The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30
I spend a lot of time wondering what God is calling me to do. You’d think I might have figured it out by now, but that is simply not the case. It’s not that I have no idea. I believe I have made many choices in my life in response to what God’s call. It’s just that the path ahead of me never seems to remain obvious for long. Let me be clear. I do not believe that God has a plan for each of us and that our life’s calling is to figure that plan out and make it so. I think God’s work of creation is much more active and exciting than that. I believe creation is going on all the time and that we are part of it--all the time. I believe that there is a place for us in creation. I just don’t believe that there is one set of steps we are each meant to dance.
It might be easier if that were true; then I wouldn’t spend so much of my time on the hard work of discernment. That is, figuring out what I am being called to do or be. Besides, if God really had it that specifically set out for us, and if God loves us, wouldn’t God just give us the map? What I do believe is that God calls each of us and sets us free within creation to make choices. God gives us gifts and wants us to use them. God delights in seeing what we can make of them.
The church teaches that these gifts are for the building up of the body of Christ. That’s what it says in our Catechism (p. 855 in the Book of Common Prayer, if you’re curious). Under the section titled The Ministry, the first question asked is, “Who are the ministers of the Church?” The answer: lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons. The next question: “What is the ministry of the laity?” The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be, and according to the gifts given to them to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.
So, according to church teaching, we are all ministers. We are all called. We are all given gifts. In the passage from Jeremiah we have a picture of what a call looks like. In fact, this passage is known as the Call of Jeremiah. It is pretty powerful stuff. “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet…’” When Jeremiah protests that this call is beyond him, God offers encouragement and support. Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’ you will be able to do this. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. God gives Jeremiah the tools he needs, literally putting the words into his mouth. God knows, God consecrates, God appoints, God encourages, supports, and provides the necessary tools.
Now, let me remind you that this passage is the call of Jeremiah. It is not the call of Anne or Jean or Robert. As far as I know, not one of us called to be the prophet to Israel in the time of the fall of Jerusalem. In fact, it would be silly if not even dangerous for us to try to be Jeremiah. Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester in the 16th century and a well known preacher wrote, “We are not to follow the saints in their vocation. We are to follow God in our vocation. If we try to do what the saints did, we may miss our own calling.” (Bishop Latimer was martyred in 1555) We can admire the saints and be inspired by the saints, but we are meant to live our own vocations, not someone else’s. In fact, Bishop Latimer points out that if we try too hard to be someone else, we will miss who we are. God knows who we are is important, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Is there anyone that God does not know? God knows, God consecrates, God appoints, God encourages, supports, and provides the necessary tools for each of us.
We have been reminded of this the past few weeks as we have heard the words of St. Paul to the church in Corinth. St. Paul wrote to remind the folks in Corinth what it means to be the people of God, that God calls us all, but not for all the same work. There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good and—just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1st Corinthians 12:4, 7, 12, 27) and now—and I will show you an even more excellent way and Paul launches into one of the most quoted passages of scripture—all about love.
This passage from 1st Corinthians is a favorite passage to read at weddings. But I am here to tell you it has nothing to do with romance; it has everything to do with following our vocation—with being the body of Christ. Paul is not telling us only how to love the person we are in love with; Paul is telling us how we are to be with all people at all times. If we ignore it because we think it is sweet and romantic or because we’ve heard it before, then we will really miss the point. Paul, a man of great skill and ambition is ever there was one, is talking to us right here and right now.
We can follow our call. We can identify and use our spiritual gifts. We can take our place with the body of Christ. But… if we do any of this without love, it fails. Paul would look around the room and say, “Look at all these marvelous gifts! Some of you have gifts of musical expression, some of reading, some of leading others, and some of hospitality. Some of you are teachers while others have gifts of administration. Some of you are called to be architects, or parents, or mentors, or technicians. But no matter what you do, or how gifted you are in small ways or in great ways, if your gift is exercised without love, it falls flat as far as this community is concerned. Gifts without love have no power. But a gift plus love equals ministry.
