In my mind I still hear the telephone ringing--the voice on the other end apologizes for interrupting my day--I give assurance that that was all right--then the caller asks if I can help him with a little problem he is having with the economy and could I give him a little advice--I tell Mr. Greenspan that I'm not sure what help I can be but I would be happy to listen to him describe the problem more fully. A short time later the phone rings again and the call this time is from the White House seeking advise about advancing the legislative agenda in Congress. That is followed by a satellite--relayed call from a Special Forces field commander looking for a more defined strategy establishing order in the emerging situation around Kandahar, Afghanistan. After that I was occupied with the issues of Argentina's economy and the madness evolving between India and Pakistan, which overshadows my solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. At this point I put the morning paper down and take another sip of coffee--what a way to start the day.
There are so many problems and challenges in the world and most of us have our ideas of how they could be solved--but then no one is asking us for help. But what if one day they really did come to us--What if the phone rang or the knock on the door came with an invitation to enter into the very center of history--act to change the moment in a way that will change the meaning and direction of history itself. Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him; "Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
History--all time--pivots on such moments. If this baptism does not occur there is no beginning to Jesus' ministry--no disciples--no miracles or parables--no walking on water or Sermon on the Mount--no riding into Jerusalem with palm branches flying--no last supper--no arrest--no trial--no crucifixion and no resurrection--Viewed from our 2,000 year old vantage point it is clear that this is a defining moment. Peter preaches in our second lesson that following his baptism Jesus goes about "doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil." Most of us do not view baptism as such a defining moment in life--that's probably in part due to the fact that most baptisms involve infants--we have no real memory of our own baptisms--if we have been part of a baptism it was probably as a parent or the god parent or sponsor--and the ritual actions of the baptism day were lost in the energy needed to keep the infant happy and the anxious parents comfortable with the attention their young child was receiving.
The church proclaims in chorus with one exclamation this day--this Baptism of our Lord Day--this Baptism of Jesus Day--that life in the Spirit--membership in the body of Christ--church identity--the journey of faith--begins in baptism. It is difficult for most of us to get too excited about all this. John the Baptist may have had the close encounter with Jesus and tried to interpret what it all meant, but why should we really care all that much? It's not like a phone call from the White House or even the CEO of our company. As beginning points for our lives--our baptisms are far more form and ritual then substance. It seems that most ritual moments in our lives--and most such moments involve the church--Are difficult to recognize as life changing--And yet After baptism the next big moment in the church is usually confirmation? It's hard to identify any particularly dramatic life changing result from being confirmed. What change there is--is not what we would call dramatic--confirmation does mean you can vote in the Annual Meeting and you suddenly have a free Tuesday afternoon--hopefully you don't find too much more free time on Sunday mornings. The real meaning of confirmation is its other name--the reaffirmation of baptism--A moment intended to remind and help define the faith journey of life begun in baptism--Unfortunately the lesson of confirmation for many is lost--they are already too busy for God--priorities of self and school and sports cloud the Spirit's presence--Discerning God's will and presence in modern culture is not easy.
Marriage is usually the next time a ritual moment in church occurs--this is a bit easier to recognize as a pivotal moment in life--in pastoral counseling we always remind the couple that even if they have been living together before marriage the moment they covenant with each other in marriage vows--their world changes--expectations--roles--identity all suddenly are made different--maybe even new. What many fail to recognize is that the very center of the marriage covenant depends on God defined moments. The challenge of life together endures only through the grace to forgive--the desire to serve another in love--the willingness to give of oneself for another. No relationship and certainly no marriage endure without these qualities--A pretty church wedding may be remembered in the photos and video--but a divinely blessed marriage endures.
