<html><body>Here's the draft for Sunday. I'll split it in two posts ...<div><br></div><div>Bob</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY 1 EPIPHANY C – THE
BAPTISM OF CHRIST<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">ISAIAH 43:1-7 10<sup>th</sup> JANUARY, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">ACTS 8:14-17 PSALM 29<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">LUKE 3:15-17, 21-22<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> What’s the
baptism of Jesus got to do with me?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Well, for
one thing, it gives us the grace to be able to recognise Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> According to
those pre-birth stories, when Mary learned she was pregnant, she rushed off to
see her cousin, Elizabeth When they came into each other’s company, John, in
Elizabeth’s womb, started doing back flips, so excited was he.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> I’ve never
been pregnant, but I’ve heard that babies in utero can do all sorts of
interesting things: back flips, bladder stomps, wall kicking. I’m sure the list
can go on and on. But in the eyes and </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#141823">minds of the early church, John
recognized Jesus through two layers of fat and skin, and bowed down in
obedience and wonder. And the fact that both were immersed in amniotic fluid
only adds to the symbolism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#141823"> Jump forward
about thirty years and you have the scene in this morning’s Gospel passage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#141823"> There are tantalisingly
few references to John’s and Jesus’ childhood and early adulthood. John
supposedly spent a good deal of time in the desert, on the fringes of society,
honing his sensory abilities. Jesus, on the other hand, was reputedly busy in
Joseph’s carpentry shop and the outside work that that entailed. His was a very
down-to-earth life </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">in which He saw how people had to apply themselves and
struggle, n matter how good they were at their profession. But surely John and Jesus were at least
aware of each other, of what each had been doing, and of the religious tension,
mixed with the political and social turmoil as the politicians played games
with the Romans in order to continue to keep and advance their power and their
wealth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> So when
Jesus and John met at the Jordan, neither was a stranger to the other, although
they may not have known a whole lot about where their lives would lead them. One
thing <b><u>WAS</u></b> sure, however. Both
were deeply committed to their religious traditions, and both saw how religion
was one of the tools being used to manipulate and oppress the people. Both John
and Jesus were aware that God was completely opposed to the way the people were
being abused. Both longed to bring release to those held captive in any way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> So when
Jesus and John met at the Jordan, this was what was going through their minds.
Each had consented to the leading of God to try to make things plain to the
people that God longed that everyone would be free to discover the divine image
within themselves, and to become ministers to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> John walked
the banks of the river, cajoling, confronting, comforting all those who would
hear to accept that God loved them and wanted them to reach out beyond
themselves, to affirm that they were God’s children. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">It may have seemed quite natural that the people began to
wonder if John was the one promised by the prophets as God’s anointed
messenger. Their hearts must have leapt; they must have begin to do internal
back-flips at the thought that this man was about to bring in new life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> John knew
otherwise, though. He accepted the prophetic mantle. No matter what the
hardships and peculiar life-style that came with his vocation, he knew that he
was a cursor – one who showed people where they were and pointed them to where
they might find fulfilment and a satisfying sense of wholeness. More than that,
though. John new, somehow, that, sooner or later, Jesus would come on the scene
to present the embodiment of God. John knew that, one day, he and Jesus would
be together and that he would offer some sort of a comment to turn people’s
attention to his cousin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">And this was the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Jesus came in the midst of the crowds, just like everyone
else, listening, thinking, questioning both John’s word and his own thoughts
and emotions. Jesus was indistinguishable from everyone else. He walked in from
a distance. He was drawn to see what sort of a sermon John might preach, and
how folk would respond. He was moved to see hundreds upon hundreds of people go
to John in the midst of the river, seeking a new beginning, an affirmation of
their worth. They sought to dedicate themselves to God and to discover how to
deal with the panic, the drudgery of their daily lives, and the insanity of
those who wanted to yield power for power’s sake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Jesus came, no different in appearance, no different in
apparent emotions, no different in the way that He, like the others, wanted to
know where to go from that point on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> John knew
Jesus, of course. But he was the only one. And when Jesus stepped into the river
and moved towards His cousin, He probably had to stand in line, waiting for
John and his disciples to accept His commitment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> You might
think tat some tremendous thunderclap and bolt of lightning might have appeared
at that moment, anointing Jesus in the way that some might wish would happen at
the Primary Caucuses. But there was no lightning, no thunderclap. Jesus stood
there, perhaps talking to those on either side of Him, perhaps helping some get
upright and stay upright after their ritual bathing; perhaps Jesus was quiet,
looking at the others, trying to determine what was going on in their lives,
thinking about what was happening to Him, feeling His feet and His legs become
tremendously chilled in the frigid water. All this just like everyone else on
the Jordan banks or in the river.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> No
different,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> The others
seemed to have made their dedication first. That’s how the text describes it.
Whatever the actual sequence, the crowds were cleansed and affirmed as God’s
children. Then, perhaps last, or perhaps in the middle of the <em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;font-style:
normal">mêlée, Jesus was face to face with John, looking to find affirmation for
Himself.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> It was all over. The people knew that
John had a prophetic ministry. They knew that they had a need which had been
met. And they didn’t think twice about Jesus – just another man waiting to see
what God’s Presence meant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> <b><u>THAT’S</u></b> when the Dove appeared
out of nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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