Epiphany 1, Bpt of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Yr. b 2009

Genesis 1:1-5; Ps. 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

God is good.

I’m telling you up front that when we get to the end of this sermon that one sentence will summarize the whole thing.

I know I’m taking a risk since you may decide to drift away now and rejoin us at the end.

But I’m just that kind of risk taker.

There is a lot going on today churchy wise.

This is the first Sunday after Epiphany so we are celebrating the Baptism of Jesus.

We kind of skipped Epiphany this year…it was on Tuesday.

So we should actually be celebrating that, too.

What with Epiphany being one of the 7 principal feasts of the church.

If you’re keeping track, the 7 are Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, All Saint’s, Christmas and Epiphany.

I usually think of the word epiphany as a sudden knowing, a revelation of something especially meaningful in a life changing way.

It does mean that.

But it also means manifestation or appearance.

Historically the celebration of Epiphany was threefold.

It marked the visit of the three magi, the kings, the wise guys.

But is also included the baptism of Jesus and Jesus’ first miracle.

In the west we focus pretty much exclusively on the three kings bearing gifts and following a star to Bethlehem to see Jesus.

We’ve separated out the celebration of Jesus’ baptism, giving it it’s own day…today.

And the first miracle has pretty much slipped away from us.

It was the miracle at the wedding in Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.

It’s in the 2^nd chapter of the gospel of John if you want to go back and read it.

Which I do recommend.

Mary tells Jesus that they’ve run out of wine for the party.

And eventually he tells them to fill up six stone water jars that were used for the Jewish rite of purification.

When the servants dip a cup into one of the stone jars they get a taste of fine wine.

Three events making up the Epiphany.

The wise men went on Herod’s orders to follow the star that would lead them to the Messiah.

Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and a voice from heaven said, “you are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus had water poured into stone jars meant for the water that would purify the unclean and he turned it into wine.

Ordinary things, ordinary events, that become lights for us to follow.

Stars in the sky are ordinary, aren’t they?

Water flowing in a river is ordinary, isn’t it?

Water in a jar meant for cleansing is ordinary, isn’t it?

That’s the surprising part of epiphanies.

They come from ordinary things.

God works in ordinary things to create the extraordinary.

Take baptism.

Some water, some prayers.

It’s like a bath but like an extraordinary bath.

One moment we’re broken and the next moment we’re not.

One moment we’re carrying around the burden of sin.

And the next moment Jesus is carrying it for us.

Imagine being at the River Jordan that day with John and Jesus.

What was John thinking when Jesus demanded to be baptized?

Here was John preaching that this baptism in water was a baptism of repentance.

What sins did Jesus have to repent?

But there he is in the water telling John to baptize him.

We’re sitting on the bank watching John pull Jesus under the water and then pull him back up.

And the sky, the heavens are torn apart and the Spirit comes down like a dove on Jesus.

What did that look like?

A light, a cloud, a force field?

And then the voice from heaven.

You are my Son, the Beloved.

With you I am well pleased.

I’d be sitting there thinking…I want some of that!

And here is the miracle.

God made it possible for us to have that.

God is here at every single baptism.

At yours, at mine.

And when we come up out of the water, when the water flows over our head…

The heavens open up and the Spirit descends like a dove on us.

And that voice from heaven clearly says…

You are my son, you are my daughter.

The beloved.

With you I am well pleased.

Do you believe that?

It’s true.

God has said those words, is saying those words, for every single one of us.

The Spirit is descending on every single one of us.

God is creating new life in us.

God is good.

The thing is that we lose focus.

We lose track.

We got caught up in the chaos of life.

We get distracted by the huge problems in our lives, in the world.

We get charmed by the pleasures of our lives…friends, TV, skiing, a glass of wine, a good grade.

We lose track of the truth that God is good.

You may be disagreeing with me right now.

You may be saying that the one thing you are sure of is that God is good.

No one is going to be surprised when I question that.

Because when we truly know that God is good we act like it.

To know that God is good does not mean that we can take God’s goodness for granted.

Well…we can take it for granted, and we do take it for granted.

We trust that God knows we aren’t perfect.

We trust in God’s mercy and forgiveness.

We trust that God never stops giving us chances.

And we should because all of that is true.

But isn’t there a point at which we can mature in our faith and stop acting like we’re entitled to God’s goodness?

Children expect their parents to love them and forgive them and pick up after them.

Is that how we want to be as Christians? God always picking up after us?

Or do we want to honor God’s goodness with our lives?

All parts of our lives.

It won’t happen all at once.

Following Jesus, growing stronger as a Christian is a process.

But it won’t happen at all if we don’t choose it.

Put yourself into this story about Jesus.

That is you coming up out of the water.

That voice is saying to you…

You are my daughter, my son.

My beloved.

I am so pleased with you.

God is so pleased with you.

Not just on Sunday…every day…every moment.

And we owe every moment of our lives to God.

Live in gratitude for God’s goodness.

I know it may seem like a fine line between trusting in God’s goodness and feeling entitled to God’s goodness.

But there is a difference.

I think there are times when we feel so frazzled by our lives.

We’re so booked, going so many different directions.

Feeling so many pulls on our time, our emotions, our energy…

That we get confused.

We need rest so desperately that we begin to feel that we’re entitled it.

And besides God wants what’s best for us, right?

Yes, God does.

But maybe we haven’t been choosing what’s best for us.

Maybe we’ve gotten sidetracked by things that matter more to us than they do to God.

In that image of Jesus’ baptism there is a very important thing to remember.

Yes, God is making us a son or daughter.

Yes, we are beloved.

Yes, God is pleased.

And the heavens open and the Spirit descends like a dove.

We cannot love God and follow Jesus by sheer willpower.

Our human strength is not enough.

And God knows that and sends us the Spirit.

Never forget that God is rooting for you.

And that God has provided the strength and wisdom of the Spirit for us.

Pray for it, open your heart and mind and soul to it.

Accept it, trust it.

The Holy Spirit is with us.

Keep that image in your mind.

You are in the river and the heavens open up.

You hear the voice.

My son, my daughter.

You feel the Spirit fall on you.

My beloved.

God takes the ordinary and creates the extraordinary.

God is good.

Three ordinary words that point us to something so very extraordinary.

Words to live our lives by.

God is good.