Knowing how to love like this is not easy. Being able to love patiently and kindly, using our gifts without insisting on our own way, is not easy. Love is not simple. We cannot engage in loving action on automatic pilot. As beautiful and familiar as these words are, they are not the easy sentiment of a greeting card—they are the truth of the gospel. They carry the power of life in Christ. Jesus came into the world to witness God’s love to us. Jesus showed those around him what it looked like to love God and to love others. It was not a sentimental picture. His kind of loving almost got him thrown off a cliff in his hometown. His kind of loving did get him killed in the end. And his kind of loving was stronger than death. That love never ends.
Our striving will end. Our accomplishments will end. Our good deeds and acts of power and words of wisdom will end. Our governments and nations and world domination will end. What will be left is love. What would it look like to strive for love? What would it look like to strive to be loving, with all our ambition, with all our strength, with all our cunning and skill and intelligence? With all our heart and soul and mind and strength? It might look like following God in our vocation. It might look like being the body of Christ. It might look like God’s creation: redeemed and perfect.
Where is God calling you today? What will you strive for today?
Copyright © 2007 Anne E. Kitch
(Hugh Latimer quote is from Fruitful Sermons as quoted in Nearer to the Heart of God: Daily Readings with the Christian Mystics, edited by Bernard Bangly, Paraclete 2005)
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Epiphany 3: It's not done yet
The Ven. Richard I Cluett
January 21, 2007
Nehemiah 8:1-10 + 1Cor 12:12-31a + Luke 4:14-21
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
When you look around do you see it fulfilled? Do you see it done yet? Do you see those held captive by war, by poverty, by disease, by debt, by want and need – do you see them being released? I don’t. It’s not done yet.
Do you see the year of the Lord’s favor being lived out – at any time in your lifetime? Do you see an equitable distribution of the goods of this world – of food, of medicines, of water, of education? I don’t. It’s not done yet.
The BBC World Service reported a United Nations study in mid-December that stated, “The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth… the poorer half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth.”
The year of the Lord’s favor, the Jubilee year, was the most radical part of the Law, the Torah, the Covenant between God and the people. Every fifty years debts were to be forgiven, land redistributed fairly – in other words every fifty years we are to be giving each other the opportunity to start over, to do it better by helping each other.
It was in the Law of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and it was in the re-establishment of the Law given in the reading by Ezra the priest in the reign of Nehemiah. Israel had been released from captivity in Babylon and returned to rebuild the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem – to begin again, to start over. It was the basis for Ezra and Nehemiah’s call to rejoice. Captives were released. Land was redistributed. It was deemed to be a year of the Lord’s favor.
But, in our day and time? Fulfilled? I don’t see it. It’s not done yet.
When Jesus hands the scroll back to the minister and sits down, one of the translations of Luke reads that Jesus told the people “Today this scripture which you have heard is being brought to fulfillment.” …being brought to fulfillment. The fulfillment is begun in Jesus of Nazareth. But it is not done yet.
Would that all God’s people – which means – would that all people – could “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to those who have nothing.”
And find in their lives, in each life, that seed of joy planted by God in each person, and nurture it in themselves and in one another so that it grows and grows and bursts forth at any moment and in odd moments and spills out and spills over all those around them until eventually all the world is infected with that joy. Until each of us in any and every circumstance of life, in good season and bad, in abundant times and in times of deprivation can touch that place where God has planted joy.
In that day scripture will finally and completely be fulfilled. What was begun in Jesus will be completed, when all know that joy of being God’s own, and that joy of caring for God’s own. What a day that will be! It will be like unto the day when Ezra read the Law to the people of God and called them to joy.
Lest you are beginning to think so, let me state that this is not a “Be Happy” sermon. This is not me telling you that when you are in the midst of want – of whatever kind – you should be happy. I am not talking about “being happy”.
Have you ever been surprised by joy? You are just sitting there alone or with others, it makes no difference. And you begin to feel welling up in yourself from your very center, your core, in even a physical way, this feeling of overwhelming joy? You can’t account for it, you can’t explain why you have it, it is just there and it over flows – and you know it overflows because of the tears - and if you are with others they can see in your face this divine gift – this joy. And you have been surprised by joy.
