The Baptism of the Lord, Year B

Epiphany, God Made Manifest

Readings: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

We have entered a new season of the Church year, the season of Epiphany. During the Sundays of the Epiphany we focus on how God is revealed to us. An epiphany is an appearance, a visible manifestation of God. The Epiphany immediately brings into mind the magi bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. The Wise men in their visit to Jesus were not the Epiphany. They were the beneficiaries of one. God was revealed to them through the child Jesus whom they visited.

We too need to expect Epiphanies in our lives, times when God is revealed in a personal way to each of us. Such times help us to come to know God better. They are times when God seems to reach out to us through time and space. Each Sunday in Epiphany focuses on the ways in which God reveals God’s self to people.

Today we read of how God is revealed to us through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In the Old Testament reading, the spirit is revealed as “a wind from God which swept over the face of the waters.” The creating spirit of God hovered over the waters, the source of life. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul points out to the people of Ephesus that the Holy Spirit should have been the great gift of their baptism. He is surprised to find their lack of understanding at how God is revealed. He wants them to experience the Holy Spirit in their lives as a gift of grace. Finally in the Gospel, God is made manifest through the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

The Jews were constantly looking for God’s revelation. But they came to a time in their spiritual life as we all do when God seemed not to be present with them. As God became more and more absent in their lives, they looked back with yearning to the days of the prophets when God had been very much a part of their experience. They felt as if the Holy Spirit had been absent since those days. The voice of God which had spoken to the prophets was heard now only as an echo. They looked for the time when the sky would be opened and God would once more speak directly to the people.

And then it happened. Jesus came to John to be baptised. The heavens opened. The dove hovered over him. God called out words of affirmation. “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Clearly in Mark’s Gospel the voice is Jesus’ personal experience. The onlookers are unaware of what is happening. But we who read the Gospel are to understand it as a revelation, a manifestation to us, the people of God. Through it we are to understand Jesus’ unique relationship to God, and his call to ministry.

But we are called to understand far more. For this incident in our Lord’s life is within the experience of each of us. We are intended to experience that same descent of the dove in our own life. We are to experience God’s presence in our lives. How is God revealed to us? Where for us is the deep sense of peace, the sense that our wills and that of God are in harmony? Where is the sense of a presence from which we receive affirmation of our call to ministry?

How do we experience God’s presence? How do we hear God? How do we experience God at work in our lives? How does God speak to us? A young woman asked me that question one day. In fact she had many questions. She had not been brought up in the church and had little experience with the faith. She did have a real hunger for spirituality, so much so that she found her way into the church in which I was serving. And so we had the first of many conversations about how we come to know God.

She said that if anything could convince her of the existence of God it would be going through something like she saw in the movie, “Twister”. Her picture of God was of a judgemental being who punishes, a harsh God, a God of anger. She expected that God would be revealed through some manifestation of power.

Many people have that kind of understanding about God. After all, it would be so much easier to hear the kind of God that spoke angrily and loudly. That kind of God one could really understand. It would leave no doubt in our mind. We want theatrics! Thunder! Lightning! The works! We want something that will make us really take note and know that God is speaking to us. We want to be scared somehow into faith.

Yet it seems that most of the time God’s voice comes in much gentler, subtler ways. Somehow the way in which God speaks to us is more difficult to discern. Not that hearing God’s still small voice is necessarily any more consoling than it would be to hear thunder! To hear God speak in the silence is not always to hear what we want to hear. God may tell us in that still small voice that what we have chosen is not what God would have us do. God may well order us out of our complacency, out of the safety of our lives and into the real world. God may lead us in directions for which we can see very little value.

The other misperception about how God speaks to us comes from intellectuals. They know all the theological jargon. They understand the difference between transubstantiation and consubstantiation. They can speak with authority about the Trinity or about the grace of God. Strange as it may seem, God does not talk ‘God-talk’. Thank God you don’t have to have a theological degree to come into relationship with God. God speaks through the ordinary. God uses words like flower or rainbow or snowflake. God spoke and life began. We speak in concepts. God speaks in reality. That is the great truth of the process of creation.

I suspect that when we are really listening to what God is saying it comes to us, not in some dramatic way, but in the still small voice. How have you encountered God within the last few days? Was it in some earth shattering revelation? Or was it in a letter from a friend or when you were tucking a little one into bed? Was it during a phone call from a friend, a smile from a stranger, an unexpected apology, a touch, an affirmation, a kind word? I would even bet that it didn’t happen in church. God speaks more outside of church than inside. Thank God for that! That is the glory of God! And if it all seems too ordinary for you, too quiet to be God, then I suspect that you need to listen even harder, for you are probably receiving a revelation from God.

