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Sunday 9th January, 2011 The Baptism of our Lord (APBA #526)

Sentence
A voice came from heaven, saying ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with Whom I am well pleased.
Matt 3:17
Collect
Loving God, Your Son came to seek the lost, and was baptised with sinners; grant that we, who have been baptised in His name, may reach out in love to those in need with the mercy of Christ, Who lives and reigns with You, for ever and ever Amen

Old Testament Lesson Isaiah 42: 1 – 9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

For the Epistle Acts 10: 34 – 43

Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

GOSPEL Matthew 3: 13 – 17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

© New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission. All rights reserved
NOTES ON THE READINGS

Old Testament Lesson
Here is yet another passionate expression from one of the most remarkable of OT prophets, underlining both the nature of the Servant of the Lord and His modus operandi. And it should be listened to and responded to with far wider emphasis than I have seen to date.
It is fascinating that, as a reading for this particular Festival, the Baptism of Jesus that we have what amounts to a CV for Jesus. Notice – yet again! – the emphasis on justice. This is never to be understood as retribution: that, in Biblical terms, is not justice but rather the lack of it. In the following verse there is also that breath of fresh air – no pressure moral or emotional is imposed on the recipients of the message, but a patient and longing offer of newness of life. In that cameo there is only the warm encouragement to even the least flicker of response. It is very moving stuff.
Although we of the present age tend to see Isaiah pointing to Jesus, the reality of the Servant Songs is that the prophet was requiring Israel of old to see that they were the ‘servants of the Lord.’ The emphasis remains so for present-day followers of Christ, the Church. The same calling and challenge for all the People of God has been from the beginnings with Abraham and we dare not forget it.

Psalm
‘Olde worlde’ this psalm may sound to modern ears, but one can enter in to the clear perception that the Lord is the centre of all things. If you do not find this so, then I wonder at what is needed to excite one’s imagination.

Epistle
I really must check up and count the number of times in a year this passage hits liturgical airspace. (Anyhow you are able to do so yourself!) In one way it is a strange one; in another it marks the revitalisation of the Infant Church into its calling to reach out to all humans.
How sad it is that tradition gets in the way of reality. OT Jews had become convinced that they were the only humans of any interest to God, with their ‘Chosen People’ syndrome. They had managed to avoid seeing any Biblical command to reach beyond themselves, in spite of their Scriptures, their antecedents in the Faith, and their prophets pointing otherwise.
So this passage was formative for the Infant Church, as people realised that this Faith was not for people of one race, but for all. And it took the questioning of a Roman soldier to get Peter past his religious baggage. What does it take for you to get past yours? Or even recognize it as baggage!

GOSPEL
In days gone by, there was ever the question being asked as to why Jesus required to be baptized. He was sinless, was he not? And all manner of assumptions about baptism got in the way.
Baptism is not some remedy for sin but rather the acceptance of the covenant from God, the commitment as part of His people. It is no naming ceremony, it is not confession of following or accepting Christ: it is in fact the business of being accepted by Christ, do you see?

NOTES FOR A SERMON

I must be getting quite old, for I can remember times when, in looking for a job, one did not need Curriculum Vitae, nor anyone else to write your CV for you. You may have needed a reference or two, but that is no longer sufficient.
As we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, we are given all of the above modern requirements, if we have but the wit to see it. Perhaps any of the Servant Songs of Isaiah may have suited, but I suspect that Isaiah 42 is one of the best to be used. A long hard look at this passage (as well as the others, come to that) will repay any attention given to the question.
Over the centuries, and particularly in our own time, all manner of distortions of the nature of Jesus’ ministry has been proffered as the true one. Anyone who has read these notes over the years will recall my huge difficulty with the capacity of American Presidents to proffer a very war-like image of the Faith if not of Jesus Himself. Had I been God at the time, my very human patience would have been tested in not sorting the so-and-so out on the spot. This only shows, of course, that it is just as well that God is God and not me! There is no sign of belligerence in the Biblical evidence of Jesus and His life, nor even the expectation of that most remarkable of prophets.

The outcome and the reality that was Jesus is fascinating to ponder – and to reflect. All that is offered in this Faith once delivered is no picture of military or political superiority, but rather is a prescription for reconciliation, peace and justice. This Faith will ever run contrary to human expectations of power and strength, for the simple reason that most of those human demands can result only in division, isolation and – in the final analysis, terror. One need look only at the realities of human history to see the veracity of that!

So instead of a long and involved sermon, may I suggest that some quiet time be used to ponder the reality of the calling of this Jesus, and all of His followers, if only to rid ourselves of some useless baggage we carry that has little or nothing to do with the actual faith.