I have seen that. I have experienced that. I have known that. And I have witnessed that. I pray God that you have as well. I have seen it in everyday life. I have seen it the oddest moments of life. I have seen it in the faces of some of the most deprived persons on the face of the earth. I have seen it in the midst of the liturgy, in the beauty of music. I have seen it in the face of one prepared to die. And on and on. Joy breaks out.
In this life, I am firmly convinced, God’s plan is for us to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to those who have nothing.” That’s the nature of God’s kingdom. That is the nature of God’s reign. It is the work of Jesus. It is the work of the Church. That is, we are told in scripture, what heaven will be like – a banquet prepared for all people.
But, its not done yet. Scripture is being fulfilled, but it is not fulfilled yet. It has been a while since we have had, since we have made, a Jubilee Year. The work of Jesus is not done. The work of his people is not done.
When it is done, when it is fulfilled it will look and feel, I think, like the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr given that day on the mall in Washington:
“… all of God's children, black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, (and I would add; rich and poor) will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”
It will be the Day of the Lord’s Favor. Then it will be done. Then we will see it. Then we will be done. Then we will know true joy. Then all will be fulfilled.
Thanks be to God.
January 21, 2007
Nehemiah 8:1-10 + 1Cor 12:12-31a + Luke 4:14-21
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
When you look around do you see it fulfilled? Do you see it done yet? Do you see those held captive by war, by poverty, by disease, by debt, by want and need – do you see them being released? I don’t. It’s not done yet.
Do you see the year of the Lord’s favor being lived out – at any time in your lifetime? Do you see an equitable distribution of the goods of this world – of food, of medicines, of water, of education? I don’t. It’s not done yet.
The BBC World Service reported a United Nations study in mid-December that stated, “The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth… the poorer half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth.”
The year of the Lord’s favor, the Jubilee year, was the most radical part of the Law, the Torah, the Covenant between God and the people. Every fifty years debts were to be forgiven, land redistributed fairly – in other words every fifty years we are to be giving each other the opportunity to start over, to do it better by helping each other.
It was in the Law of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and it was in the re-establishment of the Law given in the reading by Ezra the priest in the reign of Nehemiah. Israel had been released from captivity in Babylon and returned to rebuild the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem – to begin again, to start over. It was the basis for Ezra and Nehemiah’s call to rejoice. Captives were released. Land was redistributed. It was deemed to be a year of the Lord’s favor.
But, in our day and time? Fulfilled? I don’t see it. It’s not done yet.
When Jesus hands the scroll back to the minister and sits down, one of the translations of Luke reads that Jesus told the people “Today this scripture which you have heard is being brought to fulfillment.” …being brought to fulfillment. The fulfillment is begun in Jesus of Nazareth. But it is not done yet.
Would that all God’s people – which means – would that all people – could “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to those who have nothing.”
And find in their lives, in each life, that seed of joy planted by God in each person, and nurture it in themselves and in one another so that it grows and grows and bursts forth at any moment and in odd moments and spills out and spills over all those around them until eventually all the world is infected with that joy. Until each of us in any and every circumstance of life, in good season and bad, in abundant times and in times of deprivation can touch that place where God has planted joy.
In that day scripture will finally and completely be fulfilled. What was begun in Jesus will be completed, when all know that joy of being God’s own, and that joy of caring for God’s own. What a day that will be! It will be like unto the day when Ezra read the Law to the people of God and called them to joy.
Lest you are beginning to think so, let me state that this is not a “Be Happy” sermon. This is not me telling you that when you are in the midst of want – of whatever kind – you should be happy. I am not talking about “being happy”.
Have you ever been surprised by joy? You are just sitting there alone or with others, it makes no difference. And you begin to feel welling up in yourself from your very center, your core, in even a physical way, this feeling of overwhelming joy? You can’t account for it, you can’t explain why you have it, it is just there and it over flows – and you know it overflows because of the tears - and if you are with others they can see in your face this divine gift – this joy. And you have been surprised by joy.
