Sermon for 1 Epiphany

1/9/05

St. Luke’s Church

Eric M. Williams

Water of death; Water of life

The recent tsunamis have reminded us all how powerful water can be.

This devastating force of nature has killed hundreds of thousands,

transformed coastlines, nations and survivors,

and even changed the position of the north pole.

We have seen floods before, even massive floods,

but no one alive has seen watery destruction on this scale.

The effects will be felt for years to come.

Water was considered by the ancients to be one of the four elements,

and the most powerful by far.

Water covers three quarters of our planet

and comprises the same percentage of our bodies.

It is not just a force of death and destruction,

but is essential to the survival of every living thing on earth.

Death and life; life and death.

When Jesus stepped into the muddy waters of the Jordan,

he knew all about the power and significance of water.

He spent his life on or near water

and was familiar with the Biblical references to it as well.

But I often wonder what he was thinking that day,

as he waded out to join his cousin John.

Was he remembering the watery chaos of creation,

the rivers of the Garden of Eden,

the Great Flood of Noah,

the bloody waters of the Nile

or the triumphant crossing of the Red Sea?

Was he thinking ahead to the role water would play in his ministry?

Did he imagine walking on it or changing it into wine?

Could he have foreseen that he who promised the water of life

would one day thirst on the cross for one sip of water?

When the stories were finally collected and the Gospels finally written

they all recorded this Baptism.

John was famous for baptizing people.

His was a baptism for new life—out with the old life and in with the new.

A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

So he was more than a little confused

when Jesus asked to be baptized.

And it’s hard to know exactly what Jesus was thinking.

He, least of all people, needed forgiveness of sins.

What he said is that this was to “fulfill all righteousness.”

We still do baptisms.

They are still include repentance and the forgiveness of sins,

but baptism for us is really about something else.

For us baptism is about death and resurrection.

In baptism we are buried with Christ in his death

and raised with him to a new life, to eternal life.

It’s the end of one life and the beginning of another.

It’s a jumping off point.

And that, for me, is the best way to understand what was going on with Jesus.

Jesus was jumping off into his earthly ministry.

For thirty years he had been Joseph’s son the carpenter.

From now on he would be known as God’s son the Christ.

And, in several accounts, God’s voice was heard, saying,

“This is my Son, the beloved.”

Just to make sure everyone got it.

At his Baptism, Jesus heard and answered his divine calling.

He claimed his role, with all it entailed,

and he set off to fulfill his calling,

working with focus and determination

even when it cost him his life.

Baptism became a powerful symbol of death for Jesus.

He asked his squabbling disciples once,

“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink

or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

To this day we still talk about a baptism of fire

to describe a time of trial.

Death and life; life and death.

But this baptism was not just about death.

In a way, Jesus’ Baptism was his ordination,

the ritual which marked the beginning of his ministry

and revealed a glimpse of the glory of his kingdom.

And that is the meaning I really want to focus on today.

For a couple decades now the Episcopal Church

has been developing its understanding of baptism.

We are teaching now that, while confirmation still has its place,

along with the ordination of deacons, priests and bishops,

baptism is the center of it all.

Just as it was for Jesus,

Baptism is ordination for ministry.

It is at baptism that we receive the Holy Spirit

and are gifted and empowered to answer God’s call.

Now Jesus was pretty clear on his call right away.

After a time of discernment and testing in the wilderness

he was off and running.

For many of us, that process may take a lifetime.

A lifetime of praying, listening, and learning.

A lifetime of starting and stopping, trial and error,

failure and redemption.

But the important thing is not that we succeed.

Mostly, we don’t even know what success would be.

The important thing is to be in the game.

And that, my friends, is the problem.

Too many of us are not in the game.

We have been taught that we aren’t good enough,

smart enough, holy enough to serve God.

Sometimes people have even said that to our face.

We have been taught that only “ministers” do ministry.

We feel inadequate, unprepared, and overwhelmed.

Where would we even start?

The good news is that we don’t have to have it all figured out.

God has a plan for each one of us,

and a couple of back-up plans too, just in case!

To be effective ministers we don’t have to be experts.

We don’t have to be Biblical scholars,

prayer warriors or even wear a collar.

All we need is the passionate desire to follow Jesus,

to die with him and live with him,

to figure out the gifts he has given us

and begin to use them to build up his kingdom.

This is what it’s all about.

And this is what we are committed to doing here at St. Luke’s.

Through classes, workshops and small groups,

we want to help each one of you

grow into the promise of your baptism.

And now please join with me as we renew our baptismal promises

on page 292 in the prayer book.

Afterwards, during the hymn, we will be sprinkled with water

in remembrance of our baptism.