CHRISTMAS 1C

BAPTISM OF CHRIST C

January 7, 2007

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 43:1-7:
The background for this passage is the Babylonian Exile. Judah had been taken as slaves to Babylon. This was

understood by the prophets as being God's judgment on them for their unfaithfulness to God. Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed. The Book of Lamentations and several of the Psalms tell about the utter despair and grief the people felt as a result of

this. Surely they wondered if God had abandoned them forever. But there is hope! God had saved them before (Exodus) he would do it again.

"I have called you by name, you are mine." Placed in this context, all baptisms are a setting apart. Baptisms sets us apart in particular. They also set us apart in kind.

Psalm 29
Acts 8:14-17: Luke tells of Peter and John laying hands on the Samarians so that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

In Acts' telling, Peter addressed a pagan rather than a Jewish audience. Universal salvation prophesied by Isaiah was realized in Cornelius, Roman centurion and (according to Luke's schema) the first Gentile to accept salvation in Jesus

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22: Luke tells of the expectancy of the people and of Jesus' baptism.

(EPIPHANY SCRIPTURES BELOW)

Water and fire, are metaphors for God’s blessing and empowering of his people

Baptism is a way of showing outwardly what God has done and is doing

inwardly in our hearts through Christ
Luke relates this story also to indicate something about our baptisms, our need to be in prayer, our anointing with the Spirit, and our subsequent battles with evil and ministry in the world. Stoffregen
BAPTISM: Water cleansing and fire energizing (Holy Spirit). Dying to self. The water event is purely symbolic baptism gives or affrims our identity. God affirms Christ's identity to him. Baptism isn't about us...it's about God giving us our identity.

Your baptism is a commissioning to service.

There are no prerequisites for grace. Forgiveness requires asking....No! forgiveness requires accepting!.

Fight water with water.

the baptism of Jesus was pivotal in Jesus' self-understanding and was the starting point of his ministry.

Heaven is open. And it is risky in the world. It is risky because at any moment you may be baptized by the Spirit of God, and your life may take dramatic new turns, and you may find yourself in a wilderness. God is running loose in the world. There is a danger that our trophies may not be worth much Daniel D.Chambers

Analogy: light bulb. Like it's use in comic strips to indicate and idea "being turned on". God is the power source.

Part of the danger of God's running loose in the world is that baptism is not confined to a ritual. Generally speaking, it is any encounter we have with the holy that leaves us feeling clean and refreshed, as if we have just stepped out of a hot bath Daniel D.Chambers

Baptism consists of getting dunked or sprinkled. Which technique is used matters about as much as whether you pray kneeling or standing on your head. Dunking is a better symbol, however. Going under symbolizes the end of everything about your life that is less than human. Coming up again symbolizes the beginning in you of something strange and new and hopeful. You can breathe again. Fred Buechner

Baptism is not a bath, but a funeral bier. If it was a bath, you would need it again and again. But since it is a death and new life, it is a once for all picture of the transformation that has taken place in our lives. Baptism is not about your goodness; it's about God's Grace. Dr. Mickey Anders

For a baptism, use water from home or some other significant place in the life of the one being baptized.

Where is the epiphany in this baptism scene. Do we just assume it is there, or do we announce it?

Repentance doesn't necessarily imply "remorse". It's basic meaning seems to be a change--a turning to or from something. Certainly this was a major turning point in Jesus' life.

In the early rites of baptism, the church made this clear. The newly baptized Christian was given a new white robe, symbolic of the new life that was now being lived. Hands were laid on the head, sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit, the empowerment to be in ministry with Christ in the world. Later, a Bible was given, sign that this new Christian is to be in the world preaching and teaching. willimon

QUOTES

-Martin Luther said that baptism is something

that's done in church one day but takes the rest of our lives to

complete.