I have seen that. I have experienced that. I have known that. And I have witnessed that. I pray God that you have as well. I have seen it in everyday life. I have seen it the oddest moments of life. I have seen it in the faces of some of the most deprived persons on the face of the earth. I have seen it in the midst of the liturgy, in the beauty of music. I have seen it in the face of one prepared to die. And on and on. Joy breaks out.
In this life, I am firmly convinced, God’s plan is for us to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to those who have nothing.” That’s the nature of God’s kingdom. That is the nature of God’s reign. It is the work of Jesus. It is the work of the Church. That is, we are told in scripture, what heaven will be like – a banquet prepared for all people.
But, its not done yet. Scripture is being fulfilled, but it is not fulfilled yet. It has been a while since we have had, since we have made, a Jubilee Year. The work of Jesus is not done. The work of his people is not done.
When it is done, when it is fulfilled it will look and feel, I think, like the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr given that day on the mall in Washington:
“… all of God's children, black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, (and I would add; rich and poor) will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”
It will be the Day of the Lord’s Favor. Then it will be done. Then we will see it. Then we will be done. Then we will know true joy. Then all will be fulfilled.
Thanks be to God.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Epiphany 2C: Got Faith?
The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11
Have you seen the “Got Faith” billboards? They show an open spigot with water pouring out and by the time the water reaches the glass held beneath it, it has turned to wine. Got Faith? I love these billboards. I love the connection to the “Got Milk” ads. The idea that faith is as wholesome and healthy and perhaps as everyday as milk appeals to me. The dairy commission began the “Got Milk” ads to boast an industry that was faltering because people weren’t drinking milk. Kids were drinking soda and juice and even health conscious adults were avoiding what they perceived of as a fattening drink. The brilliance of the “Got Milk” ads is their portrayal of milk as something fun and cool. Something that athletes and celebrities enjoy. Something everyone can and should have. Something good for you and good to drink. If you were cool, you too would drink milk.
I love to think all the same things about faith--that it is fun and “sweet.” That it is good for you and tastes good too. That it is something everyday and accessible. And what if it is something that athletes and celebrities enjoy? I wonder what a “faith” mustache would look like!
The “Got Faith” ads play on something else as well--the miracle of water turned into wine, the miracle of the Wedding at Cana. If you didn’t remember where the water-turned-into-wine story happened, here it is. It is told only in John’s Gospel where it occurs early in Jesus’ ministry. We are told that it was the first of his signs, works that he would perform that revealed his glory and indicated that he was not just any rabbi. We preserve that tradition in our marriage liturgy in this church where the opening lines of the service state that “our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.” (BCP p. 423)
But while the image of marriage is highlighted in the Gospel and in the reading from Isaiah this morning, I want to tell you that this story is not about how wonderful marriage is, nor is it a testimony for the state of marriage suggesting that we should all be in it. It is about faith. Now faith is an integral part of marriage. No doubt you know this whether marriage is part of your life or not. But more than that, faith is an integral part of what it means to be a community and marriage is really a microcosm of a community of faith. It is one example of how two people can live in covenant with one another and choose to love their neighbor as self. We are not all called to marriage. We are all called to love our neighbor. We are all called to community and to faith. Just what does that mean? Let’s look at this miracle.
The wedding takes place on “the third day” a clear foreshadowing of the resurrection. So its celebration might perhaps give us a taste of the Kingdom of God to come. Jesus and his disciples, his followers, had been invited. We, as Jesus followers, are invited to the Great Feast--the eternal banquet in the Kingdom of God. But in the Cana celebration on this side of the resurrection, the feast is about to falter. The wine runs out. There is no more. This is not just a matter of a host running out of food. It is a matter of a celebration coming to an end. Yet, Jesus is present and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection will never end. So what will Jesus do?
His mother, having faith in him and being the teacher that shows us the way, tells the servants (tells us) to “do whatever he tells you.” There are empty water jars nearby. Six huge stone water jars each holding 20-30 gallons (imagine a large garbage can is usually 30 gallons). They have nothing to do with the wedding, but Jesus tells those there to fill them. And they do--to the brim. Now in a desert country, 180 gallons of water is already an abundance. And I am sure that filling them was no small task. But there is more. And that is the truth about God working with us and in us--there is always more, much more. So Jesus tells them to take a cup of water to the chief steward.
