Epiphany 1C; Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; St.
Paul’s Smithfield, NC 1/10/2016
Jim Melnyk:
“I have called you by name – you are precious in my
sight!”
With
apologies to the late, great, Rod Serling: Submitted for your consideration – a
not so ordinary looking silver container of water – H-2-O – resting in the top
of an interestingly sculpted marble pedestal, and only a few inches deep. Submitted for your consideration – an
eye-catching container of water not much different in volume than what you
might find in your bathroom sink – a rather traditional baptismal font –
something we walk past every Sunday morning and most likely don’t even notice. And yet it is a place of Holy Mystery resting
in our presence every time we enter this sacred space. Each time we pass this font we should be
reminded of our own baptism – we should be aware of the Mystery of what it
means to be a part of God.
And although no
baptisms will take place at this font this morning, today is the Sunday upon
which we commemorate the baptism of our Lord Jesus, and most of us here have at
one time or another witnessed something taking place at this font that is
indeed different from any bathing ritual practiced by young and old alike in
every household. The water we pour in
this font and bless is for us a symbol of life and of God’s love for
humanity. As our baptismal liturgy
reminds us, “Over [this water] the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of
creation. Through it [God] led the
children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. [And] in it…Jesus received the baptism of
John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit” (BCP, 306).
This is the water of
life which flowed from the side of Jesus at his crucifixion – it is the stream
of Living Water that flows through the gates of the New Jerusalem – it is the life-nurturing
water that surrounded and protected Jesus in Mary’s womb – which has done the
same for each of us before we came into this world.
This morning in the
presence of water that we will bless, and the Holy Spirit who surrounds us and
fills us with the breath of God, we will later renew our own baptismal
promises, and will find it once again a doorway into the heart of God.
We will stand
together as the Body of Christ given for the world and will find this moment in
time – this particular experience with water and Word – a new beginning to a
journey which began for each of us with the first beat of our hearts and the
breath of God’s Spirit in our lungs. Created
in the image and likeness of God, we will recall, at least liturgically, the
beginning of our transformation into the likeness of Christ – our being
transformed into the human hands and heart of God who is very much alive and a
part of this world.
Baptism – whether
the fantastical experience of Jesus at the Jordan River or the more tame reality
of our lives – isn’t some strange reality visited upon us from the likes of the
Twilight Zone – doves and voices from heaven notwithstanding. Baptism is the outward and visible way in
which we celebrate the love of God made known to us in creation, and in the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus – who is for us the Christ of God.
And while Jesus was
baptized in a river – as were some of you, I know – most Episcopalians are a
bit more proper about it all. I have
served in two churches with fonts large enough to totally immerse a child in
one, and an adult in the other, but mostly I have attended or served churches
whose fonts are more like ours. I recall a story told by my wife, Lorraine,
many years ago after a baptism at her church in Western NC. A former Baptist parishioner leaned over to
her at the tiny traditional font much like the one here in our Nave. “Lorraine,” he whispered, “There’s not enough
water here for you to do anything!”
“That may be true,” replied Lorraine, “but there’s plenty of water there
for the Holy Spirit to do everything!”
Baptism isn’t
something we coerce God into doing, whether by using the proper formula of
words, having the best space or the right sort of font – we don’t coerce God to
act, rather God calls us into relationship because God chooses to do so. So baptism – and the renewal of our baptismal
vows – is our celebration of the love and grace of God already freely offered
and so wonderfully received.
Baptism is our
celebration of the mystery that promises: before we ever did our first good
deed – before we ever took our first step – said our first word – breathed our
first breath – God delighted in us! As
we listen to the words of the prophet, or retell the story of Jesus’ baptism in
the Jordan we are invited to realize that God’s first words to
us are always words of God’s love for us. This
is the first great truth of baptism: that baptism is our “first calling…” a
calling that, first and foremost, “simply loves and names. You are my child, I delight in you” (John
Stendahl).
Speaking through the
prophet Isaiah God tells us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name, you are mine….Because you are precious in my sight, and
honored, and I love you…” (Isaiah 43:1b, 3a).
Just simply for being, God says, I take pleasure in you – and I claim
you for my own.
Baptism is a
recognition and acceptance of God’s great delight in us – even as God delighted
so long ago in the baptism of Jesus – the beloved son of God. Baptism is like a doorway into that delight –
into that love – into the heart of God – and if like a doorway, it is a doorway
that upon entering begins to transform us – to change us – to shape us as the
children of God that we are. And each
time we renew our vows we are shaped just a little bit more.
And so, a second great truth of Baptism is that
God’s delight in us shapes us – God’s hopes and dreams for us come out of, and
find a home in, God’s delight in us. Somehow
in the passing through this doorway those hopes and dreams of God take on
deeper meaning – become more real – and hopefully they take on a greater sense
of urgency for us. It is God’s delight
in us which shapes and calls us beyond being – which calls us to lives of
action – which calls us from being
to doing.
And this is the next great truth about Baptism –
that becoming the hands and heart of God in this world is a scary and
challenging prospect. The calling that
first and foremost loves and names also identifies us forever with the Jesus of
the Gospels: with the Jesus of dusty Galilean streets, with broken hearts and
troubled lives – with the Jesus of betrayal and the cross – and with the Jesus
of resurrection life. Entering into the
waters of Holy Baptism – and renewing our baptismal promises – should give us
reason to pause – to count the cost – to understand what it means to be a part
of the transforming life of Christ. Because
later in the Gospels that very same voice heard at Jesus’ baptism – the voice
of God that proclaims “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well
pleased” – that same voice will tell us to listen to this person Jesus – this
beloved Son of God – and to obey him – and the road to Jerusalem and the cross
will make clear what it means listen to, obey, and follow Jesus.
In being identified
with Christ we are called to be imitators of Christ. We are God’s anointed ones – like so many who
have come before us and answered the call of God – from the very first human
creatures who walked the face of this earth to those in generations yet to come. Children of God – sisters and brothers of the
living Christ: called in the righteousness of God, taken by the hand of God and
filled with the very breath of God. Like
those spoken of in the days of Isaiah: a covenant to the people of this world
and a light to the nations of this world – to open eyes that are blind and set
the prisoner free. Identifying with
Christ we are to be voices for the voiceless, champions of the sick, the
friendless and the needy, challengers of the status quo, and harbingers of the
new promises God declares for God’s people.
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