January 13, 2013 Once, For All

Isaiah 43:1-7 Luke 3:15-17, 21-ff In order to begin the sermon this day, I would ask that you retrace the circumstance and events of the last week, of your life, and those of the week to come. A great part of our lives is the same week in week out, being worked on and worried throughout our lives. What if there were an idea, a relationship, a sudden awareness that everything you knew, everything we have ever experienced were true, but far greater than anything we have yet been aware? There are very few, truly unique moments in our lives, but what we are discussing is a once, for all time affirmation, that changes our perspective on life, changes us, from living in fear and regret to possibility. According to Scripture, God is the Creator of all that is. Whether we believe in Evolution, or Intelligent Design, or literally seven 24 hour days for Creation, before there was anything else in life, for reality to exist there was some cause and effect. Before there were nations, or cities, before there were people, before there were any creatures, birds, fish, or plants, before there were planets, a sun or moon, before there was an atmosphere, when the space we consume was nothing but a waste and void, some describe a cataclysm of gases, an accident of fate, a big bang, Hebrew Scriptures name that there was GOD. Rather than an accident of fate, a unique circumstance in which all the building blocks of life happened to be aligned, that the CREATOR formed everything that exists. From the majesty of Mountain ranges, Canyons and Seas, to the intricacy of dangling dew on a spider's web, the formation of snow flakes, a newborn's eyelashes and finger nails. Before there was TIME or SPACE, God Created all that is out of nothing. And according to Scripture, God chose to leave the Creation incomplete for us to serve as Co-CREATORS with God developing societies, developing ideas, developing futures for ourselves. Yet, what Isaiah names in this morning's reading is that we do not arise without history. We, none of us, are not a people created from nothingness. The God who created us, who formed every element of Creation, the same God is also our REDEEMER. We are a people with history, with systems, with abuses, a people with songs and stories. Recently it occurred to me, that as incredible a place as this community is, with all our advantages and all the people who give us access to the world, which it is, this is a community that has known great tragedy and loss. We are not a people created out of nothingness, we are a people who have been worn down and effected by one another. This week, a freelance reporter working with the Syracuse paper phoned to write a story for the coming weeks, about our Village affirming the relationship that has been forged between us and South Sudan. When she finished, her last question was, “So I understand how this developed. I understand what the people in Africa get out of this, but what do you get? Why are you involved?” I fumbled for an answer, but afterward wrote to her that it is because there is a relationship. A relationship is not about what do I get, or what does it cost me. A relationship is open-ended commitment, that come what may, we will try to make a difference in one another's lives, to redeem circumstances for the better. The same is true of why there is a Presbyterian Manor, or a Food Pantry, or the Skaneateles Festival, part of who we are (as those created in the image of God), is that we are in relationship doing whatever we can to effect the human condition. As co-CREATORS with God, we are also Co-REDEEMERS. That is holy, that is monumental, that is sacred. Our lives are not only about us. Recently someone sent me a photo on Facebook, that showed a toddler looking absolutely apoplectic, indignant, red faced, his eyes seemed to burn anything in their gaze. The caption on the photo read: “This stranger in a long dress, poured water on my head, while my family smiled and took pictures!” It was a clever way of describing a Baptism, yet it suddenly occurred to me that for a large percentage of the world's population, when Christianity is only cultural and not struggling with the reality of what we do, that is all the Sacrament of Baptism represents. A family occasion, the first time a baby is brought out in public, where whether the baby enjoys the experience or not, we take photos and smile, within the church the event has become as common as Communion. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the focus is not on The Water, nor upon the Baby, nor even the man or woman in a long dress.The Sacrament of Baptism is our affirmation, that no matter what comes of this life, this life is a Gift from God. As we are accustomed that when we receive a gift, we give a gift to the other, in response to God we give this life, our lives to God. Luke is different from the other Gospels, in that there are very few details about Jesus' Baptism. Recall how much we know from Luke about the Birth of John the Baptist. Different from all the other Gospels, in Luke we know the setting and circumstance and response of Mary. We know who was Governor, who was King, who was the Priest at the time Jesus was born. From Luke, we know all about the Angels and Shepherds and laying the baby in a feed trough. We also know about the ministry of John the Baptist, what he wore, what he ate, his Call for the people to REPENT. After all that detail, what John says about the Baptism of Jesus is “When all the other people were Baptized, Jesus was also.” Quite literally, everyone who heard John's Call recognized their need for change. Everyone recognized they were beaten down and worn raw by the circumstances of life. As a man of thirty, Jesus like everyone else affirmed the need for change, the need for redemption, the need for God, the need for commitment, and Jesus in solidarity with all who had heard was Baptized. And a Voice came from heaven: “You are my Beloved. With you I am Well Pleased.” That is what the Sacrament of Baptism is all about is an affirmation, YOU ARE LOVED. YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. Before you were conceived, before you were born, you had a name and identity to God, and claiming that identity claims responsibility as a Child of God. When is the last time, you (any of us) heard a voice from anyone, anywhere... when is the last time we took time and seriously said to those in our lives YOU ARE MY BELOVED, YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE. I AM PROUD OF YOU. Luke is different from the other Gospels in that this is where he chooses to include the genealogy of Jesus. Like many of us, doing family genealogies, Luke's version is slightly different from Matthew's and recounted for differing purposes. Where Matthew is emphasizing Jesus as descended from the Deportation in Babylon, and from King David and from Abraham; we recognize all the great names of ancestors, of Kings, but Luke also claims Jesus as the child of Noah, and a child of Adam, and a child of God. Where Matthew points out individuals among Jesus' ancestors who sinned, Luke lists them all as having fallen short, and the point of his Baptism is a new relationship for all living with God, after Jesus. What we have discussed this day is the TRINITY. Not only, that God is and has been made known to the world in three identities, though one; but that created in the image of God, all of us bear these three identities. We are Co-CREATORS with God, we are REDEEMERS making a difference in one another's lives, and we are able to AFFIRM ONE ANOTHER claiming each as a Child of God who is loved. Luke is also unique, in that when the Baptism took place, what follows immediately is not Family Taking Pictures, or the Temptation in the Wilderness, but that Jesus prayed. That is not recorded in the other Gospels, so for John to name it is recognition of the importance of our stopping to pray.