A New Beginning
We just celebrated New Years – a new year has begun, a time when many people make resolutions for the upcoming year, most of the resolutions are along the self-improvement side, never a bad thing.
Which reminds me of a sticker that was next to the light switch in my room when I was growing up…
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life” & so each day like New Years can be a new beginning for us.
As we gather today, we heard the words from Genesis, words from the beginning of the bible, that get us to think about God – God who created light in the midst of darkness. And it was good. A New beginning.
For Jesus, the light of the world – today’s Gospel story is a new beginning for him –in the Gospel of Mark, we don’t start with the birth of Jesus or his childhood. We begin day 1 – at his baptism.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased…”
“Today, Jesus hears those words from his Father in heaven - and, in the waters of our own baptisms, God has spoken those same words to us. We are the beloved of God with whom God is well pleased; for God claims us as his own. The voice of the Father - our Father - speaks to all of us in the sacrament of Baptism; the Spirit of God descends upon us, enabling us to give to others the love, God joyfully gives to us.” [Adapted from The Pastor as Minor Poet by M. Craig Barnes.]
Just think that when we were each named and presented to God in baptism; we were adopted, grafted in to God’s family, and in that baptism is a gift. It was a new beginning for all of us as Christians.
We are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire as one Gospel puts it. We are cleansed and given a new life in Jesus’ name. It is that same Spirit and fire that touches all that we are, from our beginning to our end. As St. Ephraim the Syrian of the fourth century wrote:
See, Fire & Spirit in the womb that bore you
See, Fire & Spirit in the water where you were baptized
Fire & Spirit in our Baptism.
In the bread and Cup, Fire and Spirit.
It is a gift that enlivens us, and reminds us that God dwells with us, in all our steps, has been with us from our birth to our baptism and continues to be with us, and is in the midst of our communion, of bread and wine, God is there in Fire & Spirit. And that same fire and Spirit will carry us to God on our final day.
Today (at 10:15 AM), Lily Rose Bender will join us in being part of God’s holy tribe, and the fire and Spirit will be given to her, and we will recognize in her as we are reminded ourselves that God is at work in our lives and has given us things to do.
In this time after the Epiphany, when we are to manifest Jesus to the world with our lives, even as we continue to learn and grow in what it means to follow him, for the gift of Jesus, who came down for us at Christmas, we will share with the world, by making his love, his joy, his light manifest in our lives, and the Fire and Spirit will guide us…
To that ministry and to our God we live our lives today and every day, so let the light of God shine forth in your lives, by the fire and Spirit given to us at Baptism for God is present in our lives, in what we say and do…
A story: Kailey was about to turn eight. When her mom and dad asked her what she wanted for her birthday, Kailey's request stunned them. She wanted shoes. Three-hundred-fifty pairs of them, to be exact.
Her parents did not take her request too seriously, but Kailey asked again and again.
Kailey saw a story on the Disney Channel about another girl who collected shoes for children from families in need and Kailey decided that's what she wanted to do. Kailey thought it would be neat to pass shoes on to other kids who needed them to be able to do the same things she enjoys doing, like go to school and play outside.
So, for her birthday, she asked for 350 pairs of shoes. Her parents posted the request on Facebook and Kailey's birthday request went viral. The response exceeded their wildest expectations. Kailey was receiving packages and donations every day for weeks after the posting. "Kailey's Fantabulous Footwear," as she named the project, collected more than 400 pairs of shoes. Kailey and her family donated the shoes to Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization that provides children living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive at home, at school and at play.
Kailey's parents are understandably proud. Her mother says the lesson in generosity was the greatest gift. "Listen to your kids when they want to do something . . . get them involved in the community, let them come and help."
"It's emotional," Kailey's proud dad says. "It just makes you feel so good that we've raised a child who cares to take care of others before she takes care of herself."
A little girl's generosity manifests the light of God, enabling the love of God to come down and fill her small corner of the earth with hope and joy. As God expresses his pleasure in his Beloved Son at Jesus' baptism in today's Gospel, God speaks his same joy and love in our own simple and ordinary attempts to imitate Jesus' compassion, justice and reconciliation in our world.
May the Spirit we received at our own baptisms continue to move us to do the work of Jesus' Gospel, to share the light of God and give voice to the love of God in our homes and schools and communities and churches.
Amen.
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