January 15, 2023: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
This weekend we celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While many will rightly extol this weekend the mark he made on the civil rights movement, the Rev. Dr. King would tell you that he was first and foremost a disciple of Jesus, a pastor, a man of deep faith, and it was that very faith upon which that gospel work of his life was founded. Which is why it always astounds me that people will say that Christianity is the cause of all the world’s grief. We certainly bear some responsibility for the sins of our past, but those same people would lift up this great prophet (and many others), and forget what was in his heart that gave fire to his witness in the world.
And so I think it is a perfect alignment of who Dr. King was, that we are, this Sunday, celebrating the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, a week later, because we transferred the Feast of the Epiphany to last Sunday, and moved this to today. Why do we do this? Because the visit of the magi and the baptism of Jesus tells us so very much about him, but most especially – about us – who we are, and what our baptism means for us, and for the world. And because the magi visit is on a date certain, following the 12 days of Christmas, it sometimes doesn’t fall on a Sunday. Don’t worry though, we will be back on track lectionary wise next Sunday.
So, the story we heard this morning in the gospel is one we all know, right? Jesus goes to the river Jordan, where his cousin John is baptizing his followers –preparing them for the One who was to come. Jesus, the One John was preparing the way for, came to the river to be baptized himself. As he rises out of the river, the heavens are opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. The voice of God proclaims to those there that Jesus is God’s beloved child, in whom God is well pleased.
Now, as you know already, we are in the season of Epiphany – a time when we are shown who Jesus is… who we are. And so the visit by the magi, and this baptism of Jesus raises an important question about what this event means – for Jesus, for us, and a clue can be found in the passage we read from Isaiah.
There we hear God proclaim to the prophet, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights…” Sounds familiar, right? God followed that initial proclamation in this way “I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations… I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Remember this: “I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.”
Now, let’s take a step back for a minute, because there is a lot going on here.
First, it is true that this baptism, coming on the heels of the visit to the Christ child by the magi, and the birth in the manger, seems a bit rushed, right? I mean, Christmas Eve he’s just a newborn. Then last week, he is a toddler in a house. And now he’s about 30 years old? I know they say kids grow up fast, but that’s a bit ridiculous don’t ya think? It kinda feels like when the stores already have Valentine’s Day stuff on display on December 26th. Of course, if we who are here today think it is a bit speedy, imagine what it is like for those who only come at Christmas and Easter – Lordy! He’s born, and he rises from the grave! Heck, we didn’t even know he was dead! Which always reminds me of something Dr. King once said.
Through the years from around 1960-1967 at various locations, King delivered a sermon in which he said, “…it has gotten to the point today that some are even saying that God is dead. The thing that bothers me about it is that they didn’t give me full information, because at least I would have wanted to attend God’s funeral. And today I want to ask, who was the coroner that pronounced him dead? I want to raise a question, how long had he been sick? I want to know whether he had a heart attack or died of chronic cancer. These questions haven’t been answered for me, and I’m going on believing and knowing that God is alive.[1]”
There are a lot of powerful things that this prophet gifted the world in word, in deed, in his very life and death, but this is one that sometimes gets lost, and I think is very important. Because he is on to something about who God is, yes, but also about who we are too. We forget that God is alive and at work in the world – at work in us.
That is some of what the passage from Matthew and Isaiah are saying as well. Because when Jesus rises out of the water, there is something he notices: that the Spirit of God descends on him, and the words spoken would have reminded this very Jewish Jesus of the ones we hear in Isaiah. He would know that a covenant has been made between God and himself. It is a call story. Baptism always is, because covenant with God is about who we are and what we are called to do.
Do we recognize the Holy Spirit descending upon us?
It’s a good question to ask, because whether we see an actual dove or not, the Holy Spirit alights on us – not just in our baptism, but throughout our lives. Do we take notice?
Now, I’m not saying to look for birds flying down out of the heavens, but instead take note of the ways in which the Spirit is present in your life. Perhaps it is an inner sense of being pulled toward something, or a chance encounter that leaves you thinking about a new direction, or maybe it is an actual dove that just happens to land by you. But make no mistake about it, the Holy Spirit is alighting on you too, for you are God’s beloved, you also are God’s chosen, and like the prophet in Isaiah, like Dr. King, you are called into covenant.
Imagine if Dr. King never paid attention to the Holy Spirit yearning to awaken him to his call? Imagine how our world would have lost such a powerful witness.
The same is true for you!
Later we will reaffirm our baptismal covenant, and while we use different words, what we commit to is reflected in the passage from Isaiah. Remember, what was said: “I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations… I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Or as we commit in our baptismal vows: “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and respecting the dignity of every human being.” The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lived out his baptismal covenant in his life and his willingness to give his life for the gospel. And in his prophetic witness, we came to know that God is most certainly not dead, but very much alive!
As he added in that sermon: “You see, as long as love is around, God is alive. As long as justice is around, God is alive. There are certain conceptions of God that needed to die, but not God.”
God is very much alive!
God is not dead, nor is God relegated to Christmas and Easter. God is at work in the world, calling us to join in that Spirit filled work, anointing us in baptism to fulfill our covenant – seeking Christ like the magi, serving him like Dr. King.
In our opening collect today, we prayed “Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made.”
Dr. King certainly kept that covenant.
God needs us to keep the covenant we have made – to be the servant, the chosen, the body of Christ alive in the world – to not leave our faith at the church doors when we leave here on Sundays, but to be that prophetic light to those who sit in darkness, to open the eyes that are blind to injustice, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon of oppression.
In this way, the Christ manifested to us in Epiphany becomes the Christ manifested to the world through us!
And so, as you leave here take your bulletins with you and read that first part of Isaiah over and over again this week, only like this: “Here am I, God’s servant, whom God upholds, the chosen, in whom God’s soul delights.”
Because it is true – God has made a covenant with you. God has put a right spirit upon you.
For you are God’s servant, whom God upholds, the chosen, in whom God’s very soul delights!
Listen to that.
Breathe that in.
Live that out in the world.
Then the living God, made manifest in Christ, will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, shine through us as a light to the nations.
And the dreams of prophets like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and those before him and since, will be brought closer to reality, closer to that very vision of the Beloved Community God has for us all.
Amen.
For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):
[1] “Why Jesus Called A Man A Fool” By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
January 15, 2023
The First Sunday After The Epiphany – Baptism of Our Lord (trans.)
1st Reading – Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
2nd Reading – Acts 10:34-43
Gospel – Matthew 3:13-17