The mystery of grace and the leading of the
Spirit truly marks all relationships that center in love. The
power of the ritual moment is not automatic or magical--its power
lies in the mystery of God in our world--that is what the Epiphany
season--the Sundays between Christmas and the beginning of Lent--are
all about. God in the world--God revealed--God discovered--God
in our lives. The promise foretold in the words of the Old Testament
prophet Isaiah--"Here is my servantI have put my spirit upon
him" finds fulfillment in the moment of Christ's baptism
as he comes forth from the water and the Spirit of God descending
like a dove alights on him as a voice from heaven proclaims, "This
is my Son, the Beloved" 
Last weekend I was on epiphany retreat with some 20 of our 7th and 8th graders--one of the high points of the weekend each year is the burning of the Christmas trees--gathered from the nearby town the camp collects quite a pile of trees (you can check out the pictures at our church web site click here)--and as the night grows cold and the darkness surrounds us we gather around the trees--hymnals are handed out but there is no light--there is no way to see the music or words--all is darkness until the heat of the torch is caught by the trees--slow to light at first but as the heat builds the fire begins to leap from branch to branch of the jumbled pile of green until the fire is all consuming with flames bursting forth 30-40 feet into the night sky and we all turn in our hymnals to sing the last Christmas carols of the season--the light of the fire reveals the words--we sing of the light come into the world--God's presence made real--That is what the Baptism of our Lord Sunday is all about--light in the darkness--warmth against the cold of the night--a truly new beginning for the new year. Scholars debate whether the voice that announced Jesus' identity--"This is my Son"--did so for the sake of the crowd or John or Jesus.
But the significance of the pronouncement was certainly not lost on Jesus--for this is the beginning of his ministry. From this time on nothing would or could be the same. The problem most of us have is that we don't recognize in our baptism a life changing moment--and the reaffirmation of our baptism that we call confirmation is similarly lacking in opening us to the life changing power of God's presence. The purpose of the epiphany season is to remind us of the fullness of God's presence in our lives Sometimes that is what we need in our lives--wake up calls that turn us again to God--not moments caused by God but moments that only the Spirit can give meaning and direction to--It is no accident that in the moments immediately following a personal crisis or national tragedy people of faith turn to God--even if in anger or uncertainty--we turn to God. And many without a faith base or center to their lives look to those who believe to point the way--lead on. The source of this faith center is the Spirit of God. Poured forth upon us in baptism. In the waters of baptism we receive God's blessing--the outpouring of the spirit--a gift of life both present and eternal. Not everyone discerns the presence of the Sprit just as not everyone at the Jordan River two millennia ago heard the voice of God or recognized His son. That is why we are church--why we gather in this place--why we come to the table--because the Spirit within us is not fully known to us--the Spirit's gifts are not always easily shared or used.
When Jesus came to John at the Jordan there was a moment of great confusion--a question of why--why are you coming. It still happens--there is a notice in the bulletin that we need Sunday school teachers but there are some who read the need and say--why are you coming to me? I already did that years ago. There is a call for volunteers to staff the PADS shelter and provide food and warmth for a homeless person--but there is always the response--you can't mean me--especially not that night--Do you know my schedule? There is excitement about the possibility of building more space to provide more ministry opportunities to our community but there comes the questions--Aren't we comfortable the way we are? Think of the time and money this will take?
Epiphany--God in the world--or at least trying to enter our world--we don't make it easy. Maybe we are just too familiar with the Spirit--we have so much life around us--we are so richly blessed by the Spirit's gifts--the grace of God abounds in all that we know as creation--if only we could see it--if only we could hear it--if only we could be touched by it--feel the spirit alighting on us once more. I was walking by the preschool class the other day and had to stop and watch for a while--one of the teachers came up along side me--she has a special gift to see the Spirit in others and she began to make observations about each child--"The little blonde in blue--she's going to be a doctor--the little guy sitting over there is our engineer--the green outfit here is our artist--over there are the lawyer and teacher--and she is the possible preacher." Already the Spirit's presence was being made known in four-year-old lives--even though they did not know it or understand it. That is each of our callings--to discern in this moment how God comes to us.
Familiar forms--water--bread--wine. Mysterious
moments of joy--pain--surprise--anger What if the phone were to
ring--a distinctive personal private cell phone ring--the voice
on the other end sounding vaguely familiar--the words have the
ring of eternal truth--prophet opportunity:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you.
I am the LORD, that is my name.
See, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I now declare;
Before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
(Isaiah 42) What if the call is for us?
Amen.