Because we are celebrating the Baptism of Our Lord, even though there is no baptism we are going to renew our Baptismal Covenant. At baptism we were promised God’s gift of grace working in our lives. However, like the Ephesians we may not even be aware that there is a Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Baptism isn’t about knowing everything there is to know about God; it is about knowing God.

How do we recover that sense of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit as the source of our gifts? We need to experience the Holy Spirit at work in us with the understanding that such encounters with God are God’s gift to every Christian. We need to expect that God will meet us in our everyday lives. God is constantly revealed to us and in us to others. Each new discovery takes us deeper into relationship with God. It is not about knowing everything there is to know about God; it is about knowing God. What a great thing that is to experience in our lives!

No matter at what stage of our Christian life we may be, there is possible a deeper encounter with God who waits to enter our experience. We must be prepared to search and to be open to such a possibility. We cannot be self-satisfied. We must journey into a maturing and deepening spirituality. Each new discovery takes us deeper. It becomes a new beginning, a new birthing, a renewal of our baptism.

As we renew the promises of our baptism may it bring to us that deep sense of peace, that sense that our wills and that of God are in harmony, that sense of the presence of God in our lives, and our willingness to become all that God calls us to be. May it be a time when we understand that we are beloved children of God. May it be an epiphany for each one of us. Amen.

Baptism of Our Lord, Year C

I Have Called You by Name, You are Mine

Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke’s account of the baptism of Jesus is nothing extraordinary. He is simply part of the crowd who come out to the wilderness to be baptised by John. It is after his baptism while he is praying that the Holy Spirit comes to him in a special way. A voice proclaims, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” It is a watershed moment in Jesus’ life. It is as if a new light suddenly dawns on him. It is a new beginning for him, a beginning of his earthly ministry.

Baptism was a radical moment in Jesus’ life. It brought about a change of direction in his life. He became equipped to do the task God had assigned to him. He assumed his prophetic call.

Baptism is a radical moment in the lives of each one of us in church here today. For by baptism, we share in the same relationship and mission that God had with Jesus. Baptism is a gift and a calling. It initiates the work of God and Christ in and through us. It commissions and empowers us for ministry.

For most of us though, it does not seem to be a very radical occurrence. If you are a “cradle” Anglican it is highly unlikely that you even remember anything about your baptism. Your parents likely brought you for baptism as an infant. Your experience is probably rather like mine. I was baptised on the afternoon of May 24th in the little church in Byng. I was a little over a month old. My parents, Godparents, a few assorted relatives and my older siblings gathered around the font. I wore the family gown, as did my older siblings and seven generations of Smith’s before me. My father, an Anglican priest, sprinkled me with water. Five years earlier he had immersed my brother David, but was forbidden by my mother to ever again do that to one of her children. They named me Ann Martha. Then they had a family party. It does not seem very significant in the whole scale of things. There were no voices from heaven. There were no claps of thunder, although it being the Queen’s Birthday there may have been fireworks. Spectacular or not, my understanding is that something very significant happened that has sustained me my whole life. It made the death and resurrection of Christ applicable to my life. It identified me as Christ’s own. It is the most significant event in my Christian life.

For each of us is called, by virtue of our baptism to share in the ministry of Christ. Through baptism we respond to an intimate call to become known by God's name. By baptism we share in the same relationship and mission that God had with Jesus. It empowers us to stand with those whom the world sees as unlovely and unlovable and to affirm that in God's realm there is compassion. Baptism initiates the work of the Spirit in and through us. It gives us the responsibility for others. It identifies us as God's children and servants. It calls us to action.

Today as we celebrate the baptism of our Lord, we will renew our own baptismal covenant. How do we respond to the promises made at our baptism? Somehow or other we need to accept them as our own. We need to take responsibility for our Christian life. We need to accept the relationship to God, which was formalized at our baptism. We need to accept that God has called each of us. We accept those words of Isaiah, “I have called you by name, you are mine.”

That realization comes to us through God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not some mysterious and unattainable gift. It is meant to be part of the experience of each one of us. We do not have to look for some unusual happening in our lives. We do not have to speak in tongues or proclaim great prophetic words. We do need to recognize the times when God is truly present with us. Then we will know and understand that indeed the spirit is upon us.