It is in the tasting that the wine is discovered. The steward didn’t know the wine was out. He didn’t know that water had been drawn. He didn’t know that Jesus was behind the miracle. But we know. So what does this have to do with us? I think the “Got Faith” ads may mislead us just a bit. It is not our faith that turns the water into wine. It is not simply a matter of believing hard enough. In the miracle of Cana, faith fills empty water jars just because Jesus said so. Jesus turns the water into wine.
So…have you been filling any empty water jars lately? I can’t help but think of how this plays out in times of change and transition. The old wine is gone. It has been enjoyed. It has run its course. Now it is no more, and no amount of pining after it or forming committees to discuss why it ran out will bring it back. But that does not mean the party has to be over. We have another choice in times of transition and in times of change. We can be people of faith. We can listen to Jesus and get busy filling water jars.
From where I stand, the people of Nativity have been doing just that. People have stepped out in faith, stepped out in leadership, stepped out in care for others following Jesus’ instructions. People here have found new ways to feed the hungry, care for the downtrodden, speak wisdom and knowledge through the Spirit. And I can tell you that some have tasted from the water you have gathered and discovered it is new wine. The faith that we need is not a faith that makes things happen because we believe the right things strongly enough. Turning water into wine is an act of Christ, not a work of our belief. Our faith is about filling the empty jars with water, with what we have, and letting Jesus do the rest. Our faith is about sticking with the community, even when it seems the party is over, and holding on for the new wine that God will bring.
In this time of our mortal life, the wine does run out. In our relationships, in our jobs, in our households and communities, the wine does run out. Feasts on this side of the resurrection always end. But we don’t have to call it quits. We can fill empty jars with water, with hope, with joy. We can fill them to the brim with the expectation of abundance and then trust that God will turn it to wine. Taste and see!
Amen.
copyright Anne E. Kitch © 2007
Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11
Have you seen the “Got Faith” billboards? They show an open spigot with water pouring out and by the time the water reaches the glass held beneath it, it has turned to wine. Got Faith? I love these billboards. I love the connection to the “Got Milk” ads. The idea that faith is as wholesome and healthy and perhaps as everyday as milk appeals to me. The dairy commission began the “Got Milk” ads to boast an industry that was faltering because people weren’t drinking milk. Kids were drinking soda and juice and even health conscious adults were avoiding what they perceived of as a fattening drink. The brilliance of the “Got Milk” ads is their portrayal of milk as something fun and cool. Something that athletes and celebrities enjoy. Something everyone can and should have. Something good for you and good to drink. If you were cool, you too would drink milk.
I love to think all the same things about faith--that it is fun and “sweet.” That it is good for you and tastes good too. That it is something everyday and accessible. And what if it is something that athletes and celebrities enjoy? I wonder what a “faith” mustache would look like!
The “Got Faith” ads play on something else as well--the miracle of water turned into wine, the miracle of the Wedding at Cana. If you didn’t remember where the water-turned-into-wine story happened, here it is. It is told only in John’s Gospel where it occurs early in Jesus’ ministry. We are told that it was the first of his signs, works that he would perform that revealed his glory and indicated that he was not just any rabbi. We preserve that tradition in our marriage liturgy in this church where the opening lines of the service state that “our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.” (BCP p. 423)
But while the image of marriage is highlighted in the Gospel and in the reading from Isaiah this morning, I want to tell you that this story is not about how wonderful marriage is, nor is it a testimony for the state of marriage suggesting that we should all be in it. It is about faith. Now faith is an integral part of marriage. No doubt you know this whether marriage is part of your life or not. But more than that, faith is an integral part of what it means to be a community and marriage is really a microcosm of a community of faith. It is one example of how two people can live in covenant with one another and choose to love their neighbor as self. We are not all called to marriage. We are all called to love our neighbor. We are all called to community and to faith. Just what does that mean? Let’s look at this miracle.
