Sermon for the 1st Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C: Baptism
St. Faith’s Episcopal Church, Cutler Bay, Florida
Preacher: The Rev. Jennie Lou D. Reid+

Those who know your Name will put their trust in you,
for you never forsake those who seek you, O LORD. Amen.

Epiphany is the wonderful season of the Church when we pay attention to the ways that God has revealed the divine presence in the world. From the first century, the Church has identified four stories in Scripture as foundational for this season: the journey of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, the wedding at Cana, and the transfiguration of Jesus. We are hearing all of these accounts this year. These stories remind us of God’s creative use of extraordinary means to draw us into God’s presence, of God’s full engagement in a human life alongside us, of God’s extraordinary power exercised in order to bless us, and of the divine nature of Jesus, whose heavenly glory is usually hidden in his human body. Throughout Epiphany we remember that we know God because God has reached out to us. We know God because God came down to earth and lived among us. We know God through the words and deeds and essence of Jesus.

On the first Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany we read the succinct account of Jesus’ baptism from one of the Synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark or Luke. All over the world on this Sunday churches celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism. At the 10:00 service today we at St. Faith’s welcome Nicole Rylee Carlin into God’s family the Church through this rite. While we treasure every baptism here, this particular baptism is a special joy because the Carlin family has already become involved in the life of this church and intends to settle down with us to share the Christian journey. The real significance of Baptism is not life insurance (or even fire insurance). Instead, through Baptism we enter into relationship with God and with God’s people, and good, wholesome relationships give us abundant life.

The descendants of Israel want to have a right relationship with God. Over centuries they develop a ritual of bathing in sacred baths before entering the Temple in Jerusalem, to come into God’s presence. In the first century the prophet John, the baptizer, goes a step further by challenging people to prepare for encounter with God by adding to the ritual bathing recognition and repentance of their sins. People experience transformation through John’s ritual, which makes them more self-aware, more compassionate and truly free. His reputation spreads, and all manner of people seek him out, some traveling for days to find him in the northern region of Galilee. One day a stranger steps forward to submit himself to John’s baptism. This man is the Christ, God’s promised one anointed to establish justice and peace in the world. Jesus allows John to immerse his body in the River Jordan. As Jesus comes out of the water, God the Father in heaven gushes with delight, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” These words of assurance and affirmation launch and sustain Jesus’ ministry.

Russian Orthodox iconography interprets Jesus’ baptism as a joining together of a human act of submission and a powerful divine act of transformation. Jesus, submerged in the Jordan waters, stands in solidarity with all who are participating in John’s ritual. At the same time, the demons that these waters have accumulated from all those who have been ritually cleansed here, are fleeing. Jesus makes clean the waters of baptism that they may be a source of new life.

Before Jesus ascends into heaven, he directs his Apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus’ own experience of baptism is so powerful that he does not want any of us his Beloved Ones to miss it! Although the manner of preparation and the details of the ritual have evolved over the centuries, the constant elements are our using water and our evoking the name of God to call on the presence and full power of God to act on our behalf. In baptism we become God’s beloved sons and daughters by adoption. Here we become the eyes and ears and hands and feet of God in this world, to share in caring for other people and all creation. Here we become inheritors of God’s kingdom, where harmony and peace prevail. Here we also receive the essential item we need in order to enter into a meaningful relationship: we receive a name.

In Genesis 2, we learn that in order to create a companion for his first human being, God directs the man to name the animals. The names provide a means through which they can relate to each other. We recognize this principal at work when someone addresses us by name and we do not know his or her name. Maybe we have never been formally introduced, or maybe we have forgotten the other person’s name. Whatever the circumstances, we understand that if we are going to relate to the other person in a meaningful way, we must learn his or her name. This is why we encourage everyone to wear nametags when we gather together! In a practical way we struggle with this principal when we try to put a comfortable name on the woman who serves as our priest. Should we say “mother” or “pastor”? Should we use the Christian name or the last name? In order to achieve the desired result of a meaningful relationship, we must settle on a name. Relationships grow and blossom when we know each other by name.

In the Bible names explain identity. For example Adam means man-made-of-dust-from-the-ground ; Abraham, ancestor-of-a-multitude ; and Israel, one-who-strives-with-God . The name Jesus means savior . Of course the name does not reveal the full identity, but it gives us a starting point. Jesus is indeed our Savior, but he is also our Good Shepherd, our Teacher, our Friend, and more. Through the words of the Prophet Isaiah, God speaks to the Israelites dragged far from home, scattered around the Mediterranean, and enslaved to foreign peoples. God affirms the people’s holy value by saying, “I have called you by name, you are mine…I will be with you….You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” This is the nature of the relationship God shares with each of us: God leads us and encourages us and comforts us by name. And we receive this great blessing by the free gift of God.

I received a telephone call yesterday informing me that late Friday afternoon a man took his own life just yards from this church building. I find it particularly sad that this gentleman, who was so close to the Kingdom of God as represented by this sanctuary and its people, felt separated from the Brotherhood of Man. Was he too cold and hungry to go on? Was he too ashamed of his mistakes? Did he feel rejected and incapable of connecting in human society again? I do not know the man’s circumstances or even his name, yet he challenges me. Is there something we could have done?

We hold a great treasure here: wisdom in Scripture, inspiration of our inherited liturgy, and God’s family eager to welcome new Christian Sisters and Brothers. We have the message of God’s unlimited love for us, God’s merciful forgiveness, and God’s companionship. Together we even attempt to provide food and kind words for the vulnerable who come to our doors. Who do you know who is hungering and thirsting for the treasure that is God’s good news? Jesus will show us how to share the gospel of hope and love. Hush, hush, somebody’s callin’ my name; sounds like Jesus. Thanks be to God! Amen

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Psalm 9:10, The Book of Common Prayer 1979, page 593
Matthew 28:19
Genesis 2:18-23
Genesis 2:7, in the rendering of the Hebrew words
Genesis 17:5
Genesis 32:28
Matthew 1:21
Words of a traditional Negro Spiritual, hymn 128 in Lift Every Voice and Sing II