For the First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord
The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice.
The voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
-- Psalm 29:5
We begin our Sunday Epiphany travels tomorrow in a familiar place -- on the banks of the Jordan river, hearing the story of the Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22). Jesus' baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry, and according to Luke, is accompanied by two distinct signs: the descent of the Holy Spirit in "a bodily form, like a dove" and a "voice from heaven". These signs, underscore John the Baptist's assertion that, "one who is more powerful than I is coming...he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
The other readings assigned for this day echo themes found in this Gospel account:
In Isaiah 43:1-7, we hear the voice of the Lord speaking through the pen of the prophet, saying to God's people in exile, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name...you are precious in my sight."
These words undoubtedly provided comfort to the Hebrew people as they waited in a foreign land (the Babylonian Empire) for God's deliverance and their eventual return to the Land of Promise (signified by Jerusalem). This passage continues to be read by Jews scattered throughout the world today as both a remembrance that they are bound by a Covenant to a God who is faithful and as a promise that God is working through history, with all its twists and turns, to bring about God's glory and the salvation of the world.
When the voice of God calls, that voice irrevocably marks those who are called as God's own, even if outward circumstances seem to contradict such a call! When the glory of God thunders (as in Psalm 29), how can anyone ignore it? This is the voice that "gives power to [God's] people" (v.11). The response to such a voice can only be worship -- worship that ascribes to God the "glory due his name" (v. 2).
Even as today's readings seem to stress the transcendant power of God, another theme runs alongside: God's uncompromising insistence upon relationship. The very transcendance of God, which would seem to keep the Divine far, far away from the imperfections of humanity, is the very thing which empowers humanity to enter into relationship with God in the first place. Indeed, Christians would argue that the very nature of God is loving relationship.
For centuries, the Church has seen, in the accounts of the Baptism of Jesus, the interrelationship of the Persons of the Trinity writ large -- with the Father speaking, the Spirit empowering and the Son obeying. While this may be a rudimentary and simplistic understanding of the ongoing dynamism of the inner life of the Trinity, at the very least, we can see that our tradition proclaims a God who is constantly in conversation -- both within the Divine Self and with humanity as well.
Christians would say that in the Incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus, God brings the conversation directly to humanity in the vulnerability of human flesh and blood. Christians would also say that this conversation continues even to today. One of the ways that conversation continues is through the mission and ministry of the Church, lived out in the lives of the Baptized.
In Acts 8:7-14, the story is told of the apostles laying hands on some new believers in Samaria, and these believers (who had been baptized in the name of Jesus) then receive the Holy Spirit -- the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism. At many liturgies in the Episcopal Church tomorrow, there will be a Baptism (or at the very least, the Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant), in which the Baptized will reaffirm their commitment to "continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers; persevere in resisting evil; proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; seek and serve Christ in all persons and strive for justice and peace among all people."
At the heart of these vows is the recognition that we cannot even hope to fulfill them under our own steam and through our own willpower. We will require empowerment. We will require the immolating presence of the Holy Spirit -- the Dove of Fire.
My prayer is that through the dynamism of Word and Sacrament, Font and Table, God's people gathered will somehow hear the powerful voice of God speaking in the depths of our hearts, "You are my children, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased."
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, on God in glory everlasting. Amen. -Collect for the First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord, BCP, p. 214
The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice.
The voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
-- Psalm 29:5
We begin our Sunday Epiphany travels tomorrow in a familiar place -- on the banks of the Jordan river, hearing the story of the Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22). Jesus' baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry, and according to Luke, is accompanied by two distinct signs: the descent of the Holy Spirit in "a bodily form, like a dove" and a "voice from heaven". These signs, underscore John the Baptist's assertion that, "one who is more powerful than I is coming...he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
The other readings assigned for this day echo themes found in this Gospel account:
In Isaiah 43:1-7, we hear the voice of the Lord speaking through the pen of the prophet, saying to God's people in exile, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name...you are precious in my sight."
These words undoubtedly provided comfort to the Hebrew people as they waited in a foreign land (the Babylonian Empire) for God's deliverance and their eventual return to the Land of Promise (signified by Jerusalem). This passage continues to be read by Jews scattered throughout the world today as both a remembrance that they are bound by a Covenant to a God who is faithful and as a promise that God is working through history, with all its twists and turns, to bring about God's glory and the salvation of the world.
When the voice of God calls, that voice irrevocably marks those who are called as God's own, even if outward circumstances seem to contradict such a call! When the glory of God thunders (as in Psalm 29), how can anyone ignore it? This is the voice that "gives power to [God's] people" (v.11). The response to such a voice can only be worship -- worship that ascribes to God the "glory due his name" (v. 2).
Even as today's readings seem to stress the transcendant power of God, another theme runs alongside: God's uncompromising insistence upon relationship. The very transcendance of God, which would seem to keep the Divine far, far away from the imperfections of humanity, is the very thing which empowers humanity to enter into relationship with God in the first place. Indeed, Christians would argue that the very nature of God is loving relationship.
For centuries, the Church has seen, in the accounts of the Baptism of Jesus, the interrelationship of the Persons of the Trinity writ large -- with the Father speaking, the Spirit empowering and the Son obeying. While this may be a rudimentary and simplistic understanding of the ongoing dynamism of the inner life of the Trinity, at the very least, we can see that our tradition proclaims a God who is constantly in conversation -- both within the Divine Self and with humanity as well.
Christians would say that in the Incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus, God brings the conversation directly to humanity in the vulnerability of human flesh and blood. Christians would also say that this conversation continues even to today. One of the ways that conversation continues is through the mission and ministry of the Church, lived out in the lives of the Baptized.
In Acts 8:7-14, the story is told of the apostles laying hands on some new believers in Samaria, and these believers (who had been baptized in the name of Jesus) then receive the Holy Spirit -- the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism. At many liturgies in the Episcopal Church tomorrow, there will be a Baptism (or at the very least, the Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant), in which the Baptized will reaffirm their commitment to "continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers; persevere in resisting evil; proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; seek and serve Christ in all persons and strive for justice and peace among all people."
At the heart of these vows is the recognition that we cannot even hope to fulfill them under our own steam and through our own willpower. We will require empowerment. We will require the immolating presence of the Holy Spirit -- the Dove of Fire.
My prayer is that through the dynamism of Word and Sacrament, Font and Table, God's people gathered will somehow hear the powerful voice of God speaking in the depths of our hearts, "You are my children, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased."
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, on God in glory everlasting. Amen. -Collect for the First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord, BCP, p. 214
posted by FrGaryB | 6:43 AM
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