God invites you
God invites you. God is permissive, not demanding. God is helper, not boss. God is a forgiving lover, not an avenging brute. God does not command you, God invites you. Invites. Welcomes:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And wa-RUACH ELOHIM, the Spirit of God, moved over churning chaos. And God SAID - - “ye-hi” let there be ->
ye-hi is not a command. At Genesis 1:3 ye-hi is permissive, the Hebrew grammar is jussive, not imperative, the Word of God consenting, inviting, releasing, setting free, the Big Bang itself.
“And God SAID” - - Logos the Word is both Speaker and Spoken, Who Says and What is Said: ye-hi -> igniting, enabling, allowing, permitting - - Logos the Word energizing, the prime mover, the basic impulse of the expanding Universe.
Logos the Word quickens Possibilities, frees Potential, stirs Imagination:
In the beginning was Logos the Word, and the Word was WITH GOD, and the Word WAS God. The Word was in the beginning WITH God and AS God. All that Is came into being through Logos the Word. And Logos the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. No one has seen God, but Jesus Christ Logos the Word, has made God known.
Our story progresses: Advent, Christmas, Ephipany - - today theophany as the heavens burst open and God shines forth in Baptism:
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the River Jordan. And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. And a voice from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
As Jesus is baptized, WE are baptized. Baptism, your baptism, is your decision to step into the kingdom of God, which is the Way of the Cross, a life of love and sacrifice. I could tell you what baptism IS NOT, but that could take forever, so understand what baptism IS:
Baptism is our prime sacrament by which God makes us God’s Children as Jesus is God’s Child; baptism makes us members of Christ's Body the Church; baptism admits us into the kingdom of God here and now.
The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in which Jesus was baptized, and in which you are baptized. [When I baptize, I use water from the River Jordan that some of you have brought me from the Holy Land.]
The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his baptism, death and resurrection; birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit [which comes upon you, as it did upon Jesus].
In Baptism, we renounce evil, repent of our sins, and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Baptism is voluntary, surrendering to God - - “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give.” In Baptism, you PROMISE: - - you enter into covenant with God, in which, sealed in Baptism, indelibly Christian, you choose God who first chose you. You promise to live like Jesus: by your life, you make God known to others as the life of Jesus makes God known to you.
You promise
To continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers - - participating in the life and continuity of the church, by which the Word is carried to all generations.
You promise To persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord. [I have an assignment for you about that]
You promise To proclaim by word and example, especially example, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [That’s about how people see and know you in daily life, how others perceive you].
You promise To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself [where your neighbor is not the family next door, but strangers who differ from you in every possible way, and who in fact may hate you because you not a feeling, but kindness, generosity].
YOU PROMISE To strive for justice and peace among ALL people, and to respect the dignity of EVERY human being under the sun. [this may be the hardest part, because people can be so difficult]
Your assignment, should you decide to accept it, is a monastic, especially Jesuit, exercise called EXAMEN [E-X-A-M-E-N, examen]. At the end of each day, you reflect on and morally evaluate yourself. You check your thoughts, words and attitudes against your Baptism promise. It’s personal: you need to be mentally alone, no distractions. In EXAMEN, at the end of each day, you stand before Jesus and contemplate how you did that day, how you did for yourself, for God, and for others.
It’s a BAPTISM Examen. You may not accept it. Not many will bother. Not many people take Baptism promises to heart. Most of us parrot off our Baptismal Vows, and go blithely on with life for self. But consider it: Lent, which begins next month, is the next part of our holy story, and EXAMEN may give you a spiritual discipline for Lent.
+++++++++++
Today is ONE about Jesus’ baptism and TWO about YOUR baptism. How are you doing? Are you keeping covenant, keeping your promise? EXAMEN yourself.
God invites us to Baptism, which is more than water. The invitation this morning is to renew your Baptismal Promise, but this Time, instead of forgetting it before you leave the room, hold it in mind as you make your way through life and Time this week. Maybe Examen yourself to see how you are doing.
It’s voluntary, an invitation - - to risk letting the Holy Spirit come upon you.
If you will, in the Book of Common Prayer in the pew rack in front of you, page 292, as we stand.
++++++++++
Sermon/homiletic attempt by the Rev Tom Weller in Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Panama City, Florida on 7 January 2024, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B. The Baptism of Christ.
Art sketch: The Baptism of Christ, Michelangelo, found online.