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Sermon January 10, 2021
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers,
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
First Sunday after Epiphany
http://lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Epiphany/BEpi1_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Worship_Audio_January_10__2021
Video: https://youtu.be/k4wTLF_sVkA
I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ Mark 1:8
You may remember that I love country music and often when I speak about baptisms, I reference a song sung by Randy Travis: Pray for the Fish. The song is about Eddie Lee Vaughn who decides to get baptized, which happens in the local creek. Listen to some of the words:
Then the preacher said
People take a moment or two
There’s something we need to do
Pray for the fish
They won’t know what’s coming
When the sin starts rolling off the likes of him
Lord be with ‘em, they ain’t done nothin’
Please won’t you leave them just a little bit ‘a room to swim
Pray for the fish
Well, as Eddie Lee Vaughn was dunked in the water, he came up shouting “Hallelujah! I’m a brand new man.”
Yes, there is humor in this song and also great truth. Baptism changes us.
In our service today, we remember the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. In the reading from The Message Bible for this section of Mark it says:
“I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism – a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit – will change you from the inside out.”
While many of us might not remember our baptisms, there are a number of times during the year when we renew our baptismal vows. That’s because we need to remember to what we are called. We need to remember our calling to a changed life and examine how we are doing.
My good friend, Rev. Dr. Marshall Jolly, recently wrote this about baptism:
The baptized life is not a career that we can pursue part-time, or one day retire from. It is a vocation meant to be lived out with every fiber of our being. That’s why it’s so important that we renew our baptismal vows over and over again, and share in the feast of Christ’s body and blood over and over again, and read and study Scripture over and over again—because we human beings are forgetful people!
I would also add that our promises mean different things at different times in our lives and in the life of the world.
Yes, we confess our beliefs using the words of The Apostles’ Creed. The words are the same, but our understanding changes throughout our lives.
How we continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers changes. I mean, look at how we worship now! Our meetings are virtual rather than in person.
How we understand evil and sin changes over time and with our life experiences. How we understand our words and actions as manifestations of the Good News of God in Christ changes over time and with our life experiences.
What is required of us to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to love our neighbors as ourselves? Isn’t that a challenge, especially in our communities and country right now? People are hurting, having lost jobs and businesses due to the pandemic. Some are facing eviction or loss of their homes. People are grieving for loved ones. Some think the pandemic is a hoax and refuse to follow public health guidelines.
Then there is the outcome of our elections, which is certainly unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. This call to seek and serve Christ in all persons…all persons… and to continue to love our neighbors…WOW
What does justice and peace among all people look like? What does it mean to respect the dignity of every human being?
Oh my, we feel overwhelmed and we do our best with the talents God has given us. We also know that we do not have all of the answers ourselves. The very depth and breadth of our promises in baptism absolutely require us to be in community. That can be scary, because we often like to do things all by ourselves, like we haven’t left behind that attitude so common with very young children who insist on doing something, but don’t quite have the capacity to do so.
Living out our baptismal promises in community means we open ourselves in ways that may make us feel vulnerable. We may be challenged to learn new things or to live in a different way. We may not always feel comfortable.
Being together in our Christian community is also helpful in hearing the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember the words from The Message Bible: His baptism – a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit – will change you from the inside out. Jesus assured us that the Holy Spirit would be with us forever.
Our regular renewal of our baptismal promises changes us from the inside out and we, like Eddie Ray Vaughn in the song, rise up and shout, Hallelujah, I’m a brand new person.
Amen
Pray for the Fish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0WXVP7sMcM
Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Marshall Jolly: https://episcopalchurch.org/library/sermon/beginnings-epiphany-1-b-january-10-2021
