1 Epiphany    

Jan. 10, 2010 

Deacon C. J. Knapp

 

            It is in Baptism that we become members of the Community of God.  It is in Baptism that we become the brothers and sisters of Christ.  It is in Baptism that we are restored to a right relationship with God.  Today we remember, as part of the great cycle of remembrance, the Baptism of our Lord.  There was no need for Jesus to be baptized.  He was and is truly God.  But He was and is truly human.  As a human He entered fully into the human condition.  He ate, He slept, He laughed, He rejoiced, and He suffered.  Entering into the fullness of the human condition he met John the Reformer.  John was calling the nation of Israel to repentance to await the imminent arrival of the Messiah.  As a symbol of the acceptance of repentance, John baptized and as a symbol of the acceptance of the fullness of human nature Jesus went forth to be baptized.  In accepting baptism Christ demonstrated that we mere mortals must also accept the need for repentance.  In accepting baptism Jesus Christ accepted brotherhood with us; brotherhood that, in His free accepting of the will of the Father, His suffering and death on the cross, has earned the gift of salvation for us.  The telling of His baptism is central to the themes of all the Evangelists.

            For Mark it is the opening of the Gospel.  There is no recounting of the early years of the Christ.  The beginning of the Good News is this acceptance by Jesus of baptism. 

            For John the Evangelist there is the theological statement of the prologue and then the Good News of Jesus the Christ begins with the scene of John baptizing along the banks of the River Jordan.

            Each of the Evangelists tells the story in his own way stressing those elements that were central to his understanding of the meaning of the Christ.  But in each there is one theme and that is the action and power of the Spirit descending upon Jesus in baptism as we heard in today’s Gospel reading.  “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

            In baptism we are also filled with the Spirit.  In the beautiful baptismal prayer we remember, and we relive the work of the Spirit in Creation, in the Exodus, and in the anointing of Jesus as the Messiah.  This is the vital point.  That while Christmas is beautiful and the angels, shepherds and kings are impressive: there are no teachings, no casting out of demons, no healings until after the Spirit descends upon Jesus.  It is as if by this act, Jesus: the babe in the manger, the child in the Temple and the carpenter in Nazareth is changed - transformed.  By accepting the will of the Father and submitting to the baptism of John; Jesus, is opened to the liberating power of the Spirit. When Jesus returns from the River Jordan he returns, not as the son of Mary, but He returns as the Messiah – the Christ.

            It is in that act of the liberation of the will of Jesus to freely encompass the will of the Father that we too, find redemption.  Today we transition from  Christmas to the ongoing work of the Epiphany which is the exposition of the word of God to the world; the extending of the Faith.  As today’s collect says: “Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior…”  Today we wear festive white.  Tomorrow we wear the green of hope, the green of our time to go forth.  This is our time to accept the meaning of baptism.  This is the time of the ministry of mankind to mankind, in the name of Christ.  We must realize and accept that we, each of us, have been and are infused with the power of the Spirit.  Liberate that power so that it can act upon us.  Let the power of the Spirit show forth with a new light to shine in our hearts.  Let the power of the Spirit unshackle our will; so that it can move from its natural condition of selfishness and self centered activity to encompass the will of our Creator. 

            It is time to give an accounting of the talents delivered to us.  The 21st Ward has more than doubled in population since World War II.  Yet the actual number of churches in the community has declined significantly.  And several of the remaining churches are barely surviving.  Despite the claims of the fundamentalists the nation is becoming an agnostic if not an atheistic nation.  In a recent survey 51% had no church affiliation.  29% said that religion has little or no relevance to their lives.  The majority of the nation is drifting – drifting aimlessly into a complacent non-relationship with God.

            Even for some of those who do list a church affiliation it is only the most tenuous of relationships.  Too often churches become a place to perform rituals of social standing; a place for weddings and funerals.  Baptism is often treated not as the beginning of a relationship with God but as the establishment of a futures contract insuring a place for later marriage and funerals.  But this is our fault.  We have reduced the requirements of Christianity until there are no requirements.  We have feasted at the table of cheap grace.  As we reduce the requirements for the sacraments our churches become revolving doors, fulfilling only the social needs of the people.  Grace – the gift of the Spirit of God – is not cheap and it cannot be purchased cheaply.  True grace requires discipleship.  In baptism we are called to be the children of Christ; that call makes demands upon us. 

            In the waters of baptism we are given the power of the Spirit.  We are given the grace to fulfill the baptismal pledges; but, only, if we are willing to draw upon that grace to aid and sustain us.  Not the cheap grace of the social-civil religion, but the soul expanding power of the Spirit renewed in that other great gift of a loving God – the Eucharist.

With baptism establishing us upon the right road to salvation and the Eucharist refreshing us along the journey, let us move from the joy and beauty of Christmas into the work of the Epiphany.  Let us hold in our hearts the Christmas story while we proclaim the Good News to the world.  Let us grasp at the power of the Spirit given to us in baptism and renewed in the Eucharist so that we may truly love our neighbor as ourself;  and thereby continue the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            I conclude with the words of the Episcopal writer H. W. Thurman:

 

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the Kings and Princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

 

The work of Christmas begins:

 

To find the lost, to heal the broken,

To feed the hungry, to release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations, to bring peace among

Brothers, to make music in the heart.

 

SO BE IT