A Sermon Shared With the People of St. Matthew’s, January 8, 2012

First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord

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

My sophomore year of high school, I was baptized and my identity changed. No longer was I Blair Pogue, free agent. I became Blair Pogue, student of Jesus. I wish there had been a Jesus for Dummies book then, because I could have used it; I was starting from scratch. Over time I continued to grapple with and claim the love and grace God had been offering me from the beginning. I stumbled along, learning more about God and what baptism into Christ actually meant. Since my baptism every day, every moment has provided an opportunity to say “yes,” to God. Those times I said “yes” to the God who created me, I was also able to say “yes” to others. Saying “yes” to God gave me, in the words of the U2 song “breathe,” the chance to be reborn every day.

Being reborn in Christ every day doesn’t always come easy. While My Christian identity brought joy, many wonderful experiences, and learnings, it also brought challenges and pain. In my family of origin, and throughout my life, following the Way of Jesus was a choice that sometimes brought division and distance.

I’m guessing that many of you were baptized as infants. As your life unfolded you then had to decide, daily, if you would accept God’s love, grace and claim on your life, or reject it. I’m imagining that some of you had the same experience as me – sometimes embracing and living your Christian identity and other times ignoring it. In the days ahead, as becoming a Christian and committing to a faith community is more of a conscious choice and calling than a cultural expectation, I am hoping baptism will reclaim the power it originally had. Baptism into Christ is a powerful, life-changing sacrament.

At Jesus’ baptism, recounted in Mark’s Gospel, the heavens were torn apart, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” I wonder if the Holy Spirit gave a hint or preview of Jesus’ life in the days to come. Knowing he was God’s beloved, Jesus not only had powerful experiences of truth telling, reconciliation and healing those who had suffered for many years, but also of persecution, misunderstanding and death. While the Holy Spirit can comfort us, and bring people together, it can’t be tamed or controlled.

When we are baptized into God’s family, we receive the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is critical. That’s why Paul, in today’s reading from Acts, re-baptized the disciples who had only received a baptism of repentance. Repentance, meaning turning from our sins or whatever separates us from God and others, is an important first step in the process of becoming a follower of Jesus. The next step is receiving the Holy Spirit, the one who will give us the power, courage and words to proclaim and live the Good News of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection.

The Holy Spirit isn’t given for our spiritual well being alone, but for the well being of the entire community. The Holy Spirit brings us together with other followers of Jesus across countries, cultures, and whatever divides us. Remember what happened at Pentecost? People heard God’s deeds of wonder and power preached in their native tongue. The Spirit is the one who enables us to do the important and often difficult work of reconciliation across formidable barriers. According to theologian Michael Welker, the Holy Spirit is a personal, public presence who makes God’s power knowable. Just think about those times in your life when something powerful happened in a faith community you belonged to, or in the world. How, for instance, was apartheid abolished? What happened to make the Liberian warlords stop killing their fellow country men and women? What enabled Vaclav Havel and his people stand up to communist authorities in former Czechoslovakia? Think about the thousands of men and women baptized into Jesus’ name these last couple of years in Uganda, Nigeria, and China.

In today’s media China is usually portrayed as a formidable power on the rise, and our competitor. Globalization in China and elsewhere brings conflict, division, and mistrust. Thankfully through the Holy Spirit received at baptism, God makes us one with men and women around the world. We are able to be reconciled to each other and to seek the greatest good for all. As Christians our primary identity is not as citizens of the U.S., China, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, or wherever we may originally be from, but as citizens of heaven. Whatever differences or divisions may exist between countries and ethnic groups, we are one in Christ. Our common identity in Christ enables us to treasure the richness of the different cultures and customs in this room.

We North American Christians have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world, including Chinese Christians. So many of them face and have faced persecution for their faith, as we learned earlier this morning. For them, receiving God’s claim upon their lives involves more courage than most of us can imagine. Today and throughout the month of January we have the opportunity to hear the Gospel afresh from our Chinese parishioners and visitors.

Epiphany, the church season we are in right now, is a time in which we think about the many ways God has appeared and continues to appear to us. It is a season of gifts and gift givers. The Magi traveled a long distance to see the baby Jesus, to worship him, and to give him the most precious gifts they could find. The gift God most treasures is the gift of our lives, our whole selves. God wants us to live fully, deeply, joyfully, in meaningful, reconciled relationships with those close to us, and around the world. Epiphany is also the season when we celebrate the fact that Jesus revealed himself to the nations, not just to one particular tribe or nation. This Epiphany we give thanks for the opportunity to explore the rich history, culture, music and art of China, and to learn what God is up to among the Chinese people

In a few minutes we will feast together at God’s table. Our altar reminds us of the heavenly banquet table where God dines with God’s beloved from every tribe and nation. The more varied the gathering of people around the altar table, the greater the glimpse of God’s vision for life.

My dream for St. Matthew’s is not only that we celebrate the richness of the world and cultures God has given us, but that our faith community look more and more like God’s Kingdom each Sunday. How might God be calling us to be ever more fully a faith community that reflects the breadth and riches of God’s creation? Can you hear the voice of God reminding you that you are God’s beloved, and that those around you are God’s beloved too? Let’s take a few minutes to ponder these questions in silence, and listen for God’s voice. Amen.