The wedding takes place on “the third day” a clear foreshadowing of the resurrection. So its celebration might perhaps give us a taste of the Kingdom of God to come. Jesus and his disciples, his followers, had been invited. We, as Jesus followers, are invited to the Great Feast--the eternal banquet in the Kingdom of God. But in the Cana celebration on this side of the resurrection, the feast is about to falter. The wine runs out. There is no more. This is not just a matter of a host running out of food. It is a matter of a celebration coming to an end. Yet, Jesus is present and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection will never end. So what will Jesus do?
His mother, having faith in him and being the teacher that shows us the way, tells the servants (tells us) to “do whatever he tells you.” There are empty water jars nearby. Six huge stone water jars each holding 20-30 gallons (imagine a large garbage can is usually 30 gallons). They have nothing to do with the wedding, but Jesus tells those there to fill them. And they do--to the brim. Now in a desert country, 180 gallons of water is already an abundance. And I am sure that filling them was no small task. But there is more. And that is the truth about God working with us and in us--there is always more, much more. So Jesus tells them to take a cup of water to the chief steward.
It is in the tasting that the wine is discovered. The steward didn’t know the wine was out. He didn’t know that water had been drawn. He didn’t know that Jesus was behind the miracle. But we know. So what does this have to do with us? I think the “Got Faith” ads may mislead us just a bit. It is not our faith that turns the water into wine. It is not simply a matter of believing hard enough. In the miracle of Cana, faith fills empty water jars just because Jesus said so. Jesus turns the water into wine.
So…have you been filling any empty water jars lately? I can’t help but think of how this plays out in times of change and transition. The old wine is gone. It has been enjoyed. It has run its course. Now it is no more, and no amount of pining after it or forming committees to discuss why it ran out will bring it back. But that does not mean the party has to be over. We have another choice in times of transition and in times of change. We can be people of faith. We can listen to Jesus and get busy filling water jars.
From where I stand, the people of Nativity have been doing just that. People have stepped out in faith, stepped out in leadership, stepped out in care for others following Jesus’ instructions. People here have found new ways to feed the hungry, care for the downtrodden, speak wisdom and knowledge through the Spirit. And I can tell you that some have tasted from the water you have gathered and discovered it is new wine. The faith that we need is not a faith that makes things happen because we believe the right things strongly enough. Turning water into wine is an act of Christ, not a work of our belief. Our faith is about filling the empty jars with water, with what we have, and letting Jesus do the rest. Our faith is about sticking with the community, even when it seems the party is over, and holding on for the new wine that God will bring.
In this time of our mortal life, the wine does run out. In our relationships, in our jobs, in our households and communities, the wine does run out. Feasts on this side of the resurrection always end. But we don’t have to call it quits. We can fill empty jars with water, with hope, with joy. We can fill them to the brim with the expectation of abundance and then trust that God will turn it to wine. Taste and see!
Amen.
copyright Anne E. Kitch © 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Epiphany 1: The Baptism of Jesus ~ Truth be told
The Ven Richard I Cluett
January 7, 2007
Isaiah 43:1-7 + Acts 8:14-17 + Luke 3:15-17,21-22
Today I want to tell you a truth. You don’t have to be baptized to be a child of God. Each child, every child born of the flesh of a human mother and father is created by God, created in the image of God, is God’s child – son or daughter of God, simply by virtue of being God’s creation. All people are God’s people, every person is God’s person.
Jesus is God’s son in a unique and wonderfully mysterious way. That is shown to one and all on the banks of the Jordan River and to one and to all who hear of his baptism in the words of scripture. It must be important, it is reported in all four gospels.
Each of us here is God’s child in a unique and wonderfully mysterious way.
What is new in the Baptism of Jesus is the affirmation, the confirmation that this gift is for all people - everyone, without restriction, without merit, without limit, without requirement. Not even the requirement of John the Baptist that we repent.
