopal vibe,” and yet the renunciation of evil is a part of our baptism; it is a foundational part of our faith.
The New Testament has some provocative Scriptures that address this, but it quickly complicates our dilemma by suggesting our renunciation is not even of people, but of “powers and principalities of darkness”: “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” -- Ephesians 6:12
“[Jesus] disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him.” -- Colossians 2:15
In our time together this Fall, we will explore these powers and principalities of the present darkness in our modern faith context. By using the ancient renunciations of the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, we will explore how we can grow towards Christ and union with God by renouncing evil. During this fall I suggest the book “The Powers that Be: Theology for a New Millennium” by Walter Wink as a supplement to this series.
Because while we will look to face the evils we renounce, my hope is that we will also come to a deeper understanding of the good news of Jesus in the Scripture:
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels , nor principalities , nor things present, nor thing to come, nor powers , nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Roman 8:38-39