Good things are happening in this parish. We need to share the good things that are happening in people’s lives. We need to share the good news about what God is accomplishing in us. It is wonderful news that in spite of being without a full time priest this year, this congregation was able to move forward in faith on so many things. Look at all that you have accomplished! Sunday School at St. George’s, new people joining the congregation, work being done on the buildings, luncheons and activities going on, outreach, stewardship, Youth Group events. Is it not wonderful news that even in the midst of difficulty, if we look for it, God is there?

I know that many of you are aware of how God is at work in your lives. I know because you share it with me. We need to share those good news stories with each other.

God has called us by name. The question remains, will we accept the mission and ministry to which God is calling us? We can go on moaning that the church is a dying institution, or we can all take our ministry as the people of God seriously. We perpetuate the mistaken idea that ministry is for those who are trained. But more often all it takes is being a good listener. It may seem as if one is doing nothing. But in this day and age when no one has time for anyone else, a listening ear is a fine gift.

Praise is a fine gift as well. Praise helps immeasurably one whose self-esteem is low. It helps those in leadership positions in the congregation who often put in many hours of thankless labour without any expectation of gain. What a gift it is when we thank them for their selfless service. Yet what a small gift it is. And it is one that we all have an opportunity to use. If we do, it will make a radical difference to our community.

We need to practice the gift of compassion. We live in a lonely society where many need to feel that they are loved. How important it is to pick up the phone and let people know that they are not forgotten.

Hope is such an important gift in our day. We can look around us at the state of society and simply give up. The ability to offer hope to one who is suffering or lonely or afraid can turn a life around.

The opportunities for ministry are all around us. Such opportunities build up the life of the community. And the most wonderful thing about ministry is that through reaching out to others, our own lives are enriched. We are brought into a closer relationship with God and with other people. So take it in. Really know it and understand it and its implications. God has called you by name; you belong to God.

It was quite an event, my baptism. Not that I remember it! Oh! I have heard the stories about that day. So even though my memory does not hold it, I know that it was the most important day in my life. The fact that I am baptised fills me with sheer wonder. To know, to really know that I am God's child, God's Beloved, is a source of deep joy. That is what keeps me praying that I will live faithfully as God's child. In the silence of my heart I imagine God proclaiming, “Here is another one of my beloved children!” Amen.

The Baptism of the Lord, Year A

Reflections in the Water

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

The season of Epiphany which we have entered takes its name from the Greek word ephiphania which was used by the Greeks to explain the visit of a god to earth. As Christians for us the season celebrates how Jesus becomes known to us as the Son of God. It is about how God is revealed to humanity. These Sundays during the season of Epiphany show the divine power of our Lord in some of his most striking miracles. All are ways in which God makes God's self known to humanity.

Today the readings centre on the baptism of our Lord as he enters into his time of public ministry. We hear the story of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. It is a story that celebrates who Jesus is. Jesus, the sinless one, is baptized by John in a baptism of repentance. For the Jews a baptism was a ritual washing. For the Greeks baptism meant literally to wash. John was ritually washing people to demonstrate that a change was taking place in their lives. For Jesus it was a call to ministry that changed the whole meaning and role of the rite. As he comes up out of the water the heavens are opened, the spirit of God descends like a dove and lights on him. Those present hear the voice of God announcing, “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is revealed as God’s chosen one. It is, if you wish, his ordination, the beginning of his earthly ministry.

This Sunday is not simply a celebration of who Jesus is. It is a celebration for each of us, for baptism is our ordination, the beginning of our ministry. In our Lord’s life, his offer of himself for baptism was followed by his full commitment to ministry. In the excitement of the day as we celebrate baptism, particularly the baptism of a baby, we often forget that it must always be followed by commitment. We see it more as a rite of passage, as a time of naming rather than as full membership in the body of Christ. We need to affirm baptismal ministry by living out our faith in every sense of the word. We need times of re covenanting, reminders of our baptismal promises. That is why at every baptism there is an opportunity to renew our covenant. Even though we have no baptism today, the renewal of our baptismal covenant will be part of our worship.

So what does it mean to celebrate baptism? The heart of the Christian faith means that by baptism each of us is brought into intimate relationship with a loving Lord. The simple fact is that I am God's beloved daughter. You are God's beloved son or daughter. It is for each of us to claim that and to live in the joy and confidence of it.

There is something very special about baptism. Something miraculous happens! I sense it in every baptism that I do. It is about realizing as I say the words, “I baptise you” that this person now belongs to God in a special way. When I hold a baby in my arms and pour water over the child's forehead, I share in the hopes and dreams of the parents who have brought the child for baptism. I have no way of knowing what the future holds, but I know that this particular child is in the hands of a loving God.