In our tradition, we usually receive the baptism of Jesus as a child, before there is any need of repentance. As we all know, there is ample opportunity to repent, and repent, and repent, and repent... as we live out our lives and live in this relationship with God. The Good News is that no matter what, no matter whom, we can be baptized in the name of God, and know we are the beloved of God, and that Jesus is our truth and can empower our lives.
We are the beloved of God before, during, and after repentance. The baptism of Jesus was God's Revelation of that Good News, and our baptism is the sign that Good News is for us, too. And we claim it for ourselves and for our children. And so we baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
To be the Beloved of God. What an awesome Gift. What an incredible knowledge. What a welcome call - to live out our lives as the Beloved of God. If you want to really work at getting inside what it means to be the Beloved of the God, there is no better way to spend some time than with Henri Nouwen in his book, The Life of the Beloved.
It is true that the baptism of Jesus is for us. It is for us to know that Jesus is the child of God, that Jesus is the beloved of God, and that Jesus would stand with us in the muddy waters of the Jordan River, as he will stand with each of us in the muddy waters of life.
Do you remember that Advent 1 Collect that speaks and prays "Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us…"
That’s what baptism is about -- putting on the armor of Light -- the baptism of Jesus and the baptism of you and me and the baptism of little Ella later this morning.
God in Jesus of Nazareth has come to join us in this mortal life that you and I, each of us, live, plod through, slog through, and walk through everyday. He who is without sin has come to stand with those who do... sin. He is the one who deems each of us worthy to be baptized with the baptism by which he has been baptized and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and to be marked as God’s own forever.
Some of you may remember that our diocese had some association for a while with the Russian Orthodox Church through the ministry of Bishop Mark and a partner relationship between St. Nikolai Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and this cathedral. Many will remember that Bishop Mark's ministry took him to Russia at the invitation of the Patriarch to help support the Rus-sian Christians and the Orthodox Church in re-establishing and spreading their faith in the context of their new freedom.
When Bishop Mark returned from one of his visits he told me a baptism story that I want to share with you. It took place in St. Petersburg – which during the communist era was named Leningrad.
The priest emerged onto the street outside the church where the long Orthodox liturgy that had just taken place. As he did he met a young man who looked like one of the Hell’s Angel’s, although there was no motor-cycle in evidence - leather jacket, jeans, boots, and a bandanna on his head. He was carrying a bundle close to his chest. “Father,” he said, “I want you to baptize my child.” The priest was a bit surprised, and asked, “Are you a believer?” “No, I can't believe,” said the man, “But I want her to” nodding toward the bundle in his arms. The priest took them in and baptized the baby girl.
The priest told Bishop Mark that’s how it was all over Russia. People felt that they had been robbed of faith for the past 75 years. They had been robbed of security. They had been robbed of the power of faith. They realized they couldn't reclaim it just by willing it, but they did want it, and they wanted it for their children most of all.
They saw purpose in the lives of people who believe; they saw hope when they no longer had hope. A new world had been opened up to them and they wanted to come in and be part of that wonder and mystery and to have that power at work in their lives and in the lives of their children.
We just heard God’s vision from Isaiah:
Thus says the Lord,
he who created you,
he who formed you,
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, 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.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,…
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
Everyone. Everyone. Everyone.
What God revealed in Jesus is the passionate longing of God for humanity and for every human being. There is no limit to God's longing. There is no limit to the time of God's endurance or to God's forbearance. There is no limit to the lengths God will go to claim or reclaim one of God's own.
In the person of Jesus of Nazareth we see this God most clearly. It was what Jesus saw and heard when he came up out of the waters of baptism.
In our own baptism and in the baptism of those we love, we say Amen. Thanks be to God.
January 7, 2007
Isaiah 43:1-7 + Acts 8:14-17 + Luke 3:15-17,21-22
Today I want to tell you a truth. You don’t have to be baptized to be a child of God. Each child, every child born of the flesh of a human mother and father is created by God, created in the image of God, is God’s child – son or daughter of God, simply by virtue of being God’s creation. All people are God’s people, every person is God’s person.
