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Epiphany 1 Lesson: Isaiah 43:1-7
Saturday, January 9, 2010 Psalm 29
The Rev. Jean Ann Wright Epistle: Acts 8:14-17
St. James’ Church, Marietta Holy Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
I am going to try to blend two themes – the baptism of Jesus and the entire season of Epiphany. So pay close attention so you do not get lost!
We live in a world dominated by pop culture – a culture where communications move so fast that new ideas and movements come and go at breathtaking speed. In this world, it is curious to me that an ancient word like “epiphany” has become a popular way to say that a person has had a sudden, enlightening moment. I think some of the new-found popularity for the word “epiphany” can be credited to a pop culture celebrity we all know by name – Oprah. I have heard her talk about her own various “epiphany moments” more than once on her daily television show.
As Episcopalians, we understand the word “Epiphany” is the word used to name one of the seasons of our church year. Advent is the first season of the year, followed by Christmas, a season that lasts twelve days, and now we are in the season of Epiphany, which has a varying number of weeks as it starts on the sixth day of January and lasts through Shrove Tuesday, followed by Lent.
Epiphany is both a season that we celebrate as a church and an enlightening moment in time that brings a new light into our lives individually. The whole idea of the Epiphany season is one of joyful experience, a time of enlightenment. It is the time we celebrate the coming of Christ as a gift to the whole world and as a gift to each of us individually.
On the First Sunday of Epiphany, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus by having a baptism (when there are children or adults who desire it). Fortunately, at the 11:15 service this weekend we will baptize five infants. After we have baptized them, the priest will make the sign of the Cross on each infant’s head to “mark them as Christ’s own forever.” These children may or may not grow up to show forth Christ in their own lives in a way that can be easily recognized. Yet Christ will always reside in them as he resides in us.
In the Gospel reading, we see that Jesus has come to the River Jordan where his cousin, John, is baptizing crowds of people into a new life and relationship with God. Some of these people think that John must be the long expected Messiah, but John tells them that one who is greater than he is coming, and the one who is coming will be the Messiah.
Jesus steps down into the water to be baptized. We read that, “When all the people were baptized, and when Jesus was baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”
I must confess to you that I am taking some of this sermon from some very insightful comments made by those of us who were in Fr. Wallace’s Wednesday night Bible study class. One of the comments that you might say came as an “epiphany” moment to me was the comment that until after Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended, he seemed to be just another person in the crowd who came to hear John preach, and then to be baptized. No one seemed to recognize him or know that he was the Chosen One of God.
That immediately made me think – in a crowd of people, would I be recognized as a Christian? Would my actions, my behavior, my words, be reflected of Christ so that others could see Christ in me, or would they reflect something else altogether? Would anyone recognize me as a Christian? If I look around in that crowd, what would I see in others? Would I see Christ? Can I see the Christ in people around me who may not look or act like Christians at all?
We then got into a discussion of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and exactly how does a dove descent? From those in the class who seemed “to know,” we learned that a dove does not swoop down like a hawk intending to snatch up his prey. It does not plummet to earth and land with a thud, unless you are a hunter and shoot it down from the skies. No, a dove flutters gently down and gracefully lands on a branch or the ground in a gentle motion. This is how the Holy Spirit generally comes into our lives, entering in when invited to bring us God’s grace and to empower us to be living witnesses for Christ.
Another word in the Gospel also became an important sign to us. It was the word, “prayer.” Throughout the Gospels, we are told that Jesus went apart to pray. The most powerful time of prayer was in the garden of Gethsemane just before he was arrested to be crucified. After the Crucifixion and Resurrection, a large crowd of his followers were at prayer when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
For Christians, prayer is an integral part of having an “epiphany moment,” a moment of sudden enlightenment, a moment when light comes into the dark places of our lives and brings a new understanding of God’s presence within us.
When there is darkness in our world, it can be overcome by the light of Christ. Through our witness to the presence of the living Christ in our own lives, we can bring the light of Christ into a world that has places of darkness. Just like the heavens opened suddenly to let in the light and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, we must be willing to open a door or window of light in our lives that will let us experience the miracle of the Epiphany season, and then be willing to share that light and miracle with others. Amen.
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