<html><body>Draft finished last night ....<br><br>Happy splashing in the water!<br><br>Bob<br><br><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">THE
EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:6"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>1<sup>st</sup> SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
B:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>THE BAPTISM OF JESUS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>GENESIS 1:1-5<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:4"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>11<sup>th</sup> JANUARY, 2014
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">ACTS
19:1-7<span style="mso-tab-count:8"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:4"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>PSALM
29</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">MARK
1:4-11</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“<span style="color:#141823;background:white">Mary is 93 years old,” wrote the
journalist.” We spoke for less than two minutes. After I took her photo, she
said: ‘If you force yourself to go outside, something wonderful always
happens!’” <sup>1</sup></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Try telling that to the citizens of
Paris last week – people who’re probably not too sure about setting foot too
far from their homes, or shops, schools and businesses. It’s a replay of what
we’ve seen, tragically, so much recently. And it’s not limited to France, or
Europe, or the Middle East, or the United States. It’s a world-wide phenomenon.
Danger appears to know no bounds.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“If you force yourself to go
outside, something wonderful always happens!” What was Mary thinking of in New
York City?</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>And yet, and yet, somehow, a gleam
of sunlight from a person, from an animal, from the centre of our star system;
somehow a gleam of sunlight <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>CAN</u></b>
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>DOES</u></b> burst upon us,
waiting to be noticed, waited to be absorbed. But let’s back up a bit.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I
wonder what was going on in Jesus’ life on the morning he met John at the
Jordan. Did He sleep well the night before, or had He been cold, or worried, or
unsettled? Was there anything at all to eat before he walked across the
hillsides towards where the crowds were forming? None of this is mentioned in
the Gospel account. Apparently it’s irrelevant.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Now I know how I feel if I’m
short-changed in my sleep, or if I miss a meal. I know how I am when I</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">
encounter speech and
writing that make my blood run cold. Instantly, I seem to be on edge and I may
not be <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">as attentive as I should be. Yet,
whatever happens, I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>STILL</u></b>
have to respond, just as Jesus did when He <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">reached the River Jordan. John was baptizing – he
was calling everyone to a new beginning, to a <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">recommitment to God and God’s
ways. John was telling people that,
no matter what, God forgave sins. <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">Therefore all that the listeners had to do
was to reflect on their lives, on <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>their patterns, on their speech and <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">interactions and then resolve to try to make their behaviour match what John
was outlining as
an <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">interpretation of the law and the prophets.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>As you heard, the response was
impressive. Folk not only came to hear John preach, they committed themselves</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">to a new life
in which God and God’s love of creation took precedence over everything else.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>THIS</u></b>
is the promise declared by Jesus’ actions as He too affirmed His faith in God
and His desire to <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">reveal and strengthen
God’s reign on earth. And you’ll note that this is unconditional. Nowhere does
Jesus <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">barter, either with John or with God.