Jesus is God’s son in a unique and wonderfully mysterious way. That is shown to one and all on the banks of the Jordan River and to one and to all who hear of his baptism in the words of scripture. It must be important, it is reported in all four gospels.
Each of us here is God’s child in a unique and wonderfully mysterious way.
What is new in the Baptism of Jesus is the affirmation, the confirmation that this gift is for all people - everyone, without restriction, without merit, without limit, without requirement. Not even the requirement of John the Baptist that we repent.
In our tradition, we usually receive the baptism of Jesus as a child, before there is any need of repentance. As we all know, there is ample opportunity to repent, and repent, and repent, and repent... as we live out our lives and live in this relationship with God. The Good News is that no matter what, no matter whom, we can be baptized in the name of God, and know we are the beloved of God, and that Jesus is our truth and can empower our lives.
We are the beloved of God before, during, and after repentance. The baptism of Jesus was God's Revelation of that Good News, and our baptism is the sign that Good News is for us, too. And we claim it for ourselves and for our children. And so we baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
To be the Beloved of God. What an awesome Gift. What an incredible knowledge. What a welcome call - to live out our lives as the Beloved of God. If you want to really work at getting inside what it means to be the Beloved of the God, there is no better way to spend some time than with Henri Nouwen in his book, The Life of the Beloved.
It is true that the baptism of Jesus is for us. It is for us to know that Jesus is the child of God, that Jesus is the beloved of God, and that Jesus would stand with us in the muddy waters of the Jordan River, as he will stand with each of us in the muddy waters of life.
Do you remember that Advent 1 Collect that speaks and prays "Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us…"
That’s what baptism is about -- putting on the armor of Light -- the baptism of Jesus and the baptism of you and me and the baptism of little Ella later this morning.
God in Jesus of Nazareth has come to join us in this mortal life that you and I, each of us, live, plod through, slog through, and walk through everyday. He who is without sin has come to stand with those who do... sin. He is the one who deems each of us worthy to be baptized with the baptism by which he has been baptized and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and to be marked as God’s own forever.
Some of you may remember that our diocese had some association for a while with the Russian Orthodox Church through the ministry of Bishop Mark and a partner relationship between St. Nikolai Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and this cathedral. Many will remember that Bishop Mark's ministry took him to Russia at the invitation of the Patriarch to help support the Rus-sian Christians and the Orthodox Church in re-establishing and spreading their faith in the context of their new freedom.
When Bishop Mark returned from one of his visits he told me a baptism story that I want to share with you. It took place in St. Petersburg – which during the communist era was named Leningrad.
The priest emerged onto the street outside the church where the long Orthodox liturgy that had just taken place. As he did he met a young man who looked like one of the Hell’s Angel’s, although there was no motor-cycle in evidence - leather jacket, jeans, boots, and a bandanna on his head. He was carrying a bundle close to his chest. “Father,” he said, “I want you to baptize my child.” The priest was a bit surprised, and asked, “Are you a believer?” “No, I can't believe,” said the man, “But I want her to” nodding toward the bundle in his arms. The priest took them in and baptized the baby girl.
The priest told Bishop Mark that’s how it was all over Russia. People felt that they had been robbed of faith for the past 75 years. They had been robbed of security. They had been robbed of the power of faith. They realized they couldn't reclaim it just by willing it, but they did want it, and they wanted it for their children most of all.
They saw purpose in the lives of people who believe; they saw hope when they no longer had hope. A new world had been opened up to them and they wanted to come in and be part of that wonder and mystery and to have that power at work in their lives and in the lives of their children.
We just heard God’s vision from Isaiah:
Thus says the Lord,
he who created you,
he who formed you,
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, 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.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,…
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
Everyone. Everyone. Everyone.
What God revealed in Jesus is the passionate longing of God for humanity and for every human being. There is no limit to God's longing. There is no limit to the time of God's endurance or to God's forbearance. There is no limit to the lengths God will go to claim or reclaim one of God's own.
In the person of Jesus of Nazareth we see this God most clearly. It was what Jesus saw and heard when he came up out of the waters of baptism.
In our own baptism and in the baptism of those we love, we say Amen. Thanks be to God.
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