SERVICE

January 9, 2011
Epiphany 1
Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3:13-17

(prayer)

The season of Christmas has only been over for four days (the 12 day of Christmas was just this last Wednesday) and already Jesus is almost a senior. Well, by first century peasant standards, thirty years old is certainly past middle age. Last week, we read that after the Magi’s visit, young Jesus and his parents fled to Egypt until after King Herod died. At that point they moved up to Nazareth in Galilee. The very next section of Matthew’s gospel is Jesus going down to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. We heard some key verses from that passage this morning. It is Luke’s gospel (Lk 3:23) that states that “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work.”

And so there we are: almost three decades of Jesus life have passed and we meet him again at the Jordan River with John the Baptist. Luke’s gospel implies John may have been Jesus second cousin, once removed, but Matthew’s gospel makes no kinship claims.

At this time in the narrative, it is John who is kind of famous and Jesus is the unknown. John drew significant crowds of people attracted to his call to reclaim one’s life and refocus it on God. He called people to ‘turn around’, to ‘repent’. People were hungry for this renewal, they wanted more spirit in their lives. And they listened to his words: he told them that the baptism was just a moment in time, but that people needed to live lives worthy of the repentance. In other words, the baptism was to change them, not just be a nice thing to do, one day. And John spoke about someone else, greater than himself, who could surround and fill people with the spirit.

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The text doesn’t tell us how, but John somehow knew that when Jesus came to him for baptism that ‘this was the one’. John felt unworthy – his ceremony with water seemed small and insignificant when it came to Jesus. But this was not all about John and his insecurities; Jesus insisted and John consented.

When Jesus emerged from the water, we’re told that Jesus saw the Spirit of God manifest itself to him and gently touched him - the way a bird softly lands on a branch: and a voice said: “this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew’s gospel seems to be saying that only Jesus could see the spirit and the text is unclear whether anyone other than Jesus could hear the voice. Mark’s gospel (which was written before Matthew and was available to the author of Matthew) uses second person language in this story (YOU are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased). It is curious why Matthew would change it to the third person version we heard today.

Anyway, it’s kind of a moot point, because, regardless of ‘who heard what’ on the day of Jesus baptism, the rest of the gospel is a more public proclamation that Jesus just might be the beloved Son of God, as shown in Jesus’ teachings and actions.

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There are a lot of water stories in the bible. And in each one of them, water represents a time of transition – when some important change is taking place.

• The Genesis creation stories: Chapter 1 > it is on to the surface of the dark chaotic primordial ‘deep’ that the first light shines; Chapter 2 > creation begins when the first mists moisten the dry ground and allow the first plants to grow.

• Noah and the flood.

• Moses and the people escaping Egypt are lead to safety across the sea, as the water parts for them; later they will be nourished in the desert by water from a rock; and finally, they will cross the shallow waters of the Jordan River into their promised land.

• Jacob’s well that allowed the founding family of faith to grow into a nation.

• The prophet Elijah, literally, passes his mantle on to Elisah after they had crossed the Jordan River and Elijah departed on a chariot of fire.

• Jesus first followers were fisher-folk, who met Jesus as he preached by the water’s edge.

• And think of the number of boating stories with Jesus (using it as a pulpit when the crowd grew large; calming storms; moving from one side to another, etc.)

• There was the ostracized women of Samaria whom Jesus met at the well where they talked about ‘living water’.

• Water into wine!

• Governor Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’ execution when the crowd was resolute that he should be crucified.

• Phillip baptising the Ethiopian courtier. “There is water here, what is to stop me from being baptised?”

• Paul, Silas and Timothy worshipping with Lydia down by the river outside of Philippi.

• And our bibles end with the image of the River of Life flowing through the New Jerusalem.

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Jesus watery baptism is in good company. As far as our scriptures are concerned, when there is water involved, something important is happening, someone’s life is setting off in a new direction, God is active!

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Baptism marks the start of Jesus’ active ministry – the start of a selfless life for Jesus, where his focus is on the spiritual lives of the people he encounters along the way.

As the early church of the late first century looked back on the events of Jesus’ life, they found the words of the (so called) servant songs from Isaiah very applicable to who they believed Jesus to be: a relentless servant of God’s justice.

As we heard from Isaiah 42 this morning: “1Here is my servant...I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations... 6...I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, 7to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon...”

It’s not all about Jesus – it is about the service he does in the world.

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Today, we recognize and celebrate those moments of time that have been baptisms in the lives of some of us. And we remember John the Baptist’s warning to bear fruits worthy of that baptism – a baptism that symbolizes our turning toward God for guidance and support and safety.

The fruits that Jesus bares following his baptism are the fruits of service.

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In our bulletins, at the end of the order of service, there is a list of some of the people involved in leading worship: the first item reminds us that we are all “ministers” – Alex and I just happen to be specific kinds of ministers – but we all have ministries.

As it notes in the bulletin, the word ‘minister’ means servant. The servant songs in Isaiah could just as easily be called ‘minister songs’.

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[Aside: In Greek, the word for minister-service is diaconia; In the United Church, people who are commissioned to a ministry of Education, Service and Pastoral Care are called ‘Diaconal Ministers’.]

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But, we must never forget that we all are called to serve – we are all called to minister. And like it meant for Jesus, it means that there must be a selfless aspect to our lives. We are called to care about the well-being of others.

If we are open to being filled with the Spirit, we must be open to seeing ourselves are part of something, rather than apart from everything.

As personal of an experience spirituality is, I am amazed by people who (after having been touched by God is unique and significant ways) feel compelled to isolate themselves from others, especially those who think and believe a bit differently. That is certainly NOT the way, Jesus did things!

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And it began in earnest down at the Jordan River with John. Jesus willingly accepts the call to turn his life towards God’s mission. Again water is prominent in a time of new direction. As the original readers of Matthew first heard these words, I wonder if they connected the manifestation of the spirit as a dove, with the story of Noah, where the dove represented that a new creation was coming into being as the flood waters receded - because in a very real, symbolic way, Jesus was ushering a new era of spirituality a renewed way of connecting to God.

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So what does it look and feel like, when we are filled with the life-giving Spirit of God? Do we live out Isaiah’s words and become those who seek justice and live out a service to God through the service of each other and the world we share?

Following Jesus (being a servant of God) is to realize that ‘it is not all about me’! I do matter. I am valuable. ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so’ and all that. But it is wonderfully more than that – it is not ALL about me! Thanks be to God.

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Think about the people you have encountered in your life – who do really admire in this world? Is that person selfish or greedy, or are they one who gives and serves and thinks beyond themselves?

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Baptism was the start for Jesus; it may have been a beginning for some of us. But even so, I suspect that everyone of us has been presented with those moments of the possibility of significant change – where (if even for an instant), we kind of “get it” – like John the Baptist, we realized that we are part of something greater than ourselves. And that this is a wonderful, wonder-filled, thing.

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It is an interesting paradox of faith – that God calls us into ourselves, so that we may serve beyond ourselves.

How that is, can be as different as we are. We don’t have to worry, there is enough ministry to go around.

Thanks be to God for this life and the call to serve. Let us pray:

Holy God; open us to received your bountiful Spirit as our companion and inspiration to live as active followers of Jesus, our Christ, your beloved son. Amen



#134MV “There was Child in Galilee”

(Dreaming Mary)