At no time does Jesus suggest that He’ll submit if He’s given protection, <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">or
the guarantee of a hot meal and a clean bed
every night. Jesus doesn’t say, “O.K., I’ll do this if I never have <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">to have
people arguing with Me or dissing Me.” Jesus simply
accepts and trusts.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>That first illustration inside this
morning’s bulletin intrigues me. It’s an attempt to depict creation, with</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> the
Spirit closely linked
with water as earth is made ready for its inhabitants. But I have to admit that
my first <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">thought was that the Spirit is
going to have a really tough time, because She’s swimming upstream. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><sup>2</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>It’s not that the Spirit and the
Father are working contrary to one another. It’s simply a matter of the <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">appearance that the water
is emanating from the Father while the Spirit’s action appears to be in the <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">direction of the Father – exactly as it should
be! – but there’s that great sense of effort that has to be <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">expended to keep
that link alive. In order to find renewal, there
is a struggle. And the testing never stops. No <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">matter how old we are, no matter
how long ago it was that we made a
commitment, every day presents a <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">challenge.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I read the opening of a sermon that
someone posted and smiled at how the writer began. He was <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">talking about the casualness
of how it can seem when someone is baptised. In his words, he commented <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">that he
thought “it’s harder to get a
membership at Costco than it is to become a Christian.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">And that's a bad thing. It's bad,
specifically, because if the church is easy to join, then any notion of the </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">responsibilities of membership can just fly
right out the window.” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><sup>3</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Maxwell Grant’s suggestion is that
there should be an element of risk that’s apparent when one <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">makes that commitment. At
the very least being on a river bank someplace. Better yet, he wonders whether
it <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">should be something like skydiving.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I can see it now; terrified faces at
the open door of a small plane, looking down five or ten thousand <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">feet to the <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>round below, praying that the instructor knows
what she or he is doing, and that the chute will <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">open.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I wonder if the budget committee
would put a new line item in to cover this?</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Joking – of course! But it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>IS</u></b> a serious business in which
people engage, all of us – and it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>DOESN’T</u></b></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">
come with any tangible
guarantees, not even that we can expect to be able to go out our own front
doors, or <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">cross the street, without fear of being
run over or attacked. </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>What Jesus did that day, however,
was to model for us what God desires from us. Jesus was so spiritually hungry
to be at one with God. Jesus’ love and sense of hope in God was so strong that
He made this commitment for Himself and for us, not thoughtlessly, but knowing
that, whatever might happen, the joy would be incredible, even if there were
serious bumps on the journey. Julian of Norwich, the late thirteenth century
mystic, talked about Jesus’ life as if it were so filled with thirst and
longing for us that He offered Himself so that we will come to endless joy.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>THIS</u></b>
is why God is so incredibly happy to watch Jesus enter the river. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>THIS</u></b> is why God is totally
pleased.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I’ve never fished by standing in a
river, but I’m told that, sometimes, the rocks underfoot can start to shift and
the current can try to carry one downstream. I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><u>DO</u></b> know what it’s like to stand in even relatively shallow waters
not far out from the tide line in the ocean. I know what it’s like to feel just
a little apprehensive, wondering if I’ll be taken out into places I’d rather
not go. I’m aware of people who’ve been carried out in a rip tide –
fortunately, many of them have been
rescued. Still, there’s always that question of what might happen.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Baptism can and probably should be
like that. Not scary enough to keep us from asking God’s <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">blessing that we might become
part of the family of God; but just scary enough to make us realise that <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">belonging – belonging to anything, belonging to
anyone – comes at a price. Whenever one person makes a</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> commitment to another,
expresses love for another, the
matter doesn’t end there. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>THAT’S</u></b>
where things start. <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> That expression, that commitment, is a promise to begin and to
map out a journey together with the</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> other, whether that person be human or
divine. That expression is a mutual
recognition that each will be</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> there <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>for
the other, whatever the circumstances. And that’s the part that can trip us up when we’re not
careful, <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">because, time and again, as the bulletin illustration <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>implies, we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><u>ARE</u></b> swimming against the current. Time <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">and again there will be the temptation to give in to the pressures of society,
even our friends. Living up to </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">God’s
standards – just as those of our closest human companions – can be difficult
when it means honesty, <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">and fairness, and
compassion, and justice, and <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>mercy.
