'Two Steps you Actually have to Take'

James K.A. Smith is a teacher of practical theology — how people actually live what they believe. His central argument is that human beings are not primarily thinking creatures who happen to have bodies. We are embodied creatures whose formation happens through physical practice. You cannot think your way into a new way of living. The body has to go somewhere new. This is not a mystical claim. It is a description of how change actually works. The person who wants to become more patient does not just decide to be patient — they practice it in small moments until it becomes who they are. The person who wants a new life does not just believe their way into it. The body has to move into it.

When the apostle Paul lay blind on the ground outside Damascus, a man named Ananias came to him. Ananias was a devout man, well spoken of by all the Jews — not a fringe figure, but someone with standing in the very community Paul had been persecuting. Ananias’ words were direct, hopeful, life-giving. "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16). Two steps. The first is physical — rise, go into the water, come up. The word for rise is anastas, the same root as the word for resurrection. Ananias is giving Paul a resurrection command: get up - the same command Jesus spoke to Lazarus in the tomb. The second step is spoken — call on His name. The Greek word epikaleō means to address someone in authority, the way a soldier calls on his commander or a citizen petitions the king. It is a calling out to a superior who can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. It is a declaration of who has the authority to act and who the person will be obedient to.

Jesus is still giving both instructions. Rise — let the water do what water does in baptism, enact in your body what you are declaring with your life. If you would like, we can have a moment in worship where you personally can reaffirm your baptism at the font by the altar. Just reach out to me, if you would like to do that. And call on His name, on the King of the Universe and the Prince of Peace. It doesn’t matter what road you have been down. Call on Jesus and He will set you back on the right path to walk with Him. He can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Romans 10:13 carries the promise forward from the prophet Joel through Peter at Pentecost to this moment: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Not someday. Now. The grace has already moved toward you. These two steps are how you say yes. Jesus has called your name. Now call on His.

Have you ever actually called on Jesus’ name — not from a formulaic prayer but from the heart? If not — what is stopping you today? Again, call me if you would like to talk about what it means to give your life to Christ, 318-219-6512.

Blessings,

Jonathan