I see the reflected in the waters of baptism some of the children I have baptised. I remember my first baptism. I was working as a Chaplain in a Toronto Hospital during my studies at Trinity. I was on call one night when I was paged from the ward I was working in, the neonatal unit. I knew what that meant. In fact, it was what I had suspected. A mother had gone into early labour and had delivered a tiny preemie, scarcely the size of my hand. She was not expected to live. The family wanted her to be baptized. I found a basin and some water. I baptized her there with her family gathered around her. “Katie Harper Hall” they told me when I asked her name. I remember the feeling of awe as I looked around the room at those gathered for her baptism. I named her, choking back my own tears. I sprinkled water over her, baptizing her in the name of God, the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It was a sacred moment in which we all shared.

I see reflected in the waters of baptism some of the children from my first parish. There was a set of twins from Bequia adopted by one of the parish families. There was the baby girl who sang as I held her in my arms.

I see reflected in the waters of baptism many people from this parish. There is Jack. He was old enough to participate in a meaningful way in preparing for his baptism. I told him that I would sign him with the sign of the cross using holy oil and that that sign would stay with him throughout his life. He asked me several times after that if I could still see the sign of the cross on his forehead. Many of the children who have been baptised here continue to participate as full members of the body of Christ. They come to our Sunday School. They are servers at the altar. They are living out their Baptismal Covenant.

I see reflected in the water of the font, adult baptisms that have taken place. There is something so inspiring about an adult baptism. It is a joyful celebration that recognizes the transformation that takes place in our lives as we come to faith and accept it as our own. A wise woman named Corrie Ten Boom told me when I was just a child, “God has no grandchildren”. I did not fully understand what it was she was saying to me. That came later as I realized that just because my parents were believers did not mean that I was. It was something I needed to accept for myself.

Even though it is normative to baptise infants, there still comes a time when each of us is called on to accept the responsibility that comes with serving God. That is why adult baptisms are such special occasions. They are not being baptised as is sometimes the case with infants simply as a formality, as something that parents have “done” to their children. They are responding to God’s call. They are recognizing the longing in their hearts. They are feeling that need to belong, to be a child of God.

I see my own reflection in the waters of baptism as well. I know the story of that day, both from my parents and from my godparents. I certainly do not remember the event. I was a little over a month old. What I do know is that something extraordinary in my life took place that day in that small church in Byng. It was the most important day of my life. The fact that I am baptized fills me with sheer wonder. To know that God has received me as a God’s child is a source of endless joy. That day I became a member of the Body of Christ. It was the beginning of a life long journey of discovery about God, but also about myself. It amazes me to think that God says about me, “Here is another one of my beloved children”.

So what difference has your baptism made in your life? There are consequences to baptism. We are redeemed and reconciled by the Spirit. We are called to follow Jesus. We have the task of being light to the nations, of opening blind eyes, of bringing prisoners out of bondage, of feeding and clothing the poor and hungry. We are called to serve God. We are called to be Christ in a broken and needy world.

That brings me to the final reflection in the waters of the font. For reflected there in all of his risen glory, I see the face of Christ. Amen.

Baptism of Our Lord, Year C

Beloved of God

Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke’s account of the baptism of Jesus is nothing extraordinary.  He is simply one of the many people in the that day who come out to the wilderness to be baptised by John.  It is not until after his baptism while he is praying that the Holy Spirit comes to him in a special way.  A voice proclaims, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  This call from God, this naming, is not something that those around him hear. But Jesus hears and understands. Beloved, the voice from Heaven proclaims. It is spoken with such power that it brings with it a change in direction in Jesus' life. Beloved, that name spoken and taken in by Jesus equips him to do the ministry for which God has called him. With that naming of Beloved Jesus assumes his prophetic call.

It is a watershed moment in his’ life.  A new light suddenly dawns on him, a new beginning. Beloved becomes the name that he carries with him into his life, into his teachings. It is the name he gives to those he meets, those in need of healing, those in need of inclusion, those in need of hope, those in need of love.
 
This naming of Jesus as Beloved celebrates his uniqueness and his role as a model for all who will be baptised. Baptism is a radical moment in the lives of each of us.  One person described it as “this holy moment when we are named by God's grace with such power it won't come undone.” God names us Beloved. For by baptism, we share in the same relationship and mission that God had with Jesus.  Baptism is a gift and a calling.  It initiates the work of God and Christ in and through us.  It commissions and empowers us for ministry. It is a naming of who we are and what we will become.