Living up to God’s standards is guaranteed to put us <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">at odds with our neighbours,
with those who hold authority, at least every now and again, occasionally even</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">
frequently.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>THAT’S</u></b>
why Jesus didn’t go into the deep, cold waters of the Jordan without first
considering what it was to which He was committing. He went in </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif";color:red;background:white">deliberately, reverently <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and in accordance with God’s will</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;
background:white">. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why John expressed some
reluctance to baptise Jesus. Partly it was because of who Jesus was, that John
recognised Jesus’ vocation and authority. But partly it was because he may have
had some inkling in the recesses of his mind just what Jesus’ baptism would
demand of Jesus – and John didn’t want to be the one to pressure Jesus into
that. Jesus had to accept this for Himself. It was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><u>HIS</u></b> commitment.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>You know that I like to post
cartoons on my office door. I wonder if you saw the one I put there on Friday
afternoon. It shows John the Baptist standing in the river with Jesus where
Jesus said something to John about whether he was going to dunk Him, to which
John replied, “If you don’t want to be immersed, why don’t<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>you go to John the Methodist.”</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>He might as well have said John the
Episcopalian. The point is, whether by immersing or affusing, the baptismal
candidate is committing, while the rest of the congregation is recommitting, to
doing everything possible to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and
respect; that everyone is given our promise of presence to instill courage and
hope. And if we live this out truly, then there should be no doubt that “If you
force yourself to go outside, something wonderful always happens!” – if only,
maybe I should say, especially if it’s discovering that we’re standing
alongside hundreds of other people who won’t put anyone in the position of
having to face trouble or hardship all by her or himself.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Before he was murdered by the Nazis,
Danish pastor, </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kaj
Munk, said, “Our task today is 'recklessness.' For what we Christians lack is
not psychology or literature, we lack a holy rage, the recklessness which comes
from the knowledge of God and hu<span class="textexposedshow">manity. The ability
to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages
across the face of the earth, a holy anger about the things that are wrong in
the world.” </span><sup>4</sup><span class="textexposedshow"></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>It goes without saying that this
should always be a discriminating anger whenever we see someone suffer, or
falter, or feeling not quite up to living out the promises they made at the
time of their commitment. It should be, at the very least, discriminating
enough to direct that anger – or that praise … we need to remember our vocation
to offer thanks and praise; we need to be thoughtful and careful enough not to
respond wildly, targeting the innocent. </span></span><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>This expression of love and
commitment is what can and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>MUST</u></b>
happen, whether it be on the streets</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">of Paris or the streets of
Albany; whether it be because of some public event or some private one for, as</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823;background:white">
Dame Julian wrote, “</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">this is Christ's spiritual
thirst, his longing in love, which persists and always will until we <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">see him …”
<sup>5 </sup><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And if we make this commitment, if we
recommit ourselves, to behave this way, I can <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">guarantee that if you go outside, you <b><u>WILL </u></b>find yourselfengaged in
something, engaged with someone, <br></span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">marvelously wonderful – <b><u>ALWAYS!</u></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>See you at the river! And on the
streets!</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#141823;background:white"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif"">NOTES:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:normal"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-special-character:footnote"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language:
EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="color:#141823;background:white">Humans of New York: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/photos/a.102107073196735.4429.102099916530784/160887830651992/?type=1&fref=nf">https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/photos/a.102107073196735.4429.102099916530784/160887830651992/?type=1&fref=nf</a>
</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:
10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">2</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“Creation
- Day 1”,</i> from <strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Art
in the Christian Tradition</span></strong>, a project of the Vanderbilt
Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46170">http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46170</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46170"><br></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-outline-level:1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">3</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold">Torn Open, By God - </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Mark 1:4-11</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">” Baptism of the Lord - Year
B<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>January 11, 2015. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Rev. Maxwell
Grant is the senior minister of Second Congregational United Church of Christ
in Greenwich, CT. <a href="http://day1.us4.list-anage1.com/track/click?u=a22435f9d4a26d16f2776cd60&id=1c93312605&e=07fe8bf832">http://day1.us4.list-anage1.com/track/click?u=a22435f9d4a26d16f2776cd60&id=1c93312605&e=07fe8bf832</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-outline-level:1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><sup><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">4</span></sup><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Via
Jonathan Haggar on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=670962035&fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=670962035&fref=ts</a>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-outline-level:1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Julian
of Norwich c.1342-c.1416<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Revelations of Divine Love</span><br><br></body></html>