"First Words" - January 8, 2012 Sermon

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Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The Sermon:
Most of us are familiar with some FAMOUS LAST WORDS of historical figures: phrases like the Civil war General who, while sitting on his horse looking across at the enemy lines, said to his aide, "They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance". OR, Julius Ceasar when he said, "Et Tu Brutae" or Jesus when he said, according to the Gospel of John, "It is finished."

Typically, we pay more attention to "Last words" than we do First Words. However, there are some exceptions. How about Neil Armstrong’s first words as he stepped onto the moon: "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." OR Alexander Graham Bell’s first words spoken over the telephone in 1875, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." OR Samuel Morse’s first words sent by telegraph. Interestingly, it is from the Bible, Numbers 23:23..."What hath God wrought." (KJ)

Many of the First Words that have made the history books are related to some form of communications…the first e-mail…the first radio broadcast…the first t.v. words…the first tweet, etc. Of course, closer to most of us are the First Words our children said as babies. Research tells us that the 9 most said First Words of babies are: dada, daddy, mama, dad, mommy, mom, cat, no, and dog.

First Words usually announce that something new has begun. The First Words ever uttered were when God said, "Let there be light". God said those words at the beginning of a new project called Creation! Those words began the transformation from chaos to order…represented by God’s illuminating presence. The Light that God spoke into Creation, reveals God’s selfness and character…that is, "God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1st Jn.1:5)

God speaks and the darkness and chaos of earth are put in their place. Paul, in his writings, urges all of us to, "Walk in the Light and live in it, so that we, too, might move out of the chaos of sin and into God’s ordered way of life designed for us and the whole of Creation.

If we walk in the Light, as he himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with the Spirit and with each other. No matter how we mess up in life, God continually invites us to walk in the Light. How do we break the darkness in our lives? By confessing our brokenness, our sins and by obeying our Creator’s commandments and by being Light-giving people in our relationships with others.

In Revelations, God speaks about the "new creation" in which He says that there will be "no more night"…that means we will experience Light all the time…The Light of Christ.

As we begin the journey into a New Year, and as people created in God’s image…we are called to 1st, recognize the Light in our own lives, and 2nd, to be Light-givers to other people. Make no mistake, we are the ones who choose whether or not we are messengers of doom and gloom and negativity OR we are messengers of the Light of Christ. AMEN.

"Baptism is Dangerous" - January 1, 2012

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 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. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

The Sermon:
I really appreciate this portion of Matthew’s Gospel because it evokes stories and images from the Old Testament. It is very significant that Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River. For Matthew and his Jewish audience, Jesus is revealed as the new Moses. You remember that Moses delivered his people from physical slavery under the Egyptians. Matthew reveals that Jesus is delivering us from slavery to sin and death. Let’s look at a few parallels between Moses and Jesus. Jesus, as an infant escaped death from Herod by hiding out in Egypt…Moses escaped death from the Pharoah by hiding our in a basket of reeds and being found by Pharoah’s daughter. Like Moses, Jesus comes out of Egypt…like Moses, Jesus crosses the water. Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days of temptation and preparation, which is a reminder of Moses leading the people in the desert for 40 yrs. So the Jordan is symbolic as a crossing point of liberation and of entrance into a new kind of “promised land” that Jesus would proclaim as the Kingdom of God.

While many Christians do not always agree on the mode of Baptism, that is sprinkling, pouring or immersion, we do understand that all the ancient stories of the Bible coalesce into a present reality for all Christians. In Baptism, we are liberated from slavery to sin and death through the forgiveness of sins. We become new person in Christ through a relationship with God, who is present at our Baptism as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At Baptism, we are invited to take on our vocation as people created in God’s image…a vocation that involves stewardship and care for each other and for God’s good Creation.

What we sometimes fail to fully understand, however, regardless of the mode of Baptism, is that it is also a dangerous act. It is dangerous because it marks us as belonging to Jesus and taking on the mission and message of the One in whose name we are Baptized.

Remember what happened immediately after Jesus was Baptized? He finds himself wandering in the desert, hungry and thirsty and being tempted by Satan. Satan invites Jesus to an easier kind of life…plenty of food and drink, etc. Once we are Baptized, we face similar situations regarding comfortable living…having enough wealth to be satisfied, instead of focusing on a life of service and sacrifice that God calls us to live. Baptism marks us as being set apart for a different kind of life…a life that often denies the temporal, pleasurable and consumable things that the rest of the world values. Jesus teaches us to live simply and generously in a culture of excess.

Just like the story of the ‘rich young ruler’, it is difficult for us to walk away from our possessions, our status and our former life… it is truly painful. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and God’s justice for the poor, the infirm, the alien, the stranger, the imprisoned and the lost. His ministry took Him into back alleys and often hostile territories. He risked not only his reputation but also His life in order to bring Good News to those who needed it most. His calls for justice and the company He kept with outsiders and the unclean, made some angry enough to want to kill Him.

Whenever the followers of Christ stand for and with those who cannot stand for themselves, then those who seek to keep their power and the status quo will always react negatively… and as history has demonstrated, often violently. Jesus told His followers that their being identified as His followers would mark them as being guilty by association in the eyes of those around them.

Yes, being Baptized is being commissioned to a dangerous vocation, but when we live out our vocation, it is world-changing ! While our association with Jesus marks us in the eyes of the rest of the world, it ALSO marks us in the eyes of God as His beloved children. Children who are willing to participate with Him in the renewal of God’s creation. God is using us in what Dominic Crossan describes as , “The Great Divine Cleanup of the World”, through the ministry of Christ and His church.

Whether the tasks we are called to are easily do-able or imminently dangerous, the Baptized are called to follow Jesus out of the water and into the world !!!

AMEN.