For most of us though, it does not seem to be a very radical occurrence.  If you are a “cradle” Anglican it is highly unlikely that you even remember anything about your baptism.  Your parents likely brought you for baptism as an infant.  There were no claps of thunder.  There was no voice from Heaven, at least not audible to you or those around you. And yet you need to understand that something very significant happened that can sustain you throughout the whole of your life. For Baptism identified you as God's Beloved, as Christ’s own.  It is the most important event in your Christian life. 
 
Each of us is called, by virtue of our baptism to share in the ministry of Christ. Through baptism we respond to an intimate call to become known by God's name.  By baptism we share in the same relationship and mission that God had with Jesus.  It empowers us to stand with those whom the world sees as unlovely and unlovable and to affirm that in God's realm there is compassion.  Baptism initiates the work of the Spirit in and through us.  It gives us the responsibility for others.  It identifies us as God's children and servants.  It calls us to action.  

Today as we celebrate the baptism of our Lord, we will renew our own baptismal covenant. How do we respond to the promises made at our baptism?  Somehow or other we need to accept them as our own.  We need to take responsibility for our Christian life.  We need to accept the relationship to God, which was formalized at our baptism.   We need to accept that God has called each of us.  We accept those words of Isaiah, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” 

The prophet Isaiah was speaking to the Israelites who were going through a time of tribulation and unrest. He is reminding them that despite all indications to the contrary, God is faithful. God has chosen them to be God's people, God's beloved. They will pass through troubling times over and over again. “When you will pass throught the waters,” God tells them, “I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” When things happen to us, we get stuck. We forget that God has been there for us in the past. We forget that while bad things have happened, we have not been forgotten by God. In fact sometimes it seems that it is more that we have forgotten that we belong to God, that we are beloved of God.
 
That realization comes to us through God’s Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is not some mysterious and unattainable gift.  It is meant to be part of the experience of each one of us.  That is the story behind the reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and John have gone to Samaria to be with those who have been converted and baptised. Their task it to pray that these people might receive the Holy Spirit. What they do is simply to affirm what God is doing in the life of the community. We do not have to look for some unusual happening in our lives.  We do not have to speak in tongues or proclaim great prophetic words.  We do need to recognize the times when God is truly present with us.  Then we will know and understand that indeed the spirit is upon us. 
 
Early in the New Year, a parishioner said to me, "we need to share good news, good stories of what is happening in our lives.  Good things that God is doing in our lives."  She is so right.  Good things are happening in this parish. Good things are happening to people in our parish. Is it not wonderful news that we were able to raise more funds for FaithWorks than last year? Is it not wonderful that our congregation is growing? Is it not wonderful news that even in the midst of difficulty, if we look for God, God is there? 

I know that many of you are aware of how God is at work in your lives. I know because you tell me.  We need to share those good news stories with each other. 
 
God has called us by name.  The question remains, will we accept the mission and ministry that God is calling us to?  We moan that the church is a dying institution.  It will not be a dying institution if we all take our ministry as the people of God seriously.  We often think that ministry is for those who are trained.  But more often all it takes is being a good listener.  It may seem as if one is doing nothing.  But in this day and age when no one has time for anyone else, a listening ear is a fine gift. 
 
Praise is a fine gift as well.  Praise helps immeasurably one whose self-esteem is low.  Yet what a small gift it is.  And it is one that we all have an opportunity to use. If we do, it will make a radical difference to our community.

We need to practice the gift of compassion. We live in a lonely society where many need to feel that they are loved.

Hope is such an important gift in our day. We can look around us at the state of society and simply give up. The ability to offer hope to one who is suffering or lonely or afraid can turn a life around.

The opportunities for ministry are all around us.  Such opportunities build up the life of the community.  And the most wonderful thing about ministry is that through reaching out to others, our own lives are enriched.  We are brought into a closer relationship with God and with other people.  So take it in.  Really know it and understand it.  God has called you by name, and you belong to God. 

It was quite an event, my baptism. Not that I remember it! Oh! I have heard the stories about that day. So even though my memory does not hold it, I know that it was the most important day in my life. The fact that I am baptised fills me with sheer wonder. To know, to really know that I am God's child, God's Beloved, is a source of deep joy. That is what keeps me praying that I will live faithfully as God's child. In the silence of my heart I imagine God proclaiming, “Here is another one of my beloved children!” Amen.