-A leader is a dealer in hope."
Napoleon Bonaparte
-It is better to have a lion at the head of an army of sheep,
than a sheep at the head of an army of lions."
Daniel Defoe
-The final test of a leader is that
he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on."
Walter Lippmann
-You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know
how to follow, too."
Sam Rayburn
-History shows that when a society, in flight from hero-worship,
decides to do without great men at all, it gets into troubles of its own."
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
-To lead the people, walk behind them."
Lao-Tzu, Chinese philosopher (circa 600 B.C.E.)
-The journey is the reward."
Chinese Proverb
-Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of those of old;
seek what they sought."
Basho

ILLUSTRATIONS

-Use scenes from the Lion King (Rafiki "baptizing" and "naming" Simba, then later Mufassa calling Simba to "Remember who you are -- you are my son, and the one true King" -- some great images; worth renting the movie this week if you have time

-Sometimes those who are not fully absorbed in the Church have the most insightful observations about God. One evening the New Testament professor from Princeton Seminary visited a high school youth group. After the professor finished speaking about the significance of Christ's baptism as a revelation of God's presence in Jesus, the high schooler said without looking up, "That ain't what it means." Glad that the student had been listening enough to disagree, the professor asked, "What do you think it means?" "The story says that the heavens were opened, right?" "Right." "The heavens were opened and the Spirit of God came down, right?" "That's right." The boy finally looked up and leaned forward, saying, "It means that God is on the loose in the world. And it is dangerous." After his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness, and it was dangerous. Jesus taught in the temples, and it was dangerous. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and it was dangerous. Jesus confronted the authorities and turned over the tables, and it was dangerous. Daniel D.Chambers

-I said to the man at the gate of the Year,"Give me a light that I may go forth into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness And Put your hand into the Hand of God. that shall be to thee better than a light, And safer than a known way. (1)

HUMOR

How many evangelists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the bulb must repent of its darkness and be willing to be changed.
Gold, frankincense and mermaids!!!

CHILDREN

The Wise men were like the three characters in The Wizard of Oz. When the Oz party finally reached Oz, they found that they had acted intelligently, courageously, and with heart already. In other words, they already had been given what they needed, they just needed to have it released. The Wise men were wise because they used what God had already given them. (Knowledge, intuition, faith, etc.)

-Regarding an epiphany as a *surprising, unexpected revelation*, cut open an apple through its *equator*, to show not simply the flesh of the apple but the pattern of the previously hidden seeds; a star! (In the apples which I cut open the seeds formed a 5-pointed star, appropriate for the season). Just as the star led the magoi to new life, and a new road home, so the *star* of seeds point to new life

PRAYER PHRASES

- Lord help us to be the sort of witnesses you deserve. Enable us to speak up for you. Give us the grace to show forth your power in all we do. Empower us with your Holy Spirit so that we are given strength and courage not of our own devising, for the tasks that await us. Willimon

-May we also have a sense of wonder and awe, the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders. May we recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary.

EPIPHANY

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72: 1-7; 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

-Epiphany, manifestation of God

-The gold symbolizes his kingly humanity, the frankincense his
divinity, and the myrrh (an ointment used in embalming) foreshadows his
redemptive death. They are not fooled by the outer trappings. Their gifts
show they discern his inner reality.
-Up to now I have suggested that it
was the wise men that originated the tradition of Christmas gift giving.
But I wonder if that is really true? Perhaps the wise men originated the
tradition of gift *exchanging*. Yes, from their hearts they understood who
it was that was to receive their gifts. But I think it was God who
originated the *giving* part. Gary F. Daught

-What shall I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would give him a lamb,
If I were a wisemen I'd do my part.
What shall I give him? I give him my heart.

“In the Bleak Midwinter” hymn

-"Gift giving is the way the invisible becomes visible,
the way the hidden heart is made known, the way the spirit risks itself in
substantiation."

-O'Henry "The Gift of the Magi." A poor young couple are
searching for just the perfect Christmas gift for each other.
When he finds a pair of beautiful, ornate hair combs, he decides this would
be the perfect gift to adorn his wife's shinny, long hair. So he sells his
one and only prize possession - his pocket watch - to buy the combs.
In the meantime, having no idea what her husband has done, she finds a gold
chain and fob that would be perfect for his pocket watch, so she sacrifices
her prize asset: she cuts her hair and sells it to in order to buy him the
watch chain.

