Sermon Sunday 12^th January 2025 Epiphany Baptism of Christ

Isaiah 43. 1-7 do not fear, I have called you by name you are mine

Pslam 29

Acts 8 14-17

Luke 3. 15-17, 21-22 baptism of Christ

 Epiphany is the season of revelation. It is a time when the lectionary provides us with readings from scripture which reveal who Jesus is and what God’s relationship is with his people. These readings throughout this season, are providing a foundation for us to better understand our faith. I wonder if through this season of revelation, this might be a good time to think what God is revealing to us about our own relationship with God.

In our reading from Isaiah the Israelites or more specifically the tribe of Judah, have been in captivity in Babylon, but now they have been released from that captivity and brought home from exile. Their subjugation had been the result of their lack of faith in God. They had not been maintaining their relationship with God through prayer and worship, which resulted in their downfall. Yet God doesn’t give up on them and they are redeemed. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name you are mine. God is making it clear that they are his people no matter what, even if they make mistakes, God does not give up. Yet the next line is interesting. It says, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned.’ God is alongside us through good times and bad, but it is clear that we have to go through hard times. Although God assures us if we trust in him the fire will not burn us, we still have to go through the fire metaphorically speaking. I think this is helpful to hold on to because so often people think believing in God protects us from the fire happening, when belief and developing a relationship with God gives us the strength not to be burned up in the flames. When we pray; when we take time to listen to what God is saying to us through scripture and through our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are better able to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. What might God be calling you to do?

In our reading from Acts we have an interesting story about the Samaritans welcoming the message of Jesus and being baptised in his name, yet it is not until Peter and John go and pray and lay hands on the people that the Holy Sprit comes upon the Samaritans. As we know the Samaritans are descendants of the Israelites of the northern Kingdom and have been in conflict with the Jewish people for centuries. So, for the Samaritans to not only be welcomed into the church, but also have the Holy Spirit came upon them, is a big statement about the early church or this Jesus movement. I have called you by name you are mine. All people, all nations are included in this call from God. We are all called, we just need to open our eyes and our ears to the message of the gospels. What is God calling us too?

This morning’s Gospel passage was Luke’s version of Jesus’ baptism, the moment when Jesus starts his official ministry. It’s quite a different interpretation of Jesus’ baptism than the other gospels. It describes Jesus being baptised along with other people, rather than on his own. ‘Now when all the people were baptised, and when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened.’ Luke had talked previously about John the Baptist being imprisoned, so it isn’t even clear that he was baptised by John. What is similar in this version and in Matthew and Mark’s is the opening of the heavens and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus. What’s interesting in Luke’s version is that it doesn’t happen dramatically after he emerges from the waters, but actually while he was praying. It’s as if Jesus, through prayer, is talking to the Father and the heavens open and the Father responds. The Father is confirming to Jesus that he is on the path that he has chosen for him. The Father is affirming Jesus’ sense that he is being called. Now I’m pretty sure the heavens will not open before you if God is calling you towards some kind of ministry, but as you develop a relationship with God, you will have moments where something will happen and you will come to realise that it is God working through the Holy Spirit to point you in the direction of the path that God has set before you.

As a vocation's advisor for the Diocese, I talk to people about their sense of calling, usually more specifically around a particular ministry. I hear many people talk about the things they have seen or experienced that made them realise that the Holy Spirit was alongside them, showing them what God was asking of them.

I know the language of vocation can be a bit off putting for some – we talk about the gift of all vocations, but often the church is really thinking about these as steps on the way to particular recognised forms of ministry. It’s important to state clearly that God calls us to many ways of serving – and just like Paul’s the body of Christ image in 1 Cor 12 – all parts of the body are not only necessary but vital.

People can also be put off by the idea of vocation because it can sometimes sound like a onetime done deal – God calls you to this or that role or means of service – that’s you done, get on with it.

You might be thinking, but I wanted to be a nurse not teacher, or I wanted to sing in the choir not be a church warden. Well, maybe we should think of vocation as something that gets renewed, refreshed, something that can change and develop. And maybe that’s true of ordained ministries too. Ministers also sometimes feel fixed up and set on a path that makes them feel they have to be the finished article from the beginning to the end of their ministry. My vocation has changed, and will still change, and I need you to help me discern that. So don’t think of vocation as tying you down – think of it as what God is calling you to now, what fits with the gifts God has given you and the potential you don’t necessarily see.

As disciples of Christ, all of us have a calling to be part of a Christian community and offer our gifts to the community in different ways. We cannot be Christians without a community around us, worshipping together, praying together, and helping each other to discern the work of the Holy Spirit and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

So, as we continue through epiphany let us all keep our eyes and ears open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our community and consider what God might be calling us to.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.

Amen.