First Sunday after the Epiphany
Baptism of Jesus
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
"God Alive and Well"
15* As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ,
16* John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
17* His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
21* Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,
22* and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family’s sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life.
Those words were,"Hush child, God ain’t dead!" 1
God ain’t dead. God is alive and well in this world. God’s grace is alive and well in this world. God through His son, Jesus Christ is alive and well in this world.
For all those who are living in burnt out shacks, God ain’t dead, he is alive and well. For all those who are living with the brokenness of life, God ain’t dead.
Our gospel lesson this morning is the story of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus was baptized as a sign of his beginning ministry in the world. A ministry that continues to this day.
Jesus’ baptism was a sign of His ministry among us. Our baptism is a sign of our ministry, our role in the church of Christ.
Baptism is not an insurance policy to heaven, but baptism is our boarding pass to a lifetime with Jesus. Baptism begins a relationship with Jesus which is nourished, feed, strengthen, enriched and kept alive by faithfully availing one’s self to God’s means of grace, the word and the sacraments, especially communion. Our journey through life with Jesus needs the encouragement, the strength, the lasting power of a faithful presence in and with the community of believers.
In a certain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He decided to build a church for a legacy.
The completed plans for the church were kept secret. When the people gathered, they marveled at the church’s beauty and completeness.
Following many comments of praise, as astute observer inquired "But where are the lamps? How will the church be lighted?"
Without answering, the nobleman pointed to some brackets in the wall; he then gave to each family a lamp to be carried to the worship service and hung it on the wall. "Each time you are here, the area where you are seated will be lighted," the nobleman explained. "Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. Whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s house will be dark."
Along with being included and wanted in God’s family, baptism allows us equal access to God’s grace. The good news of God through Christ, God is no respecter of persons. In God’s eyes all are equal.
The following illustrates that point. "In a stately church a noticeably untidy man visited the church for the first time. He was met by one of the smartly-dressed ushers who immediately ushered him to a back pew so that his unkept appearance and foul odor would not upset the decorum of the church.
Another first time visitor stood in the foyer. He was neatly groomed and made a striking appearance in his dark pinned stripped suit. One of the ushers strode proudly down the aisle with him and seated him in the front of the church.
Following the service, the president or the congregation invited the man to dinner at his home.
As they were seated around the table, the food was passed. The visitor helped himself to the delicious looking potatoes placing them on his plate. But then he did a strange thing, he scooped the potatoes into his suit coat pocket. The family watched as he proceeded to do the same with the carrots and the meat. Unable to keep silent any longer the father asked, "Why are you pouring the food into your coat pocket?" The visitor smiled and answered politely, "Judging from where you seated the visitor who came in before me I gather that you invited my suit to lunch so I’m feeding it."
Peter says in the second lesson,"Truly, I perceive that God shows no partiality...." In the eyes of God, each person is equal. You and I stand before God as sinners and through our Baptism we stand before God as heirs to his throne because of Christ’s salvation work through the cross which he bestowed upon us equally. There are no class of saints in heaven. Grace is bestowed upon all of us equally. Paul says in Galatians, 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
The body of Christ, the church, the community of faith is God’s gift to us through Baptism. Because it is a gift we have no right to limit God’s gift, or restrict it, or somehow believe that it is ours. The body of Christ, the church knows no bounds. It is the free gift of God to those who have experienced God’s grace in Baptism as our faith and trust in God’s grace might grow and mature.
Because we are brothers and sisters equally in Christ, as the faithful community of Christ we care, help, pray for, support, those brothers and sisters in the community as if they are indeed "blood relatives."
Also, we pray for, minister to, and evangelize those who ore not members of the body so they might know the love and grace we have experienced in Christ. We do not hoard the good news of Christ, but give it freely to others.
We are in the Epiphany season where we emphasize the light of Christ, the light which shines in the darkness.
Christ is a light which shines in our individual lives and at the same time a light which is spread to others.
Think about a candle for a moment. A candle loses nothing by lighting a another candle. In fact it gains, because there is now two candles in which to see in the darkness. Instead of one light piercing the darkness, now there are two. Each light gives strength and courage to the other. Each soul, each person in the body of Christ gives strength, courage, faith and hope, to the others as they walk together in the darkness of this world.
As Dietrick Bonhoeffer says in his book "Life Together":
" God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother/sister, in the mouth of a man/ woman. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him/her. He/she needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying their truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother, his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure."
Baptism is a unique event in our lives. It is an event which includes everyone. It is applied to each one equally. And it leads us to be responsible for each other in the community. Baptism is to be a light of hope and strength for those in Christ and to those who are still searching.
May your light shine.
Amen
Written by Rev Tim Zingale January 2, 2007
1 from James DeLoach, associate pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Houston, quoted in When God Was Taken Captive, W. Aldrich, Multnomah, 1989, p. 24