-In the Eastern Orthodox Church, January 6 is the day celebrated as
Christmas.
-I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day on Christmas day? One for each King

-We get things a little backwards at Christmas time. So
much of our time and effort goes into GIVING gifts, and this is
good. But the heart of Christmas is not about giving, but about
GOD giving, and US receiving. The gift Christ wants from each of
us this new year is ACCEPTING him, RECEIVING his love, his grace, his
forgiveness into our hearts and lives...of reaching out with hands of
faith to receive him as Savior and Lord...

-An astronomer, Max Kepler, witnessed the conjunction of the
planets Jupiter and Saturn and Mars in October of 1604. He calculated that
it occurred every 805 years, and realized that the conjunction occurring in
7-6 B.C.E. correctly coincided with the birth of Jesus. This was some
conjunction for the Wise Men to have seen.

-Epiphanies are identifying moments: who we are and who God is

-So today the story of a baby in a crib, being visited by Magi is poignant. It is about a change taking place in the balance of power and it based in fact not fiction
-We don’t know much about the Magi (Greek magoi) from the East. We call them kings, but Matthew calls them magoi -- or Magi. The word, kings, might come from Psalm 72:10, which speaks of the kings of Tarshish rendering tribute and the kings of Sheba and Seba bringing gifts. See also Isaiah 60:6, which speaks of the people of Sheba bringing gold and frankincense. We think of them as astrologers because they are observing stars (v. 2), and astrology was considered a learned occupation. The word, magoi, is also found in Acts 8:9-24 and 13:6-11, where it is translated magician or sorcerer. From the perspective of the Jewish people, magoi look to the stars for answers that legitimately come only from God -- or work magic using demonic powers. The Reverend Charles Royden
-We are a pilgrim people, we have to set off to follow Christ and learn more about God as we journey The Reverend Charles Royden

-Epiphany is a six week journey to find God.

-Compare our journey with the journey in the Wizard of Oz...Scarecrow wants brain; Woodsman wants a heart and lion wants courage...Each danger faced is solved by courage (lion); cerebral danger, (crow); and love (woodsman, tin man) . They find their strengths when they start their journey...their strength are within themselves.

-Is the season of light. "light" a symbol of God's presence.

-For many this idea is an unsettling and uncomfortable idea, a journey in which we do not know the landmarks; where we will have to keep trusting the voice inside that urges us not to turn back or stop.The Reverend Charles Royden

- Not called wise men in scripture but "magi" or Magicians. Maybe wise because they didn't miss the birth of Jesus

- The ideal of wise men coming is from Isaiah 60 vs.6

- Isaiah would have Jesus being born in Jerusalem. Micah 5:2,4,5 would have Him born in Bethlehem. Willimon preached a sermon about "Missing Jesus by nine miles" Jerusalem is nine miles from Bethlehem.

-sermon: Wise men: followed their vision (star)

Sought the Messiah

Brought gifts to Messiah.

Went home another way (saw the folly of their way)

-Tradition, says that they were actually kings. "We Three Kings"?
But the text says nothing about this. Tradition gives us the names of these kings.

Balthsar, Melchoir, Caspar the text says nothing like this. Tradition says they

came riding in on camels. The Bible tells us nothing about their means of transportation.
Traditions says there were three of them. Because three gifts were given. , The Bible
does not tell us how many there were. But what does the Bible actually say about them?
The Greek word used here and translated as "wise men" is "magoi"
or "magi" (from which we get the word "magic"). Apparently there
were two kinds of magi in those days. Some of them were
magicians, charlatans, soothsayers. If there had been telephones in
those days, they would have been the ones starting the psychic
friends network and the 900 numbers for you to call, and, for a
significant fee, tell you your fortune or give you psychic advice.
The other magi were truly "wise" in that they were learned
individuals, kind of scientists of their day; astronomers; seekers
after truth. Thus they were often used as counsels and advisors to
kings. So it was most appropriate that they would go to a king,
Herod, on their search. Apparently these magi were the seekers
after truth. They would find the One who was the Way, the Life,
and the Truth! Bass Mitchell

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