First Sunday After Epiphany, January 11, 2015

          Traditionally, the church associates Epiphany with two events in the life of Christ: the arrival of the wise men, and the baptism of Jesus. Both of these events are “epiphanies,” or revelations of God in the world. The gospel assigned for the feast of Epiphany (or for Christmas II) is the story of the magi in Matthew 2. The star, of course, is a pentangle, with 5-points (whereas the 6-pointed star, or Mogan David, symbolizes Judaism). The star shines out in the larger world, drawing even gentiles to God.

          The Baptism of Christ, on the other hand, is celebrated on the First Sunday after Epiphany (and on Epiphany in the Eastern Orthodox Church). For each liturgical year (A, B, and C), we read a different accounts of the baptism in the synoptic gospels. This year the reading is from Mark. The baptism of Christ reveals that Jesus is the Son of the Father; the words from heaven will be echoed in another theophany, the Transfiguration.

Collect for the Day

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.

Reflections: This prayer makes the link between the life of Christ and our own lives. We celebrate not only the revelation of Jesus’ identity vis a vis the Father, but also our incorporation into Christ through baptism. It is easy to view baptism as membership ritual. But it more than a rite of passage. More, it is a sacrament. The waters of baptism birth us as a new being that takes a lifetime to grow into.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Reflections: These majestic lines of Genesis take us deep down to the foundations of existence itself. Where there is only chaos, formlessness, God brings illumination. Darkness is not destroyed, but given shape and meaning.

          We’re usually so preoccupied with our everyday concerns that the larger story escapes us. But Genesis reminds us, as do natural disasters and climate change. God is concerned not only with the human story, but with the larger stories in which we are embedded.

Psalm 29 Afferte Domino

Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, * ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; * worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees; * the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, * and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire; the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; *
        the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe * and strips the forests bare.
And in the temple of the LORD * all are crying, "Glory!"
The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; * the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore.
The LORD shall give strength to his people; * the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Reflection: We look to God for strength and peace. But comfort and support do not define God—nor are they all human beings require to be spiritually alive. Our hearts are awakened to awe by the wild, undomesticated God who shakes the mountains.

Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism." Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied-- altogether there were about twelve of them.

Reflections: Apollos, we remember, is mentioned along with Cephas in St. Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinthians. It seems that there were divisions among community members based on the missionary who baptized them. As Paul points out, every member was baptized not into Apollos or Paul or Cephas, but into Christ. It is natural for humans to divide; it is Christ who unites.

          This passage in Acts records a time when Apollos was in Corinth and Paul was making his way through present day Turkey to Ephesus. And who does he come upon? Disciples! Disciples not of Jesus . . . but of John the Baptist. These disciples had started their journey, and Paul was able to guide them to their next step.
          Like those disciples, we took the steps of belief. We took the right turns, found our camping spot, even set up our tent. They didn’t know a whole new adventure still lay ahead of them. And we usually don’t, either.
         But it’s not over when we get where we think we’re going. It’s never over. Suddenly we find ourselves in an unexpected place, facing unanticipated difficulties, pushed rudely by circumstances we cannot control. We fear to move ahead into the unknown. Yet we journey with Christ as companion. In fact, the act of journeying itself is Christ. Let us embrace this Way, with all its turns and bumps . . . and its glorious destiny: Christ.

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
          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."

Reflections: The Gospel reading for the first Sunday in Epiphany tells us about the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan. Mark’s text reads as though this is the moment at which Jesus becomes fully aware of his identity and vocation. Indeed, the event issues in his immediate exile in the wilderness to wrestle with temptation.

          John’s preaching tells us that the doorway to the baptism in the Spirit is the baptism of repentance. It almost sounds like God won’t come until you’ve got yourself straightened out.
           But we know from the gospels that Jesus didn’t wait for people to repent before he called them. Matthew was a tax collector right up until the last minute. It was the presence of Jesus that changed Matthew’s life, making it possible for him to desire holiness in the first place. The desire for repentance in the first place arises from the presence of the Spirit already. In theological language, this is called prevenient grace.

          Here is a beautiful 18^th century Russian icon of the Baptism of Christ. Let’s take a look at it.

 

 

The figure on the left bank is St. John Forerunner (to use his name in Eastern Orthodoxy). Three angels stand on the right bank, their hands covered in reverence. Jesus, of course, stands in the midst of the waters.

          In the center at the top is the circle of Divine Light reaching down in the world. Oddly, this circle of Divine Light is painted in very dark colors; the light of God remains mysterious to our benighted eyes. The Divine ray bends into three; a dove descends upon Jesus (doves are depicted only in later, more Westernized, icons).
          The unspeakable Divine Mystery has entered the world, and is revealed in human form through baptism. The heavens open, and we glimpse the truth of Jesus’ identity. Repentant, we too surrender to God, who births us back into the world, cleansed through the waters of baptism—only once through the great sacrament of the church; but again and again in the depths of our hearts as we follow the one who calls.